Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre, from American Masters

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• published: 01 Jul 2016
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PBS American Masters presents Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre Season 3, Episode 8 This edition, hosted by Joanne Woodward, examines the Group Theatre with the help of archival photographs, readings, performance clips, and interviews with individuals associated with the group. Woodward begins with a brief history of the Group Theatre, an ensemble founded by Lee Strasberg, Harold Clurman, and Cheryl Crawford in 1931, and reads from Clurman's book about that period explaining his theories of acting based on real life. Strasberg, Clurman, Crawford, and original members Eunice Stoddard and Ruth Nelson describe its founding and the influence of the Moscow Art Theatre. Robert Lewis, Stella Adler, and Margaret Barker recall being invited to join the group, and Katharine Hepburn remembers dismissing the Group as contrary to her plan of becoming a star. Morris Carnovsky and Phoebe Brand then explain the Group's method of working together and developing technique. The program's second segment focuses on the Group's summer camp program in Brookfield Center, CT. The original members share memories about the communal living arrangements, and Maria Tucci, James Naughton, and Paul Newman read aloud from writings chronicling those days. In the next segment dealing with "Method Acting" and Strasberg's development of Constantin Stanislavsky's theories, Lewis begins by explaining Strasberg's theories about recalling past lived events and emotions in order to make the acting process more real. Strasberg then leads actress Ellen Burstyn through an emotional memory exercise to demonstrate this process, and Lewis leads a master class to illustrate Strasberg's process of relaxation and energizing. The third segment looks at the Group's rehearsals. Nelson reveals the process used to prepare for a play, Barker and Michael Gordon praise the ensemble attitude, and Lewis, Stoddard, and Gerrit Tony Kraber recall living together in a group apartment during the Depression. The next segment deals with internal strife within the Group when Stella Adler repeats to Strasberg some criticisms of him made by Stanislavsky; and Nelson, Barker, and Lewis remember rebelling against Strasberg for his berating attitude toward actors. Next, the program looks at the Clifford Odets play "Awake and Sing," with parts written specifically for members of the company. Footage is then shown of the original production featuring Luther Adler and Phoebe Brand. Carnovsky also recreates his signature role of the grandfather in this drama. Clurman, Crawford, and Nelson discuss the importance of Odets's plays and his use of street language in the theater. Tucci, Naughton, Newman, and Kate Burton read from his "Waiting for Lefty"; Nelson, Lewis, and Shelley Winters talk about the original production and its tremendous influence on the union movement of the 1930s; and Woodward introduces the subject of how members' careers were ruined by the blacklisting of the McCarthy era. In the segment on Hollywood, Crawford explains how she arranged for Walter Wanger to hire the company to appear in films until they could get back on their feet financially, and the disagreement about this move within the Group. Examples of work from this period are seen with Stella Adler in "Love on Toast," John Garfield in "Four Daughters," and Elia Kazan's screen test. "Golden Boy," the first of their plays to hire "star" talent from outside of the company, is shown in rehearsal with Dylan McDermott, as well as in the 1939 movie version. Sylvia Sidney, another star, who along with Franchot Tone, was convinced to work with the Group, discusses her experiences there, and Woodward reads from Clurman's 1941 New York Times article about the closing of the Group Theatre. The program's final scene features Shelley Winters speaking about the Group Theatre's commitment to the idea of acting with a view to social consciousness. Cataloging of this program was made possible by Rosalind P. Walter, 1999.