Archive

Identifier: MISALL1997

Inclusive Dates: 1997

Extent:

Roundabout Theatre Company staged George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Criterion Center, with previews beginning July 18, 1997, opening night August 7 and closing night October 12, 1997. Elizabeth Marvel won an OBIE for her performance as Lina Szczepanowska. 

Clive Barnes, writing for New York Post, said of the production, "if you want to see theater at its intricate best - and who doesn't? - I cordially recommend an instant trip to the Roundabout Theater [sic] at the Criterion Center, where, at the charming Laura Pels Theater, you will find a totally bewitching production of one of George Bernard Shaw's finest plays, the often misunderstood 'Misalliance'".

Directed by David Warren, with sets designed by Derek McLane, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Kenneth Posner, original music and sound by John Gromada, and hair and wigs by Paul Huntley.

Don Reilly played the part of Johnny Tarleton, Alan Tudyk played the part of Bentley Summerhays, Joanna Going played the part of Hypatia Tarleton, Patricia Conolly played the part of Mrs. Tarleton, Remak Ramsay played the part of Lord Summerhays, Brian Murray played the part of Mr. John Tarleton, Elizabeth Marvel played the part of Lina Szczepanowska, Sam Robards playd the part of Joseph Percival, and Zak Orth played the part of Julius Baker. Understudies: Jennifer Sternberg, George Bartenieff, Annie Parisse, Haynes Thigpen and Stephen Kunken.
 

[Taken from the study guide] Although not one of Shaw's well-known works, Misalliance is an important play in that it merges the conventions, modes, and techniques of the Nineteenth Century popular theatre with the rhetorical drama of ideas. Shaw drew from the theatre of his youth, employing the farcical situations and melodramatic subplots that dominated the performance style of the mid-1800s. But Misalliance also breaks new ground, exploring in all seriousness the social and political issues of the early Twenieth Century.

Misalliance was written in 1909 and premiered at the Duke of York's Repertory Theatre in London in 1910.

 

Production files span one Hollinger box containing 14 folders, two Playbills and one direct-mail flyer. 

Digital holdings include the following folders:

Education (PDF of study guide)
Media (MP4 recording of post-show discussion on Shaw)
Playbill (jpeg scans of select pages from the Playbill)
Press (Archive-scanned selects)
Production Photographs (select black and white jpgs and TIF files)
Opening Night Photographs (scanned black and white contact sheets, TIF)
Show Art (mock ups and poster art)

There is a related collection of marketing materials containing mock ups, ad placements and other promotions. See, 2012.140.65.  

Access Restrictions: Open and available for research by appointment only.

Preferred Citation: Misalliance (1997), Roundabout Theatre Company Archives