The Playwrights Company (1938–1960) was an American theatrical production company.

History

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

S. N. Behrman Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (; June 9, 1893 – September 9, 1973) was an American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, and longtime writer for ''The New Yorker''. His son is the composer David Behrman. Biography Early years Behrman's parents, Z ...

Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for ''Gone with the Wind''. ...

Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...

, Robert E. Sherwood and John F. Wharton established The Playwrights Company in 1938 (incorporated as The Playwrights Producing Company on July 1, 1938) to produce all works of the founding playwrights. Anderson had been frustrated with Broadway producers as well as drama critics, stating the goal of the company would be "to make a center for ourselves within the theatre and possibly rally the theatre as a whole to new levels by setting a high standard of writing and production". The founders had been unhappy with the policies of the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of th ...

which had previously been their main producer. Initial backers included Governor

Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

, publisher

Dorothy Schiff Dorothy Schiff (March 11, 1903 – August 30, 1989) was an American businesswoman who was the owner and then publisher of the ''New York Post'' for nearly 40 years. She was a granddaughter of financier Jacob Schiff. Schiff was interested in soc ...

, actor

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Amo ...

and CBS President

William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natu ...

. Business Manager Victor Samrock, who served, in effect, as the company’s co-producer, was an initial shareholder as was their press representative William Fields. Playwright Robert Anderson (no relation to Maxwell), producer Roger L. Stevens and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

joined later. The company was dissolved in 1960 as only two founders were still alive, Behrman (who had already left) and Rice. The Playwrights' first effort was Sherwood’s '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'', about the life of the 16th President. Starring Raymond Massey, it opened on Broadway on October 15, 1938 and was an immediate success, eventually winning Sherwood his second

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

and confirming the promise that The Playwrights Company would become a major force in the American theatre in the coming decades. Other early successes included ''

Knickerbocker Holiday ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' is a 1938 musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics); based loosely on Washington Irving's '' Knickerbocker's History of New York'' about life in 17th-century New Netherland (old New Y ...

'', a musical by Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill directed by

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American director, writer, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical ''South Pacific'' and was involved in writing other musicals. Early years Logan w ...

and starring

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

, who sang the classic ballad " September Song"; Behrman’s ''

No Time for Comedy ''No Time for Comedy'' is a 1940 American comedy-drama film based on the play of the same name by S. N. Behrman, starring James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Genevieve Tobin and Charlie Ruggles. Plot summary Gaylord Esterbrook (Stewart), a reporte ...

'', starring

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

; Anderson’s drama about honor and conscience, ''

Key Largo Key Largo ( es, Cayo Largo) is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by ...

'', starring

Paul Muni Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895– August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. Muni was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in ...

and

Uta Hagen Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...

; ''

There Shall Be No Night ''There Shall Be No Night'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Robert E. Sherwood. Production The play was presented by the Theatre Guild on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now renamed the Neil Simon Theater), from April 29 thr ...

'', Sherwood’s third Pulitzer-prize winner about the Russian invasion of Finland, which starred

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

and a young

Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...

; Anderson’s ''

The Eve of St. Mark ''The Eve of St Mark'' is a 1942 play by Maxwell Anderson set during World War II. It later became a 1944 film by 20th Century Fox that featured some of the same actors who repeated their roles in the film. The title is derived from the legend of ...

''; and ''The Patriots'' by

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

, the first play written by someone outside the company. In 1945, The Playwrights' Company brought

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

, at the height of his movie career, to Broadway in Sherwood’s ''

The Rugged Path ''The Rugged Path'' is a 1945 play by Robert E. Sherwood. The initial production marked a return to the stage by Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natu ...

''. Sherwood prevailed upon President Roosevelt, for whom he was serving as speechwriter and Director of the War Information Office, to grant a short leave to Army Captain Garson Kanin so he could direct. The play suffered in out-of-town tryouts, however, and disappointed critics at its November opening on Broadway. Despite early success because of Tracy’s name, it closed after 81 performances. In December, 1945, Elmer Rice’s comedy ''Dream Girl'' opened. It starred Rice’s wife

Betty Field Betty Field (February 8, 1916 – September 13, 1973) was an American film and stage actress. Early years Field was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Katharine (née Lynch) Field. She began acting before she reached age 15, and went ...

(later replaced by

June Havoc June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick; November 8, 1912 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist. Havoc was a child vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother Rose Thompson Hovick, ...

) and became another Playwrights' success. A 1946 summer stock version with

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

, the film star and television's future Lucy, played to huge crowds. Additional notable Playwrights' productions in the 1940s included '' Joan of Lorraine'', which introduced Broadway audiences to

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

as Joan of Arc; '' Street Scene'', a musical by Elmer Rice, Kurt Weill and poet

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

based on Rice's 1930s play about America's poor; the historical drama ''

Anne of the Thousand Days ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' is a 1969 British period historical drama film based on the life of Anne Boleyn, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay by Bridget Boland and John Hale is an adaptation of the 19 ...

'' starring

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in wh ...

as Henry VIII (directed by H. C. Potter); the

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. ...

-directed ''

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...

''; Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill’s adaptation of the distinguished South African novel “Cry The Beloved Country” and the first major musical to deal with racism; Sherwood and Irving Berlin’s '' Miss Liberty'' (

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

directed), which was a modest financial success, primarily because Berlin purchased the film rights himself in order to keep unblemished the record that his shows never lost money; and Maxwell Anderson’s drama ''

Truckline Cafe ''Truckline Cafe'' was the title of a 1946 Broadway play written by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Harold Clurman, produced by Elia Kazan, and starring Marlon Brando and Karl Malden. The short-lived play ran only 10 performances and is best reme ...

'', co-produced with

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

and its director

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

, which was a failure except for the career-establishing, standout performance by a new young actor,

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

. By 1950, The Playwrights Company was beginning to see the effects of company changes that had occurred throughout the ‘40s. While Kurt Weill had joined as a member several years earlier, Sidney Howard had died, S.N. Behrman had resigned and Sherwood, while the ostensible leader since Howard’s death, had no original play produced since 1945. Anderson and Rice would be unable to meet with any success in the early ‘50s despite several attempts. In 1951, attempting to breathe new financial life into the company, The Playwrights’ accepted as a new member, Roger L. Stevens, a successful real estate financier from the Midwest who was interested in the theatre. Stevens forged affiliations with

Robert Whitehead Robert Whitehead (3 January 1823 – 14 November 1905) was an English engineer who was most famous for developing the first effective self-propelled naval torpedo. Early life He was born in Bolton, England, the son of James Whitehead, ...

, an eminent producer and

Robert Dowling Robert Dowling may refer to: *Robert Hawker Dowling (1827–1886), Australian artist *Robert Wagner Dowling (1924–2019), Alberta MLA 1971–1979 *Robert W. Dowling (1895–1973), benefactor to Dowling College *Sir Robert Dowling (teacher), Birmin ...

, a real estate mogul. While the new arrangements would reduce the company’s expenses it would also cut into their profits; but they forged ahead with more productions of non-member dramatists. “ The Fourposter,” Jan de Hartog’s two-character comedy about love and marriage starring

Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer. Early life Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman an ...

and

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...

, was one such a production; with 632 performances and a subsequent 42 -week national tour, it was to become a big hit after its opening on Broadway in 1951. The show perhaps “saved The Playwrights Company from extinction,” wrote Sherwood in a response to a thank-you letter Hume Cronyn had sent the company after the show’s first anniversary. “But what I most like about your letter,” Sherwood went on, “is your recognition that the company is worth saving. The fact that Maxwell Anderson, Elmer Rice and I -- and we were the three actual founders -- have stuck together for 15 years is not so much a tribute to the three of us as to Victor, Bill and John Wharton.” Also presented by The Playwrights’ in 1951 was “Darkness at Noon,” starring

Kim Hunter Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 11, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television actress. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar ...

and

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...

, which won playwright

New York Drama Critics Circle Award The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

. The hands-down most promising of the outside dramatists was Robert Anderson whose first major play “ Tea and Sympathy” won him membership in the company as soon as the company read it. “Tea and Sympathy” opened in 1953 and became The Playwrights Company’s longest running show (more than 2 1/2 years). Other ‘50s pivotal Playwrights’ productions were Sam Taylor’s “Sabrina Fair” starring

Joseph Cotton Joseph Cotton Jah Walton (born Silbert Walton, 1957, St. Ann, Jamaica) is a reggae singer active since the mid-1970s. Biography After spending a year working in the Jamaican police force, Walton turned to recording, initially working with J ...

and

Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players. In 1933, she caught the attention of film director John M. Stahl and had ...

(and directed by H.C. Potter); Jean Giraudoux’s “ Ondine,” starring

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', ''Lili'' and ''Knights of the Round ...

and

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

directed by

; Anderson’s “

The Bad Seed ''The Bad Seed'' is a 1954 novel by American writer William March, the last of his major works published before his death. Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction, ''The Bad Seed'' tells the story of a mother's realization that h ...

” which starred

Nancy Kelly Nancy Kelly (March 25, 1921 – January 2, 1995) was an American actress in film, theater and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's ''The March of Time'' and appeared in several films in the late 1 ...

and

Patty McCormack Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo in 1945) is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress. She is perhaps best known for her performance as Rhoda Penmark in Max ...

;

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

’ Tony and Drama Critics Circle Award-winning “

Cat on A Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

,” starring

Barbara Bel Geddes Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the te ...

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominatio ...

and

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, directed by Kazan; “Time Remembered” starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

and Susan Strasberg; “

The Pleasure of His Company ''The Pleasure of His Company'' is a 1961 comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds, directed by George Seaton and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1958 play of the same name by Samuel A. Taylor and Cornelia Otis S ...

” by Sam Taylor and

Cornelia Otis Skinner Cornelia Otis Skinner (May 30, 1899 – July 9, 1979) was an American writer and actress. Biography Skinner was the only child of actor Otis Skinner and actress Maud Durbin. After attending the all-girls' Baldwin School and Bryn Mawr College ( ...

starring

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

, Miss Skinner and

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

; and

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...

’s “

Five Finger Exercise ''Five Finger Exercise'' is a 1962 American drama film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Frederick Brisson from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the play by Peter Shaffer. The film ...

,” starring

and

Juliet Mills Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan ...

. The Company’s last play was

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

’s contemporary political drama “ The Best Man,” starring

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

Lee Tracy William Lee Tracy (April 14, 1898 – October 18, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is known foremost for his portrayals between the late 1920s and 1940s of fast-talking, wisecracking news reporters, press agents, lawye ...

and Frank Lovejoy, which opened in March, 1960. Tracking a modern presidential election campaign not unlike the real-life one of that year, the play ran 520 performances. During its early run, candidate

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

attended a performance and paid the cast a visit backstage.

Award

After Howard's death, the four surviving members of the group created the

Sidney Howard Memorial Award The ''Sidney Howard Memorial Award'' was a notable but short-lived theater prize established in 1939 by the Playwrights' Company. It was designed to support new playwrights who had no notable successes but had shown promise. Among the awardees are R ...

in his memory. The $1,500 award was created as a way to encourage new playwrights; to be eligible, one had to have at least one play produced on Broadway in a given season after having little previous success.

Notable productions

* '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1938) * ''

'' (1938) * ''American Landscape'' (1938) * ''No Time for Comedy'' (1939) * ''

'' (1939) * ''Two On An Island'' (1940) * ''

'' (1940) * ''

Journey to Jerusalem ''Journey to Jerusalem'' is a 1940 play by Maxwell Anderson about a trip made to Jerusalem by the Holy Family when Jesus was twelve years old. In the play, Anderson parallels ancient Biblical events with the rise of Adolf Hitler, embodied in the p ...

'' (1940) * ''Flight to the West'' (1940) * ''The Talley Method'' (1941) * ''

Candle in the Wind "Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier. In 1997, John perfor ...

'' (1941) * ''

'' (1942) * ''The Pirate'' (1942) * '' The Patriots'' (1943) * ''A New Life'' (1943) * ''Storm Operation'' (1944) * ''The Rugged Path'' (1945) * '' Dream Girl'' (1945) * ''

'' (1946) * '' Joan of Lorraine'' (1946) * ''Street Scene'' (1947) * ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1948) * ''The Smile of the World'' (1949) * ''

'' (1949) * ''Darkness at Noon'' (1951) * '' Not for Children'' (1951) * '' The Fourposter'' (1951) * ''Barefoot in Athens'' (1951) * ''The Grand Tour'' (1951) * ''Mr. Pickwick'' (1952) * ''The Emperor's Clothes'' (1953) * '' Tea and Sympathy'' (1953) * ''

Sabrina Fair ''Sabrina Fair'' (subtitled "''A Woman of the World''") is a romantic comedy written by Samuel A. Taylor and produced by the Playwrights' Company. It ran on Broadway for a total of 318 performances, opening at the National Theatre on November ...

''(1953) * ''In the Summer House'' (1953) * ''The Winner'' (1954) * ''Ondine'' (1954) * ''All Summer Long'' (1954) * ''The Traveling Lady'' (1954) * ''

'' (1954) * ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'' (1955) * ''Once Upon A Tailor'' (1955) * ''The Trojan War Will Not Take Place'' (1955) * ''Tiger at the Gates'' (1955) * ''The Ponder Heart'' (1956) * ''The Lovers'' (1956) * ''Small War on Murray Hill'' (1957) * ''Time Remembered'' (1957) * ''Nude With Violin'' (1957) * ''The Rope Dancers'' (1957) * ''The Country Wife'' (1957) * ''Summer of the 17th Doll'' (1958) * ''Present Laughter'' (1958) * ''Howie'' (1958) * ''

Handful of Fire ''Handful of Fire'' is a 1958 play in two acts by American playwright N. Richard Nash. The play opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West ...

'' (1958) * ''The Pleasure of His Company'' (1958) * ''Edwin Booth'' (1958) * ''Cue for Passion'' (1958) * ''The Gazebo'' (1958) * '' Look After Lulu!'' (1959) * ''Juno'' (1959) * ''Cherie'' (1959) * ''

Flowering Cherry A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

'' (1959) * ''Five Finger Exercise'' (1959) * ''Silent Night, Lonely Night'' (1959) * '' The Best Man'' (1960)

References

External links

*
Playwrights' Company records, 1938-1960
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

Playwrights' Company records, 1938-1961
at the

Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is a major archive of motion picture, television, radio, and theater research materials. Located in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, the ...

Victor Samrock papers, 1929-1986
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

Broadway theatre {{Theat-stub Defunct Theatre companies in New York City