Black Comedy

I know it's a bit of a stretch, but I was wondering if anyone saw the production of Black Comedy that was on Broadway in the 60's.

I'm doing a production in school and would love to talk to someone about their experience if they saw the original.

I saw it twice. The opening play was forgettable (I don't even remember its name off the top of my head) I seem to remember that it involved an elderly fortune teller, played by Geraldine Page, but I may be hallucinating. The reason for attending was the second act, which ostensibly took place in the dark, was really brilliantly directed and a laugh a minute. I remember reading at the time that Michael Crawford was black and blue from head to toe (a little hyperbole there) from all of the mishaps on stage (and I can presume, particularly during rehearsals).

I found the play highly enjoyable. The lights off/ lights on gimmick worked well with precision directing by John Dexter and fine performances by all the cast members. It was fun seeing Geraldine Page's legs as she was dressed only in a pajama top. Lynn Redgrave was never more attractive and Donald Madden and Michael Crawford were well cast in their roles. I wasn't too fond of the opening piece, WHITE LIES, also by Peter Shaffer but it went by fast. Since the lighting technique used in BLACK COMEDY was novel back then and to my knowledge has never been used since, I think the comedy would still play well.

What I found interesting at the time was that I noticed before the show began that Margaret Phillips was listed as Ms. Page's understudy in the Playbill. Since she graduated high school with my mother, I was always aware of her name. Interestingly enough, she was the original Alma in SUMMER AND SMOKE on Broadway in 1948. It was later revived off-Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theater in 1952 starring Page as Alma. It not only put Page's name on the map as an up and coming actress but also afforded her the chance to repeat the role on film almost a decade later. And that's show biz folks.

I saw Black Comedy done by a Philadelphia theater company 15 or more years ago, and instead of prefacing it with White Lies (or The White Liars, its revision), they used Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound. As they pointed out, the latter uses not only the exact same size of cast, but the same "types" within it, so the same group of actors can easily play both. It made for a very enjoyable evening for me, as I love both plays. The downside is for the actors and director -- the Stoppard is by no means a quick curtain-raiser, it takes as much time and care to prepare as the Shaffer, so it doubles their workload in rehearsal. I suppose that's one reason why the pairing hasn't been tried more often.