The Planets: A Modern Allegory
Encyclopedia
Alfred Kreymborg
Alfred Francis Kreymborg was an American poet, novelist, playwright, literary editor and anthologist.-Early life and associations:...
. The first performance was on 6 June 1938 by the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
at the Hayden Planetarium
Hayden Planetarium
The Hayden Planetarium is a public planetarium, part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, currently directed by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and was directed by Thomas L. Riley. The play was originally set to the music of The Planets Suite
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...
by Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
; for the first performance the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
was conducted by H. Leopold Spitalny. The first broadcast was so enthusiastically received that it was repeated a few weeks later.
The play describes the early history of the twentieth century, including the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and the 'hysterical' 1920's, ending with a mix of dread and uncertainty about the future. The book of the play is dedicated 'to peace'; it was published by Farrar and Rinehart, New York, in 1938. The central figure of the play is the Astrologer, who encounters the various planets in turn, as the events of world history are alluded to in a somewhat prophetic tone.
Cast of the first performance
| Astrologer | William Thornton |
| Mars | Winfield Hoeny |
| Venus | Selena Royle Selena Royle Selena Royle was an American stage, television and film actress.-Early life and career:Born in New York City, Royle's parents were playwright Edwin Milton Royle and actress Selena Fetter . She had an older sister Josephine Fetter Royle . She turned to acting despite the objections of her parents... |
| Mercury | Burford Hampden |
| Jupiter | Charles Webster |
| Saturn | Louis Hector |
| Uranus | William Shelley |
| Neptune | George Gaul |
| Narrator | John Brewster |
| Echo | Emile Beliveau |
| Husband | Earle Larimore |
| Wife | Francis Nabors |