''Poor Murderer'' is a play written by Pavel Kohout that premiered at the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 243 West 47th Street (Manhattan), 47th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1928, it ...

on Broadway on 20 October 1976 and closed on 2 January 1977 after 87 performances.

Setting

The time is 1900, and it takes place in the great hall of the St. Elizabeth Institute for Nervous Disorders,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russia.

Plot

The show follows a famous actor under treatment in a mental institution who wonders: did he really kill the actor playing Polonius as he was playing Hamlet, or was it only an illusion?

Background

''Poor Murderer'' was based on the Leonid Andreyev short story ''Mysl'' (Thought) and translated from the German version of G. and A. Baumrucker by Herbert Berghof and

Laurence Luckinbill Laurence George Luckinbill (born November 21, 1934) is an American actor, playwright and director. He has worked in film, television and theatre, doing triple duty in the theatre by writing, directing and starring in stage productions. He is know ...

Original production

The show was directed by Herbert Berghof, scenery and lighting Howard Bay, costumes

Patricia Zipprodt Patricia Zipprodt (February 24, 1925 – July 17, 1999) was an American costume designer. She was known for her technique of painting fabrics and thoroughly researching a project's subject matter, especially when it was a period piece. During a ...

, musical director Stanley Wietrzychowski, produced in association with Don Mark Enterprises, production stage manager Frederick A. deWilde, stage manager Harry Young, and press by Louis Sica and John Springer Associates Inc. The musicians were Stanley Wietrzychowski, Brian Koonin, and Alfonso Schipani. The cast starred Larry Gates (Prof. Drzhembitsky),

(Anton Ignatyevick Kerzhentsev, Hamlet),

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

(1st Actor, Alexey Konstantinovich Savelov, Polonius, Hamlet II), Maria Schell (1st Actress, Tatyana Nikolayevna, Queen), Paul Sparer (2d Actor, Ignat Antonovich Kerzhentsev, Rector, Waiter, Bernardo, Others), Ernest Graves (3d Actor, Dean, Lawyer, Maj. Count Byelitsky, Kurganov, King, Others), Peter Maloney (4th Actor, Cashier, Newspaper Vendor, Conductor, Gypsy, Francisco, Polonius II, Others), Julie Garfield (2d Actress, Servant Girl, Katya, Flower Vendor, Gypsy Roma, Marya Vassilyevna, Others),

Ruth Ford Ruth Ford (July 7, 1911 – August 12, 2009) was an American actress and model. Her brother was the Bohemianism, bohemian surrealist Charles Henri Ford. Their parents owned or managed hotels in the American South, and the family regularly move ...

(3d Actress, Voluptuous Waitress, Irina Pavlovna Kurganova, Countess Byelitskaya, Others), Felicia Montealegre (4th Actress, Slim Mistress, Duchess de Cliche-Turomel, Prologue, Others), and Barbara Coggin (Apprentice, Gypsy Girl).

References

External links

* {{IBDB show, 7179 1976 plays Broadway plays Plays set in Russia Plays based on short fiction Plays and musicals based on Hamlet Adaptations of works by Leonid Andreyev Plays set in the 1900s Works set in Saint Petersburg