NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF BECKETT IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SAMUEL BECKETT’S THEATRE IN AMERICA The Legacy of Alan Schneider as Beckett's American Director NATKA BIANCHINI Samuel Beckett’s Theatre in America New Interpretations of Beckett in the Twenty-First Century Series Editor: Jennifer M. Jeff ers A s the leading literary fi gure to emerge from post–World War II Europe, Samuel Beckett’s texts and his literary and intellectual legacy have yet to be fully appreciated by critics and scholars. Th e goal of “New Interpretations of Beckett in the Twenty-First Century” is to stimulate new approaches and develop fresh perspectives on Beckett, his texts, and his legacy. Th e series will provide a forum for original and interdisciplinary interpretations concerning any aspect of Beckett’s work or his infl uence upon subsequent writers, artists, and thinkers. Jennifer M. Jeff ers is Professor of English and Associate Dean and Ombudsperson for the College of Graduate Studies at Cleveland State University. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of Th e Irish Novel at the End of the Twentieth Century: Gender, Bodies, and Power , Britain Colonized: Hollywood’s Appropriation of British Literature, Uncharted Space: Th e End of Narrative , the editor of Samuel Beckett, and coeditor of C ontextualizing Aesthetics: From Plato to Lyotard . Also in the Series: Samuel Beckett: History, Memory, Archive edited by Se á n Kennedy and Katherine Weiss Beckett’s Masculinity by Jennifer M. Jeff ers Sex and Aesthetics in Samuel Beckett’s Work by Paul Stewart Late Modernist Style in Samuel Beckett and Emmanuel Levinas by Peter Fifi eld Th e Haptic Aesthetic in S amuel Beckett’s Drama by Trish McTighe Samuel Beckett’s Th eatre in America: Th e Legacy of Alan Schneider as Beckett’s American Director by Natka Bianchini Samuel Beckett’s Theatre in America The Legacy of Alan Schneider as Beckett’s American Director Natka Bianchini SAMUEL BECKETT’S THEATRE IN AMERICA Copyright © Natka Bianchini, 2015. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-43985-7 All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-68395-6 ISBN 978-1-137-43986-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-43986-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bianchini, Natka., 1978– Samuel Beckett’s theatre in America : the legacy of Alan Schneider as Beckett’s American director / Natka Bianchini. pages cm.—(New interpretations of Beckett in the twenty-first century) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Schneider, Alan, 1917–1984—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Beckett, Samuel, 1906–1989—Stage history. 3. Beckett, Samuel, 1906–1989—Dramatic works. I. Title. PN2287.S335B63 2015 792.02(cid:2)33092—dc23 2014033952 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: February 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Transferred to Digital Printing in 2015 For J— My friend, my love, and my joy Contents List of Figures ix Series Editor’s Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction “Exactly as You Envisioned”: Alan Schneider and Samuel Beckett 1 Chapter 1 The Laugh Sensation of Two Continents! 19 Chapter 2 Finding a Home Off-Broadway 41 Chapter 3 A Series of Firsts 61 Chapter 4 New York and Beyond 91 Chapter 5 American Zenith 121 Conclusion Assessing Schneider’s Legacy 147 Notes 153 Bibliography 187 Index 201 Figures 1.1 Cover of the Waiting for Godot playbill, Coconut Grove Playhouse, 1956 33 2.1 Final tableau of Endgame , Cherry Lane Theatre, 1958 51 2.2 Donald Davis as Krapp, The Provincetown Playhouse, 1960 57 3.1 Ruth White and John Becher in Happy Days , Cherry Lane Theatre, 1961 69 4.1 W aiting for Godot revival, Sheridan Square Playhouse, 1971 95 4.2 Beckett Festival poster by Richard Taddei for the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, 1972 108 5.1 Whitelaw as W 126 5.2 What Where , Harold Clurman Theatre, New York 139