Roles in plays at the Academic Theatre named after Mossovet, director Yuri Zavadski “Dear Liar”, (first Orlova’s appearance – 1963). A play “Dear Liar: a Comedy of Letters” of a playwright Jerome Kilty ( USA ), adapted from the correspondence between Bernard Shaw and Mrs Patrick Campbell. Director – Grigori Alexandrov. Lyubov Orlova plays a part of Stella Campbell (Miss Pat).
Эт “If you give me one kiss and you can only kiss me if I say « kiss me » and I will never say « kiss me » because I am a respectable widow and I wouldn't let any man kiss me unless I was sure of the wedding ring” .
This is an excerpt from one of the letters written by British actress Patrick Campbell to Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. The play "Dear Liar" by Jerome Kilty is an adaptation of the two–person stage play based on their correspondence. The Dublin-born writer and the actress were both married to different persons at the time of their passionate communication. Written in 1957 the play, which spans over 40 years, derives the drama from an anthology of letters that the two wrote to each other.
Shaw In Love
It is difficult for a reviewer to critique a show centering on a subject that interests them, as they become unsure how much their reaction is to the subject matter as opposed to the production. I have run into one of those scenarios this evening with the Jerome Kilty's two-person play Dear Liar. Being an ardent student and admirer of George Bernard Shaw, and having enjoyed the material that is central to this work, his love letters with the great Victorian/Edwardian actress, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, I already have a bias that guarantees my enjoying this production…
From initial flirtatious inquiry through passions, theatrical collaborations, wars, and personal battles, Irish playwright G.B. Shaw carried on an unsubtle extramarital affair with British actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell. Both were strong-willed, separately married, and desperately taken with each other, even when arguments occurred over the publication of the many letters that continued to be exchanged long after the initial passion of their early relationship. In this play, actors allow the audience to watch them take on the personas of this prickly duo, and proceed to believably age the 40 years of their love affair.
It is more the work of actors and director that make this evening succeed as well as it does. The script, while propelled forward by the cunning words of the cantankerous Shaw, and the crafty repartee of Campbell , does not have enough action within to fully keep a viewer's attention. This is a word play, requiring extraordinary attention from audience members to keep up with the verbal sparring.
In performance, actors are exemplary. Miss Pat’s initial coy sexiness makes Mr. Shaw youthful follies completely understandable. She creates a Campbell with whom it is easy to fall in love. Watching her age from her flirty-thirties to feeble seventies is quite impressive. The actor works quite a bit of magic of his own by showing the many moods of Shaw. He presents the clever, ornery, mischievous, depressed, and righteous facets of this man equally well. His aging process is even more amazing, as he moves from youthful forties to decrepit eighties. Two actors click together to bring to life a tempestuous relationship, and their stage chemistry is what works best of all.
“The Curious Savage”, (first Orlova’s appearance – 1972). A play “The Curious Savage” of a playwright George Patrick (USA). Directors – Leonid Varpakhovsky and Nelly Molchadskaya. Lyubov Orlova plays a part of Ethel Savage.
John Patrick (May 17, 1905 - November 7, 1995) was a US playwright and screenwriter. Born John Patrick Goggan in Louisville , Kentucky , his parents soon abandoned him and he spent a delinquent youth in foster homes and boarding schools. At age 19, we secured a job as an announcer at KPO Radio in San Francisco , California , marrying Mildred Legaye in 1925. He wrote over one thousand scripts for the Cecil and Sally Show broadcast by NBC between 1929 and 1933. In 1937, Patrick wrote adaptations for NBCs Streamlined Shakespeare series, guest-starring Helen Hayes. Produced to a tight budget, his first play Hell Freezes Over, directed by a tyro Joshua Logan, had a brief run on Broadway in 1935. However, the credit opened the door for him as a Hollywood scriptwriter. In 1942, a second play The Willow and I was produced with Martha Scott and Gregory Peck in the starring roles. Before its first night, Patrick had volunteered for the American Field Service providing medical services in support of the British Army fighting World War II. He served with Montgomerys Eighth Army in Egypt and subsequently saw action in India and Burma where the ideas for his next play The Hasty Heart were germinated. Patrick completed the play on the ship that returned him to the US after the war and it proved a great commercial success, being adapted for the screen in 1949, starring Ronald Reagan, and for TV in 1983.His next two plays, The Curious Savage (1950) and Lo and Behold (1951) fared less well but it was his 1953 stage adaptation of Vern J. Sneiders novel The Teahouse of the August Moon that marked the height of his fame, winning both the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for drama. He adapted the play for the screen in 1956.His next play, Good as Gold (1957), was less well received and most of the rest of his career was dedicated to a series of successful screenwriting assignments including:
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954);
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955);
High Society (1956);
Les Girls (1957), earning him an award from the Writers Guild of America;
Some Came Running (1958)
The World of Suzie Wong (1960);
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968).
Following his success with The Hasty Heart, Patrick bought a 65 acre estate called Hasty Hill at Suffern , New York , later moving to Saint Thomas , United States Virgin Islands . His death was adjudged to have been an act of suicide. Patrick is now best remembered for his screen work though his plays remain popular with community theatres.
The play – The Curious Savage, by John Patrick – is about a woman who has inherited quite a bit of money from her husband, who recently passed away. Her three stepchildren think she is going to spend the money foolishly, so they put her in a mental hospital, in which the play is set.
It’s humorous and it shows the human side of the patients in the asylum..
“The Curious Savage,” a play written by John Patrick in 1950. This light-hearted comedy takes place within a sanatorium called The Cloisters, where a wealthy but slightly eccentric widow named Ethel Savage has been placed by her greedy stepchildren, who hope to separate her from a $10 million inheritance. The widow has other plans for the money, and she and her fellow patients seek to foil the stepchildren's schemes in hilarious fashion.
“The Curious Savage” premiered on Oct. 24, 1950 , on Broadway with Lillian Gish in the lead role as Ethel Savage. The production was one of many successful plays for playwright John Patrick, who received the Pulitzer Prize for “The Teahouse of the August Moon” in 1953. His other stage successes include “The Willow and I,” “The Hasty Heart” and “Everybody Loves Opal.” He also achieved success as a film writer with works such as “Three Coins in a Fountain,” “Love is a Many Splendored Thing,” “High Society,” “Les Girls” and “The World of Suzie Wong.” Patrick died in 1995.
