An American Tragedy / Hippolytus / The Critic (Original annotated play scripts belonging to actor Wesley Lau)
- N.p.: N.p., 1948
N.p.: N.p., 1948. Carbon typescript copy of the play, "An American Tragedy," with spirit-duplication copies of the plays, "Hippolytus" and "The Critic" bound in. Working copies belonging to actor Wesley Lau, with pencil annotations of Lau's name and the plays' titles on the front wrapper, and manuscript marker annotations of "W. Lau" on the top left of the title page as well as listed in the annotations of actors' names adjacent to the character list on the title page, with manuscript pencil and marker annotations throughout all three by Lau.
The working copy of the three plays found here are all from July 1948 Beloit College (Beloit, Wisconsin) performances of the three plays, which Lau, while on summer vacation from Yale Drama School, performed in during the college's summer theatre workshop. Lau played the lead, Claude Griffiths, in Erwin Piscator and Lena Goldschmidt's 1932 adaptation of the the 1925 Theodore Dreiser novel, Theseus in Euripide's "Hippolytus," and Plagiary in the 1779 satire "The Critic" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (noted as "acting version" by Beloit College theatre director and designer Kirk Denmark).
Beloit's 1948 summer season, including the "successful" production of "An American Tragedy" and upcoming performances including "Hippolytus" and "The Critic," were the subject of a July 13, 1948 article, "Janesville Student has Role in Next Beloit College Play," in the Janesville Daily Gazette, which notes that director Denmark was assisted in the productions by "Wesley Lau of Yale University."
Noted character actor, Wesley Lau received a Masters of Arts degree from Yale Drama School and studied at The Actors Studio in New York with the intention of becoming a playwright, having taken up acting only after finding more work as an actor than a playwright. Lau is best known for his 81 performances as Lt. Andy Anderson in the 1957-1966 CBS television series "Perry Mason," but made memorable appearances in numerous television series including, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1958-1959), "Peter Gunn" (1959-1960), "Gunsmoke" (1959-1960), "Bonanza" (1960 and 1966), "The Twilight Zone" (1961-1962), "The Big Valley" (1965), "Mission: Impossible" (1969-1972), and "The Six Million Dollar Man" (1975), among many others, as well as appearing in the films "The Alamo" (1960), "The Venetian Affair" (1967), and "Panic in the City" (1968).
An American Tragedy:
Green untitled wrappers. Title page present, with credits for playwrights Erwin Piscator and Lena Goldschmidt and author Theodore Dreiser. 81 leaves, with last page of text numbered III-29. Carbon typescript copy, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound internally with three silver brads.
Hippolytus:
Bound in following "An American Tragedy." Title page present, with credits for playwright Euripides. 30 leaves, with last page of text numbered 29. Spirit duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine overall.
The Critic:
Bound in following "Hippolytus." First page integral with title page, with credits for playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan and "Acting Version by" Kirk Denmark. 40 leaves, with last page of text numbered III-20. Spirit duplication, rectos only. Pages Very Good plus.
The working copy of the three plays found here are all from July 1948 Beloit College (Beloit, Wisconsin) performances of the three plays, which Lau, while on summer vacation from Yale Drama School, performed in during the college's summer theatre workshop. Lau played the lead, Claude Griffiths, in Erwin Piscator and Lena Goldschmidt's 1932 adaptation of the the 1925 Theodore Dreiser novel, Theseus in Euripide's "Hippolytus," and Plagiary in the 1779 satire "The Critic" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (noted as "acting version" by Beloit College theatre director and designer Kirk Denmark).
Beloit's 1948 summer season, including the "successful" production of "An American Tragedy" and upcoming performances including "Hippolytus" and "The Critic," were the subject of a July 13, 1948 article, "Janesville Student has Role in Next Beloit College Play," in the Janesville Daily Gazette, which notes that director Denmark was assisted in the productions by "Wesley Lau of Yale University."
Noted character actor, Wesley Lau received a Masters of Arts degree from Yale Drama School and studied at The Actors Studio in New York with the intention of becoming a playwright, having taken up acting only after finding more work as an actor than a playwright. Lau is best known for his 81 performances as Lt. Andy Anderson in the 1957-1966 CBS television series "Perry Mason," but made memorable appearances in numerous television series including, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1958-1959), "Peter Gunn" (1959-1960), "Gunsmoke" (1959-1960), "Bonanza" (1960 and 1966), "The Twilight Zone" (1961-1962), "The Big Valley" (1965), "Mission: Impossible" (1969-1972), and "The Six Million Dollar Man" (1975), among many others, as well as appearing in the films "The Alamo" (1960), "The Venetian Affair" (1967), and "Panic in the City" (1968).
An American Tragedy:
Green untitled wrappers. Title page present, with credits for playwrights Erwin Piscator and Lena Goldschmidt and author Theodore Dreiser. 81 leaves, with last page of text numbered III-29. Carbon typescript copy, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound internally with three silver brads.
Hippolytus:
Bound in following "An American Tragedy." Title page present, with credits for playwright Euripides. 30 leaves, with last page of text numbered 29. Spirit duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine overall.
The Critic:
Bound in following "Hippolytus." First page integral with title page, with credits for playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan and "Acting Version by" Kirk Denmark. 40 leaves, with last page of text numbered III-20. Spirit duplication, rectos only. Pages Very Good plus.