I saw Goody Proctor with your own Thursday headlines!

 

Courtesy Playbill.

This week's Notable Opening Night is Jan. 22, 1953, when The Crucible opened at what is now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

I'm a little embarrassed this week. I'm going to say it's been roughly 10 years since I've even thought of The Crucible. I remember or know of some basic points: Arthur Miller was commenting on McCarthyism, it was made into a 1996 Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder movie that we watched in high school, and the recent Broadway hit John Proctor Is the Villain is apparently something of a companion to it. I wish I had more to say, or could remember more of the play. I've read it twice: once in high schol and once when I read a collection of Arthur Miller's work. Truth be told, A View from the Bridge is the one that's most memorable to me. Anyway, the OBC of The Crucible won Best Play and Best Featured Actress (Beatrice Straight as Elizabeth Proctor, played in the movie by Joan Allen) back in 1953. I should find some time to revisit The Crucible and finally read John Proctor Is the Villain.

Also opening on this day:

Seventeen, which opened in 1918 at the Booth. This adaptation of Booth Tarkington's then-contemporary hit novel about an unrequited summertime love starred Gregory Kelly and Ruth Gordon. Neither was completely new to Broadway, but it was with this play that they became stars. Unlike in the book and on stage, Gregory and Ruth's romance was apparently for real. They married in December 1918 and stayed together until his July 1927 death.

The Cherry Orchard, which opened in 1923 at the now-demolished Jolson's 59th Street Theatre. This was one of the shows in the Moscow Art Theatre's repertoire, introducing New Yorkers to Chekhov's work beyond A Bear and The Seagull. It's been years since I've read Chekhov, and he's ripe for a revisit.

Courtesy YouTube. Skip to 17:48 if you just want to see the Chekhov parody.

Celebration, which opened in 1969 at the Ambassador. I'm cheating to include this one. It's Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt's last Broadway musical, and fourth 1960s show (after The Fantasticks, 110 in the Shade, and I Do! I Do!). Music Theatre International: "On a magical New Year's Eve, a young Orphan stumbles into the home of the richest man in the world, whose bizarre entourage includes a beautiful fallen Angel. With the Orphan's help, the jaded Mr. Rich regains his humanity, only to find himself locked in ritualistic battle with the youth for the Angel's love." 

Courtesy YouTube.

Next week ... I'm filling in for Souse on the Monday daytime thread in addition to continuing my Thursday daytime threads. I'm debating whether or not to have two days of theater commentary.