Michael Holroyd, who wrote the definitive biography of George Bernard Shaw, famously said that with Widowers' Houses, Shaw began modern English drama. Right now, The Actors Company Theatre and Gingold Theatrical Group are producing a revival of that play off-Broadway.
GTG's artistic director David Staller moderated a panel, which included Jonathan Bank of The Mint Theatre, Charlotte Moore of the Irish Repertory Theatre, Stephen Brown-Fried, who directed last summer's production of Misalliance at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and Shaw scholars Andrew Flescher, Bob Gaines, and Martin Meisel. John Plumpis, who plays Lickcheese in the current production of Widowers' Houses, was a surprise addition to the panel.
Since the NYPL hosted the event, I thought I would blog some Shaw images from the library's digital collection. First of all, here's the great author himself, looking about the age he was when he wrote Widowers' Houses:
And here's a photo of a later Shaw play, You Never Can Tell, which the panelists likened to a modern situation comedy:
And here's a picture of Lynne Fontanne in Shaw's most famous play, Pygmalion:
Enjoy!
