The Play of Everyman

{{Short description|1917 play by George Sterling}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox play | name = The Play of Everyman | image = 1917_first_edition,_first_printing_front_cover_of_The_Play_of_Everyman_by_George_Sterling_misspells_"Hofmannsthal".jpg | caption = First printing cover misspells "Hofmannsthal" |music= [[Victor Schertzinger]] (1917), Einar Nilson and Juan Aguilar (1936) |lyrics= [[George Sterling]] |writer= [[George Sterling]], adapted and translated from play ''[[Jedermann (play)|Jedermann]]'' by [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]] |characters = Everyman, Lord God, Death, Faith, Good Deeds, Devil, Mammon, Paramour, War, Workman | setting = Everyman's mansion; a city square in front of a cathedral; a graveyard | premiere = {{Start date|1917|01|09}} | place = [[Trinity Auditorium]], Los Angeles | orig_lang = English | subject = | genre = Drama | web = }}

'''''The Play of Everyman''''' is American poet and playwright [[George Sterling]]'s adaptation of Austrian writer [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]]'s 1911 German play ''[[Jedermann (play)|Jedermann]]''. Lavish productions of ''The Play of Everyman'' in 1917 and 1936 were acclaimed by critics and boosted the careers of people involved. Sterling's adaptation was also staged in 1941 in New York City and 1977 in [[Brentwood, Los Angeles]].

==Creation of ''The Play of Everyman''== Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal combined the Middle English play ''Everyman'' with three other medieval plays to make one new play in German: ''[[Jedermann (play)|Jedermann]]: Das Spiel vom Sterben des reichen Mannes''. His German play was a success in Berlin in 1911. A paperback book of the German ''Jedermann'' sold well enough to require several printings. Austrian-Polish stage and film director Ryszard "Richard" Ordynski acquired the rights from Hofmannsthal to stage an English language version of ''Jedermann'' and to print it as a book.<ref>Kingsley, Grace (December 21, 1916). "Timely: Ordynski Production: ''Everyman'' to Be Presented in Up-to-Date Version." ''Los Angeles Times'', p. 16. "''Everyman'' to Be Produced on January 8." ''Los Angeles Evening Express''. (December 30, 1916), p. 11.</ref>

Ordynski persuaded his lover, oil heiress [[Aline Barnsdall]], to finance ''Jedermann''{{'}}s first English language stage production in Los Angeles. He gave the German ''Jedermann'' book to a stenographer with the German consulate in Los Angeles to translate into English.<ref>[Theodore Bonnet], "The Spectator," ''Town Talk: The Pacific Weekly'' v. 29 n. 1275 (January 27, 1917).</ref> Ordynski chose poet and playwright [[George Sterling]] to turn the stenographer's rough translation into a polished play. He offered Sterling half the writer's royalties from play ticket and book sales, with the other half of the writer's royalties paid to Hofmannsthal.<ref>Sterling December 23, 1916 letter to Alexander Robertson: Dalton Harvey Gross, ed., ''The Letters of George Sterling'' (PhD diss., Southern Illinois University, 1968), pp. 364-365.</ref> In late 1916, Sterling traveled from his San Francisco home to Los Angeles to work with Ordynski on the new play.

[[File:1916 first page of the pencil first draft of The Play of Everyman by George Sterling.jpg|thumb|left|1916 first page of the pencil first draft of ''The Play of Everyman'' by George Sterling.]]Sterling found the stenographer's translation "difficult material to work on."<ref>[Bonnet], "The Spectator."</ref> He also had a copy of ''Jedermann'' in German. Fortunately, Sterling studied German in high school, Ordynski was fluent in German and English, and Sterling probably had a German-English dictionary. Hofmannsthal used rhyming couplets for all dialog, which to Sterling sounded artificial. He transformed the characters' speech into more natural and dramatic [[blank verse]] to, he said, "lend an articulation, flexibility and suspense not readily accessible to one who would use the other (and monotonous) form."<ref>Sterling, George, "Preface" (dated December 29, 1916), ''The Play of Everyman'' (San Francisco [but printed in Los Angeles]: A. M. Robertson, 1917).</ref> Hofmannsthal included four songs; Sterling replaced one with a completely new song and revised two others.<ref>The four songs can be found in Hofmannsthal, ''Jedermann: Das Spiel vom Sterben des reichen Mannes'' (Berlin: S. Fischer, Verlag, 1911), pp. 41-42, 50, 52, 107; Hofmannsthal, ''The Salzburg Everyman: The Play of the Rich Man's Death; an English Translation of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Jedermann, as Acted Before the Cathedral at Salzburg'', translated by M[arie] E[lizabeth] Tafler (Salzburg: M. Mora Verlag, [1929 or 1930?]), pp. 31-32, 38, 39, 84; and Sterling, ''The Play of Everyman'', in ''Complete Poetry'', S. T. Joshi and David E. Schulz, eds. (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2013), v. 1, pp. 383-384, 388, 389, 414. The fourth song is sung by angels at the play's end; no printed edition provides this song's lyrics, but it is mentioned in ''Jedermann'' [p. 107: "ENGEL (singen.)"], ''The Salzburg Everyman'' [p. 84: "ANGELS (singing.)"], and all editions of ''The Play of Everyman'' [p. 95: "(Angels singing.)" in the first edition, first printing]. The angel's song is included in an audio recording: Hugo von Hofmannsthal, ''Jedermann'' (Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 1958).</ref> At Ordynski's suggestion, Sterling added two new characters, War (reflecting then-current [[World War I]]), and Workman (expressing Sterling's support of socialism). Sterling also changed scenes and dialogs.<ref>Sterling, "Preface."</ref> Instead of writing a faithful translation, he adapted ''Jedermann'' into what he hoped would be a more emotionally compelling experience, a "re-working of the ... play rather than a translation. ... Not only does Sterling add characters but he alters our perception of the existing ones as well. He seems to attempt to update and correct the original rather than translating it."<ref>Kevin Bartholomew and Katja Krebs, "Hugo von Hofmannsthal," Olive Classe, ed., ''Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English'' (Chicago and London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000), v. 1, p. 648.</ref> As the play's opening night drew nearer, Sterling put in longer hours. He worked on Christmas Day from 8:00 in the morning to 11:40 at night so the following morning of December 26 he could rush ''The Play of Everyman'' manuscript to a printer. The frantic printer managed to typeset, print, and bind 200 books in time to sell at the January 8 opening performance.<ref>Sterling December 25, 1916 letter to [[Albert Bender (art patron)|Albert Bender]]: Gross, pp. 365-366.</ref>

==Synopsis== The Lord God is dismayed to have been forgotten by man. He sends Death to retrieve Everyman.

At his mansion, wealthy Everyman calls for his Steward and Cook to prepare a feast for his family and friends. Everyman meets his flattering Friend. A Poor Neighbor begs Everyman for money but feels disappointed to receive just a tiny coin. Everyman meets a Debtor led by two Officers. Everyman filed a legal complaint against the Debtor, so the officers are taking him to prison. The debtor's wife and children follow, dressed in rags. Everyman tells his friend to find shelter for the Debtor's children and wife so Everyman will no longer hear "her wails." An old Workman asks Everyman for "a pittance for mine age," but Everyman angrily refuses him and sends him back to work. Everyman's Mother warns him about abandoning the church and focusing on money and worldly joys.

Everyman's Paramour brings him to his feast. A Singer sings about feasting, drinking, companions, and love, interrupted briefly by War, who asks Everyman to join him. Everyman refuses, and his companions resume singing, drinking, and feasting. Everyman speaks of his own death. His guests try to cheer him with humor, songs, and wine. Death appears and tells Everyman he must take him immediately, but Everyman persuades Death to give him one hour to find someone who will go with him to Death.

Everyman tries to find a person to accompany him but fails. Mammon says riches will not go with Everyman to Death. A frail, weak woman, the Good Deeds of Everyman, speaks from her sickbed. Good Deeds says she will go with Everyman to Death. She summons her sister, Faith. Everyman proclaims his faith in God. Everyman's Mother on her way to early mass hears angels sing and knows her son's soul is healed. The Debtor and the Workman help Good Deeds rise. A Monk takes Everyman away to sanctify him. A Devil tries to block Faith and Good Deeds. Death bells ring. The Devil fails and leaves Faith and Good Deeds. Everyman returns, transformed. Death returns. Good Deeds, Faith, and Everyman stand before his grave, then they enter the grave together. Again, angels sing.

==Richard Ordynski's 1917 production== Producer-director Ordynski's plan was to premiere ''The Play of Everyman'' in a one-week engagement at a large theater in Los Angeles, then move the production for limited engagements first to San Francisco, then to Oakland, and finally, if all went well, to New York City.<ref>Sterling December 23, 1916 letter to Alexander Robertson: Gross, pp. 364-365.</ref>

To match Sterling's new lyrics for the play's songs, Ordynski hired composer [[Victor Schertzinger]] to write new song music, plus an overture and incidental music for the play. Ordynski booked the huge [[Trinity Auditorium]], which seated 2,500 spectators and claimed to feature the largest pipe organ in the western United States. Schertzinger's music score incorporated the organ plus a twenty-piece orchestra and a choir.

Ordynski hired a cast of 46 actors, including some familiar to audiences from theatre and silent film appearances. All were cast locally, except one: To play the title role of Everyman, who appears in almost every scene, Ordynski brought leading man [[Gareth Hughes]] from New York. Ordynski and Hughes had worked together before.

[[File:1917 Jan 5 display ad for Los Angeles premiere of The Play of Everyman by George Sterling.png|thumb|1917 Jan 5 ''Los Angeles Evening Express'' ad for world premiere of ''The Play of Everyman'' by George Sterling]]For weeks before the show's opening, publicists for ''The Play of Everyman'' saturated southern Californians with stories about the drama. Publicity about its music, actors, costume designer, and producer-director Ordynski appeared in newspapers from large to tiny. The cast and crew appeared on radio shows, club meetings, schools, and churches. Even Sterling did his part: "I'm helping out all I can to advertise the play. I spoke on it yesterday at the Friday Morning Club, am to address some men's uplift club this noon, and talk to a high-school bunch on Tuesday. New job for me! I hate it, but it seems to be the square thing to do. Ordynski and the others aren't sparing themselves."<ref>Sterling January 6, 1917 letter to [[Charmian London]], Gross, pp. 369-370; "Friday Morning Club," ''Los Angeles Evening Express'' (January 5, 1917), p. 10.</ref>

Ordynski scheduled opening night for Monday, January 8, 1917, but his complicated production was not ready. He pushed opening night back to Tuesday, January 9. His team's unceasing publicity work paid off. Pastors and even a bishop told their congregations to see the play. Advance ticket sales were brisk. Excited audiences applauded, and all critics' reviews were enthusiastic. Ordynski's production seemed to be a hit.

''The Play of Everyman'' had only one week at the Trinity Auditorium because Nobel Prize winner [[Rabindranath Tagore]] was booked to lecture there. After ''Everyman''{{'}}s successful one-week stay at Trinity, Ordynski relocated the drama to the large Burbank Theater for another one-week run. The Burbank run was not supported by another wave of publicity. Ticket sales were weak. ''The Play of Everyman'' lost money in Burbank. After Burbank, Ordynski canceled planned San Francisco performances and returned to New York., where he directed operas for the New York [[Metropolitan Opera]].<ref>"''Everyman'' Canceled" advertisement. ''San Francisco Chronicle'' (January 21, 1917), p. 24; "The Cancelling of ''Everyman'' and a Moral," ''Oakland Tribune'' (February 4, 1917), part 2, p. 27.</ref> He hoped to use costumes and sets from his California production to stage ''The Play of Everyman'' in New York. Near the end of 1917, Ordynski asked Gareth Hughes to star again in the title role, this time in New York. Hughes agreed, but Ordynski could not find backers. His lavish production was never restaged.<ref>"Dramatic Notes," ''Billboard'' (December 8, 1917), p. 20.</ref>

===1917 critical reception=== Reviews were enthusiastic. No unfavorable reviews appeared. National showbusiness news magazine ''Variety'' said: "The production is elaborate and the presentation is an artistic triumph."<ref>"''Everyman'' Artistic," ''Variety'' v. 45 n. 7 (January 12, 1917), p. 10.</ref>

''Los Angeles Times'' reviewer [[Henry Christeen Warnack]]: "... the beautiful Von Hofmannst[ha]l version[ ]has been translated from the German into blank verse of a joyous stride by California's premier poet, George Sterling. ... Special music had been composed for the production by Victor Schertzinger and the orchestra was conducted by Herr [[Adolph Tandler]], with Prof. Charles H. Demorest serving the occasion as organist. All of this was quite important for without significant music the spiritual suggestion of the story would be lost. ... Gareth Hughes, as Everyman, reminds one of the old school of actors at the best of their youth in ''Hamlet''."<ref>Henry Christeen Warnack, "New Version: Quality Production: ''Everyman ''is Beautifully Given at Trinity" ''Los Angeles Times'' (January 10, 1917), part 2, p. 3.</ref>

''Los Angeles Evening Express'' drama critic George St. George: "There is something very beautiful and very impressive about ''Everyman'' as presented by Richard Ordynski and Aline Barnsdall at Trinity Auditorium this week. From the standpoint of dramatic value and human interest it is[ ]much ahead of the old English version ... the new ''Everyman'', in the beautiful, simple English of George Sterling, should prove a success from a popular as well as an artistic standpoint. ... Ordynski is the first man to introduce Los Angeles to the real possibilities of stage lighting, and last night, in a hall utterly devoid of the most simple requirements in this field, he played upon the emotions as effectively with his lights as did either Mr. Schertzinger's music or Mr. Sterling's book. ... ''Everyman'' ... is not gruesome nor depressing and, as presented last night in the midst of wonderfully effective settings, glowingly beautiful costumes and symbolic music, it is far removed from the tiresome palaver that is frequently set forth. ... Victor Schertzinger has written a musical setting that is impressively beautiful. He has "moded" his music admirably to Mr. Sterling's text and it had no small part in lifting last night's performance to a thing above ordinary."<ref>{{Cite news |last=George |first=George St. |date=10 January 1917 |title=''Everyman'' at Trinity Proves Extremely Impressive Allegory Ordynski Scores in Production; Stage Lighting Effects Wonderful |page=6 |newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Express |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608023555/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

''Los Angeles Record'': "From the viewpoint of modern stage productions, the presentation of ''Everyman'', given at Trinity Auditorium Tuesday night, was most important. It ranks with the best that America has produced for several years..."<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 January 1917 |title=Everyman Scores Hit |page=5 |newspaper=Los Angeles Record |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/678161641/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=28 June 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

===1917 book of the play=== The book printers rushing to meet their opening night deadline misspelled the name "Hofmannsthal" on ''The Play of Everyman''{{'}}s front cover and title page. Only 200 copies of the erroneous book were printed in time for the show's first performance.<ref>Mattila, Robert W., ''George Sterling: A Bibliography'' (Seattle: Book Club of Washington, 2004), section A14.1.a.</ref>

More than 2,000 copies of a second printing of ''The Play of Everyman''—with a cast list and corrected front cover and title page—were delivered in time to sell at a few of the final Burbank shows.<ref>Mattila, section A14.1.b.</ref> With no more performances, second printing sales were dismal. Sterling's hopes of royalty payments from book sales were dashed.

Review galleys went to only a few book reviewers in California. The first opinion printed was in the ''Los Angeles Evening Express'': "George Sterling has done a masterly piece of work in his English adaptation of von Hoffmanstahl's version of this play. Always pleasing in his writings, this California poet has outdone himself in ''Everyman''."<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 1917 |title=Everyman |page=4 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Evening Express]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-express-everyman/127454111/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Two days later, George St. George of the same paper stated: "It will be found that the new ''Everyman'' is really new. Not only has it been made to fit modern conditions, but new characters have been introduced and the various themes have been treated in a different manner. A reading of this new version impresses one with its simplicity, its greatly increased dramatic value, the skill with which the new characters have been introduced, and the general broadening of scope and virility of ideas. It is really a very fine work and one which cannot well fail to make an impression."<ref>George St. George, "Ordynski's Production Promises to Be Best Theatrical Event of Season," ''Los Angeles Evening Express'' (January 5, 1917), p. 15. See also "Something about ''Everyman'', the Play of Humanity, ''Los Angeles Evening Express'' (January 6, 1917), p. 7.</ref> [[William Randolph Hearst]]'s ''San Francisco Examiner'' summarized: "George Sterling's verse is clear and strong, and throughout the play it appears natural and spontaneous."<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 January 1917 |title=ORDYNSKI HERE FOR 'EVERYMAN' |page=9 |newspaper=San Francisco Examiner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-ordynski-here/127474620/ |access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref> The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' began: "George Sterling reaches for and firmly grasps dramatic laurels in his metrical version of ''The Play of Everyman''. ... Where von Hofmannstal ends and Sterling begins is not to be told in the absence of the original text, but it is enough to say that the American poet begins and ends well."<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 January 1917 |title=''Everyman'' Hugo von Hofmannstal's New Version Set to Blank Verse by George Sterling |page=22 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/27465804/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

===1917 characters and cast=== Prologue – Marjorie Day Lord God – [[Irving Pichel]] Death – Clyde McCoy Faith – Veda McEvers Good Deeds – Violette Wilson Devil – Percival Vivian Mammon – [[James Finlayson (actor)|James H. Finlayson]] War – Harold S. Skinner Everyman – [[Gareth Hughes]] Everyman's Mother – Kirah Markham Friend – [[Irving Pichel]] Paramour – [[Ann Andrews]] Thin Cousin – Margaret T. Allen Fat Cousin – Athol Hayes Steward – Bruno Schuman Cook – Miriam Meredith Poor Neighbor – George Warren Debtor – Ford Tarpley Debtor's Wife – Irene Bevans Workman – Philip Gastrock A Servant – [[George Hackathorne]] Monk – Gordon Thomas Guests – Misses Vernon, Boike, Burgner, Collier, Davis, Holmes, Ingham, Moore, Rottman; Messrs. McCullough, Nieto, Sleeper, Vickers Servants – Miss LeClerq, Miss Lee, Mr. Williams Officers – Mr. Curran, Mr. James Pages – Miss Riley, Miss Dunaway Musicians – Miss Margrage, Miss Barnes Angels – Miss Goodall, Miss Hopkins, Miss Michaels, Miss Price

==Irving Thalberg's 1936 production== In September 1936 (ten years after Sterling's death), ''The Play of Everyman'' was staged at the [[Hollywood Bowl]], which seats 26,000 spectators. Top Hollywood, Broadway, and European talents produced, promoted, staged, and performed the Bowl production, an artistic triumph but a financial loss.

''The Play of Everyman''{{'}}s Hollywood Bowl production had its origin two years before, in an extravagant 1934 presentation of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''. The California Festival Association presented Shakespeare's comedy outdoors at the Bowl with grand sets and a large cast. Swedish composer Einar Nilson wrote and conducted original music. The production generated enthusiastic reviews and sold 129,000 tickets in one week, an enormous success.<ref>Mark A. Vieira, ''Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010), p. 336.</ref>

===Selection of the director, producer, and play=== Two years later, the California Festival Association wanted to repeat that success. The managing director of the Association paid [[Johannes Poulsen]], director of the [[Royal Danish Theatre|Royal Theatre of Denmark]], to travel to Los Angeles to discuss presenting a play in California. Poulsen arrived June 6, 1936, and agreed to direct a spectacular play in the Hollywood Bowl.<ref>"Dane Awaited as Bard Play for Bowl Near," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (June 5, 1936), p. 11; "Paulsen[sic] Here," ''Los Angeles Daily News'' (June 6, 1936), p.16; "Danish Stage Director Arrives for Bowl Play," ''Los Angeles Times'' (June 10, 1936), part 2 p. 3.</ref> Next, the Association needed the money to book the Bowl and to promote and stage a play. [[Biltmore Hotel|Millenium Biltmore Hotel]] owner Barron Long told his friend the movie producer and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|M-G-M]] cofounder [[Irving Thalberg]] that the Association wanted to produce a spectacular outdoor play but lacked the money to stage one. In late June or early July Thalberg asked the Festival Association to donate a big portion of any profits to benefit Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. In exchange, he agreed to take the production under his wing.<ref name="Vieira, p. 359">Vieira, p. 359.</ref>

Einar Nilson (the Association's artistic director) suggested a play for the Association to consider: Hofmannsthal's ''Jedermann''. Nilson had already written music for an early performance of ''Jedermann''. In addition, in 1917 Poulsen had staged the first performance in Denmark of ''Jedermann''. If the Association wished to present a big outdoor production of ''Jedermann'', one tested English-language adaptation was available: George Sterling's ''The Play of Everyman''. The Festival Association chose Sterling's adaptation for its next spectacle.<ref name="ToBeHonoured" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 July 1936 |title=Poulsen May Handle Bowl Spectacle Fare |page=6 |newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-poulsen/127475747/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 July 1936 |title="Everyman" Likely Bowl Occupant |page=14 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-everyman-likely/127476179/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

===Financing, promotion, and production=== Thalberg's first priority was financing the large production. He approached Attilio Henry "Doc" Giannini, M.D., brother of [[Bank of America]] founder [[Amadeo Giannini|A. P. Giannini]]. Doc Giannini was the bank's Chairman of the Executive Committee and its senior executive in southern California. He was one of the world's top experts in entertainment financing.<ref>Dwight L. Clarke, "The Gianninis—Men of the Renaissance," ''California Historical Society Quarterly'' v. 49 n. 4 (December 1970), pp. 337-351; A. H. Giannini, "Financing the Production and Distribution of Motion Pictures," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' (November 1926) v. 128 n. 1.</ref> Thalberg persuaded Doc Giannini to approve ''The Play of Everyman''{{'}}s financing from the Bank of America.<ref name="Vieira, p. 359"/> Once Thalberg arranged funding, the California Festival Association booked dates for Sterling's ''The Play of Everyman'' in the Hollywood Bowl that September.

Thalberg arranged star-studded events to publicize ''The Play of Everyman''. The first was a reception honoring Johannes Poulson. The event was held by actor-producer [[Mary Pickford]] July 22 on the 18-acre grounds of the famous estate [[Pickfair]], built in the 1920s by Pickford and her then-husband, actor-producer [[Douglas Fairbanks]].<ref name="ToBeHonoured">{{Cite news |date=20 July 1936 |title=Danish Figure To Be Honoured |page=16 |newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-1936-ju/124213628/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1924, Mary Pickford had enjoyed lunches with Sterling (who by all accounts was a dazzling conversationalist) every day for two weeks while Sterling wrote screen titles for Fairbanks' silent movie ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1924 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]''.<ref>Sterling January 15, 1924 letter to [[Clark Ashton Smith]]: ''Shadows of the Unattained: The Letters of George Sterling and Clark Ashton Smith'', David E. Shultz and [[S. T. Joshi]], eds. (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2005), pp. 237-238.</ref>

Nine nights after Pickford's reception, Doc Giannini announced he had placed Einar Nilson in charge of ''Everyman''{{'}}s "artistic direction, musical score creation, and casting." Nilson announced that famed artist [[Kay Nielsen]] was coming from Denmark to design sets and costumes.<ref>"Bowl Festival Banquet Near," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (August 1, 1936), p. 38; "Poulsen to Be Feted Tonight," ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 1, 1936), part 2, p. 2; "Local Danish Colony Pays Honor to Johannes Poulsen," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (August 3, 1936), p. 8; "Nilson to Direct Art in ''Everyman'' at Bowl," ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 2, 1936), part 2, p. 8."Danish Artist Will Design Backgrounds For ''Everyman'' Play," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (August 4, 1936), p. 8.</ref> The California Festival Association announced the eight performance nights for ''Everyman'': Opening night would be Thursday, September 10, and the play's last performance Thursday, September 17. Tickets went on sale August 7.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 1936 |title=Sept. 10 Chosen for Bowl Festival Debut |page=18 |newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-sept-1/127476756/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The first person to buy box seats was Mary Pickford.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 September 1936 |title=Producer of Everyman to Be Honored |page=10 |newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-produce/127477065/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

[[Charlie Chaplin]] met George Sterling in 1924 and enjoyed his company, later asking the poet to return from San Francisco to Hollywood to "go on a tear with him."<ref>Sterling January 31, 1924 letter to [[H. L. Mencken]], ''From Baltimore to Bohemia: The Letters of H. L. Mencken and George Sterling'', [[S. T. Joshi]], ed. (Madison, Wisconsin: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2001), p. 195.</ref> The Bowl production required a place to build its huge sets, rehearse its projected cast of 500, make hundreds of costumes, and manage everything. Chaplin donated use of his Chaplin Studios for ''The Play of Everyman''. On Monday, August 10, just one month from opening night, the production moved in: "The facilities of Charles Chaplin's studio will be taken over today by the ''Everyman'' company ... Noted film producer and patron of the arts, Chaplin has given to ''Everyman''{{'}}s [director], Johannes Poulsen, free range of his studio including stage, mill, wardrobe, telephone switchboard, and several offices."<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 1936 |title=Studio Loaned for 'Everyman' |page=23 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-studio-loaned-for/127477608/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

On August 25, actor and opera singer [[George Houston (actor)|George Houston]] was cast as Everyman.<ref>Alma Whitaker, "Houston Won Everyman Role After Battle," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 13, 1936), part 3, p. 2; "''Everyman'' Star Picked," ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 26, 1936), part 2, p. 20.</ref> His wife, actress [[Leone Sousa]], had been named the most beautiful woman in the [[Ziegfeld Follies]]. She was cast as Everyman's lover. The Houstons had only sixteen days to learn their parts before opening night.

The night of August 28, the last show of the Hollywood Bowl's summer season ended. As soon as the audience left, a work crew started taking down the Bowl stage's gigantic shell to make room for ''Everyman''{{'}}s even more gigantic sets: Everyman's mansion, another building, and a wide, 30-foot-tall stairway topped off with an 80-foot-tall gold cathedral, whose large doors would "open to disclose a magnificent heaven in the final scenes of the play."<ref>"Crew Waits Bowl Close: Workmen to Prepare Stage for ''Everyman'' When Concerts End," ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 16, 1936), part 2, p. 7; "Final ''Everyman'' Rehearsal Scheduled," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 9, 1936), p. 9.</ref> In the Chaplin Studios, while Poulsen rehearsed actors and dancers, carpenters built sets, seamstresses sewed hundreds of costumes, and Nilson rehearsed [[Los Angeles Philharmonic]] musicians and singers, including a chorus of 150 voices. Nilson made many changes to his earlier score for ''Jedermann''. He hired composer Juan Aguilar to arrange several parts of his score. Aguilar also wrote a new ballet number. Nilson planned to install in the Bowl a new, large organ, which Aguilar would play.<ref>"Crew Waits Bowl Close: Workmen to Prepare Stage for ''Everyman'' When Concerts End," ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 16, 1936), part 2, p. 7; William K. Gibbs, "Composer of ''Everyman'' Augments Score to Fit Requirements of Bowl," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 7, 1936), p. 4.</ref>

On Wednesday evening, September 2, Irving Thalberg and his wife, Academy Award-winning actress [[Norma Shearer]], hosted a reception and banquet at the Biltmore Hotel in honor of Johannes Poulsen. Attendance was estimated at 300 to 350 people by the ''Los Angeles Times'', as many as 700 people by other newspapers. The celebrity-filled event was covered by all major local papers and was broadcast live on radio. The caliber and quantity of show business celebrities in attendance gave testimony to Thalberg's power in the entertainment world: movie stars, producers, directors, screenwriters, studio heads. ''Los Angeles Times'' publishers [[Harry Chandler]] (who founded the Biltmore Hotel and the Hollywood Bowl) and his son [[Norman Chandler]] were also present. Toastmaster [[Rupert Hughes]], a top writer of the day, joined [[Eddie Cantor]] to crack jokes, then became serious and said: "Of all the plays I have ever seen in my life, not one held the audience so enthralled as ''Everyman''. [It] is as full of suspense and as modern as tomorrow." The two men then introduced the banquet's general chairman Irving Thalberg, who spoke briefly. Then Doc Giannini was introduced as principal speaker. He said ''Everyman'' had been selected "because it is generally conceded to be the most stirring drama of human life ever written. ... It is with pride that I remind you this version of ''Everyman'' was translated into English by none other than our beloved California poet, the late George Sterling." Giannini then introduced director Poulsen, who thanked Thalberg for his work promoting the play.<ref>Program Ready: Pre-Premiere Reception for Poulsen Draws Headliners," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 1, 1936), p. 11; "Producer of ''Everyman'' to Be Honored," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 2, 1936), p. 10; Lida Livingston, "Community Honors ''Everyman'' Producer at Brilliant Affair," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 3, 1936), pp. 1, 15; "Poulsen Welcomed," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 3, 1936), part 2 pp. 1-2 "Johannes Poulsen Fete in H'wood Draws 700," ''Variety'' v. 123 n. 13 (September 9, 1936), p. 53.</ref>

Meanwhile, work on the Bowl production had accelerated: "Eleventh hour preparations are at top speed to have all in readiness for the star-studded opening. ... ''Everyman'' will be given in its most modern version with full symphony orchestra, mammoth ballet, titanic choruses and ensembles of atmospheric supernumeraries totaling 500. ...intensive day and night rehearsals are in order."<ref>"Eleventh Hour Preparations for ''Everyman''," ''Wilmington [Calif.] Daily Press'' (September 3, 1936), p. 7.</ref> "While a crew of workmen continued construction of the gigantic stage in twenty-four-hour shifts ... Johannes Poulsen moved his cast of about 500 from temporary headquarters at Chaplin studio to the Bowl for the first informal rehearsal today. Completion of the stage, specially enlarged to cover the [[orchestra pit]] and first row of boxes to accommodate the supporting choruses, ballets and ensembles, is expected by Monday." That Monday was the Labor Day holiday, but workers never stopped. Formal dress rehearsals at the Bowl began that day.<ref>"Festival Cast Rehearses," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 4, 1936), part 2, p. 1-2.</ref> From three cathedrals in Europe, five giant bells, centuries old, each weighing more than a ton, were moved into place at the Bowl.<ref>"Bells to Toll Drama Call: Old Cathedrals Supply Means of Summoning ''Everyman'' Patrons," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 8, 1936), part 2, p. 2; "Plans Shaped for Premiere of ''Everyman''," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 8, 1936), p. 13.</ref>

Tuesday, September 8, Irving Thalberg was stuck at home in bed with a cold. It had been a warm, 86-degree day, but in late afternoon the temperature dropped and wind brought in chilly sea-fog. Undeterred by the cold weather, Thalberg rose from his sickbed to go to the Bowl to help Poulsen with a dress rehearsal.<ref>Vieira, pp. 363-364. Vieira's bibliography on p. 459 credits the ''Los Angeles Times'' source story to the wrong page (an error introduced by ProQuest). His citation should be "''Everyman'' in Final Stages," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 9, 1936), part 2, pp. 1, 3.</ref> The next night, Wednesday, September 9, Thalberg and Shearer went to the Bowl again to attend the final dress rehearsal.<ref name="Vieira, p. 364">Vieira, p. 364.</ref>

===1936 opening night=== On Thursday, September 10, thousands of spectators entered the Hollywood Bowl, wending their way through rows of huge Klieg lights shooting columns of white light into the darkening sky. It was opening night, the first performance of Thalberg and Poulsen's spectacular production. Reporters and photographers swarmed the Bowl. Attending celebrities generated as much news coverage as the play itself. Mary Pickford drew the most photographs, making her first appearance in public with her new lover [[Charles "Buddy" Rogers]]. Of course, Irving Thalberg and his wife Norma Shearer were photographed, and Doc Giannini with his wife, as well as other famous couples: Charlie Chaplin and [[Paulette Goddard]], [[Clark Gable]] and [[Carole Lombard]], [[Jack Benny]] and [[Mary Livingstone]], Benny's best friend [[George Burns]] and [[Gracie Allen]], [[Merle Oberon]] and [[David Niven]]. Reporters wrote lists of celebrities that seemed endless.<ref>Vieira, p. 364; "Famed Film Personages See Spectacle," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 11, 1936), part 2, p. 12.</ref> Before the play, handsome, deep-voiced movie and radio star [[Conrad Nagel]] introduced Thalberg. 12,000 people applauded him. It was Thalberg's last public appearance.<ref name="Vieira, p. 364"/>

Director Johannes Poulsen described the opening performance's beginning: "Finally we could start playing for around 20,000 spectators—a vast, undulating sea of people. ... Now five enormous church bells started to ring. This detail was in itself a sensation because in Hollywood you never hear a church bell. And now the composer Einar Nilsson's [sic] lovely heavenly chorus commenced."<ref>Johannes Poulsen and [[Ulla Poulsen]], "Rejsebilleder. Hollywood 1936" in ''Paa Rejse med Johannes Poulsen: Indledet med Rejsebilleder, Skrevet af Ham Selv'' (Copenhagan: Gyldendalske, 1946), p. 64.</ref>

The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported the play's climax: "When the curved golden door[s] of the cathedral opened, the audience gasped and applauded. Revealed were depths of blue heavens with tiny clouds such as only Fran Angelic[o] has dreamed. Amid the clouds the Virgin was enthroned in pink robes, adored by kneeling saints—behind her a choir of praying angels—the whole a vision of inestimable beauty."<ref>[[Arthur Millier]], "Crowd Gasps with Awe at Heaven Scene," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 11, 1936), part 2, p. 12.</ref>

===1936 subsequent performances=== Friday and Saturday performances of ''The Play of Everyman'' also drew large crowds. But before dawn the morning of Sunday, a backstage fire of unknown origin burned 120 women's costumes. Producers cancelled Sunday's show.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 September 1936 |title=Fire Postpones Everyman, Show Will Go on Tonight |page=21 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/38059464 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Blaze Halts "Everyman" |page=23 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-blaze-halts-every/127478489/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> "Early Sunday morning, the management was confronted with the overwhelming fact that 120 of the beautiful costumes had been destroyed by fire in the night. These costumes had been created at great expense by thirty to forty seamstresses after many days of hard work. Without pausing to complain everyone went to work and by ten o'clock Sunday morning forty sewing women had rallied to the cause and were at work on many yards of material which had been obtained after getting several merchants of Los Angeles to open their stores [normally closed on Sunday]. This loyal group, by working day and night, have accomplished the impossible and the show goes on tonight after a complete replacement of the costumes destroyed."<ref name="Alma Whitaker 1936 pp. 1, 2">Alma Whitaker, "Miracle in Play Feat," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 15, 1936), part 2, pp. 1, 2.</ref>

On Monday, September 14, at 10:16 a.m., Irving Thalberg died of pneumonia. [[Fred Niblo]], one of the top movie directors in the world, had known Thalberg well. Before Monday night's ''Everyman'' began, Niblo stepped before the Bowl audience of 18,000 "with a tribute to Irving Thalberg and asked the audience to bow their heads for ten seconds. After that reverent pause the production began," with the somber cathedral bells tolling forth.<ref name="Alma Whitaker 1936 pp. 1, 2"/>

At Thalberg's Wednesday morning funeral, Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin delivered Thalberg's eulogy. Magnin began with ''The Play of Everyman'': "It is strange that Irving, who dedicated his life to inspiring entertainment, should have attended ''Everyman'', the last vehicle of entertainment he was to see. There is a lesson there for many, but when the Grim Reaper came to Irving, he came to one who was not vain, not drunk with power or lusting for wealth, but to a man, as I knew him, who was sweet and kind and charming."<ref>Vieira, p. 372. Vieira's endnote for the source of the eulogy text is not accurate.</ref>

Thursday, September 17 was scheduled to be ''The Play of Everyman''{{'}}s final show, but the unexpected happened: "Approximately 20,000 persons visited Hollywood Bowl last night to comprise the largest audience to see ''Everyman'' since the start of its run a week ago. A last-minute rush for seats found 5,000 waiting outside the amphitheater at curtain time and delayed the pageant's start half an hour. That, together with the mounting demand for reservations promising audience totaling over 100,000, led officials of the California Festival Association to extend the play's engagement for another evening."<ref>"''Everyman'' Prolonged," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 17, 1936), part 2, p. 1.</ref> The day after adding the Friday performance, Doc Giannini announced ''Everyman'' would be extended one more day to Saturday, September 19.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 September 1936 |title=Extra Performance Of 'Everyman' |page=28 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Daily News (historic)|Daily News]] |location=[[Los Angeles]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-extra-performance-of-everyma/127453293/ |access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref>

Even with the two extra performances, the elaborate Bowl production lost money. "It failed to click financially," wrote ''Everyman''{{'}}s publicity manager Henry Hammond "Hamm" Beall, "and the variance between receipts and contracted expenses was sizable. The result: at this writing mutterings [of] unpaid creditors, and indirectly Hollywood's credit a little lower."<ref>Henry Hammond Beall, "Hitting Hollywood on High with Hamm Beall," ''Hollywood: The Fact Magazine'' v. 25 n. 12 (December 1936), pp. 46-47.</ref> Estimates of losses ranged from $37,000 to $80,000.<ref>"''Everyman'' 37G in Red," ''Variety'' v. 124 n. 2 (September 23, 1936), p. 55; "Cal. C. of C. Wants to Play Showman Again," ''Variety'' v. 127 n. 10 (August 18, 1937), p. 73.</ref>

===1936 critical reception=== Eleanor Barnes evaluated the Bowl production in the ''[[Los Angeles Daily News (historic)|Daily News]]'' in a detailed, even-handed review: "Of course spectacle dominates. It is really Designer Kay Niels[e]n's victory rather than Poulsen's. Pageantry is paramount and all important. In the individual episodes between one, two, or three characters, Poulsen's direction is admirable and strong. But it is weak where the mass scenes hold sway, the orgy sequence being a bit tame and needing an injection of robustness. ... The direction seems too closed in, Poulsen having kept Everyman's activities confined to an area stage center so that instead of realizing drama in Everyman seeking comradeship, much of the effectiveness is lost by not having him move from the spot. Instead everyone comes to him and the results are static. However, the general effect of ''Everyman'' is exciting and Poulsen deserves credit for its smooth performance and soul searching drama. Where pageantry is concerned, ''Everyman'' is thrilling. ... ''Everyman'' is Designer Kay Niels[e]n's triumph. This brilliant Nordic artist, whose illustrations of the [[Hans Christian Andersen|Hans Andersen]] fairy books have made him world famous, has created magnificent costumes in rich settings, lavish, theatric, vivid, yet simple withal in conception and detail. His knowledge of color and its blending is amazing." Barnes went on to detail the music, dancing, and individual actors' performances.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Eleanor |date=11 September 1936 |title=Everyman |page=25 |newspaper=Daily News |location=[[Los Angeles]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/689041430/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

Almost all other reviews were enthusiastic, as three samples demonstrate. In the ''Los Angeles Times'', James Warnack wrote: "Portraying the clashing emotions of the soul as perhaps does no other play, ''Everyman'' ... thrills the spectator [of] ... this brilliant production with its wondrous scenic and lighting effects, its gorgeous costumes and, above all, its clarion call of hope and trust to a cynical generation."<ref>James Warnack, "''Everyman'' Again Thrills," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 12, 1936), part 2, p. 1, 3.</ref>

[[John Steven McGroarty]] in the ''Times'': "I saw with my own eyes the appeal of ''Everyman'' ... It was so vast that it held that audience hushed and awed, an audience that left the theater silent and voiceless when the play was done, ten thousand people of the world's age of jazz with no words to put chatter in their thoughts when the Gates of God closed upon them in the dome of the blue night sky. That is why I say I would be sorry for anyone who fails to witness it. ... ''Everyman'' takes us back to the path from which we have strayed, and, finding that lost path again, it appears more beautiful than any we have since found. And so we come away from the play with a strange new happiness in our hearts. ... That such magic of stage craft were possible no one would ever dream."<ref>John Steven McGroarty, "McGroarty Says ''Everyman'', Appeals to All Humanity," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 14, 1936), part 2 pp. 1, 3.</ref>

Elizabeth Yeaman in the ''Hollywood Citizen-News'': "The symbolical tableau is offered with extraordinary beauty of setting, lighting and costuming, and in its directorial treatment it has been brought to the audiences with extreme simplicity and sincerity. ... George Houston, a minor luminary of Hollywood, gives a portrayal of Everyman that should kindle a keen interest in him in the future. ... He gives a beautiful and dignified performance, shading from the greed and arrogance of a wealthy man, with his feasts and Paramour, to the humility and chastened spirit of a man who has been called by death. His scene in which he reads the Lord's Prayer is outstanding, for such a scene requires great skill if it is to escape accusations of mawkishness. ... ''Everyman'' is not a breath-taking spectacle, but it has a powerful cumulative effect."<ref>Elizabeth Yeaman, "Majestic Beauty, Artistic Simplicity Mark Bowl Premiere of ''Everyman''," Hollywood Citizen-News (September 11, 1936), pp. 10, 13.</ref>

===1936 book of the play=== [[File:1936 title page of book The Play of Everyman by George Sterling, adapted from play Jedermann by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.jpg|thumb|1936 title page of book ''The Play of Everyman'' by George Sterling, adapted and translated from ''Jedermann'' by Hugo von Hofmannsthal]]5,000 copies were printed of a second edition of Sterling's play, making it one of the two best-selling editions of Sterling's writing ever published.<ref>Mattila, section A.14.2; </ref> (Sterling's other 5,000-copy seller was ''[[George Sterling#Return_to_San_Francisco| The Evanescent City]]''.)

Because the publisher, the California Festival Association, wanted to sell copies only during performances at the Hollywood Bowl, it did not send review copies to book reviewers. Still, one syndicated review appeared in several smaller newspapers, showing reviewer Jane Archer's displeasure: "Certainly George Sterling was too good a poet to waste his talents on a work for which he was so obviously unsuited. In spite of the fact that we must read some version or another of ''Everyman'' at some time or another during our school career, it always was, and always will be[,] a dull affair. Though Shakespeare himself were to return from the grave, along with [[John Keats|Keats]] and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]], and they all got together to do their version of it, ''Everyman'' would still be a bore."<ref>Jane Archer, "Books of the Moment," ''Roseburg [Oregon] News-Review'' (November 7, 1936), p. 8.</ref>

===1936 characters and cast=== Prologue – Moroni Olsen/Pedro de Cordoba Lord God – unknown; possibly Harry Stafford Death – [[Fritz Leiber (actor)|Fritz Leiber]] Faith – [[Peggy Wood]] Good Deeds – Charlotte Evans Devil – [[Vince Barnett]] Mammon – [[Lionel Braham]] Everyman – [[George Houston (actor)|George Houston]] (originally [[Ian Keith]]) Everyman's Mother – [[Mrs. Leslie Carter]] Steward – Harry Hollingsworth Cook – [[Scotty Mattraw]] Friend – John Davidson Poor Neighbor – [[Nigel De Brulier]] Debtor – [[Lionel Braham]] Debtor's Wife – Hedwiga Reicher Paramour – [[Leone Sousa]] (Mrs. George Houston) Thin Cousin [also called Little Fat Cousin] – [[Otis Harlan]] Fat Cousin [also called Big Fat Cousin] – [[Lionel Belmore]] Mother's Servant – [[Nigel de Brulier]] First Servant- Remington "Remy" Olmstead Premiere Danseuse – [[Ulla Poulsen]] Premiere Danseur – Dimitri Romanoff Buffoon – Arnold Tamon First Maiden – [[Carroll Borland]] Second Maiden – Muriel Goodspeed Third Maiden – Mary Dean Fourth Maiden – Zoe Mayo Fifth Maiden – Faith Noble Sixth Maiden – Lois Clements Seventh Maiden – Travis Thames Eighth Maiden – Anne Brooks First Guest – Val Larson Second Guest – Jack Anders Third Guest – Daniel Lundberg Fourth Guest – Joe Sullivan Fifth Guest – Bob Grandin Virgin Mary – unknown Four Evangelists – unknown Corps de Ballet – Wanda Allen, Iris Kuhnle, Helen McGowan, [[Barbara Perry (actress)|Barbara Perry]], [[Maclovia Ruiz]], and 44 others Angels – June Eberle, Josephine Kamm, Beverly Knappen, Katrina Nies, Virginia Parenti, Dorma Parter, Rosalie Smith, Jean Wilcox, and 60 others Archangels, Additional Servants, Additional Guests, Onstage Musicians, Soldiers, Saints – unknown

==Walter Firner's 1941 production== On April 12, 1941, the ''New York Daily News'' reported that Broadway and radio actors [[Walter Slezak]], [[Stefan Schnabel]], and possibly Frederick Tozere were joining to produce benefit performances of ''The Play of Everyman'' in the Friendship House Church at 1010 Park Avenue in New York City (today called the Park Avenue Christian Church). "The show will use refugee actors and be a refugee benefit," reported the ''Daily News''. The cast would be a blend of professional American and Austrian actors—Austria have been taken over by Nazi Germany three years earlier. The production, the ''Daily News'' commented, would be "modeled after the annual ''Jedermann'' production always done at Salzburg, when there was a Salzburg."<ref>untitled, ''New York Daily News'' (April 12, 1941), p. 21M.</ref>

A follow-up story announced that the "new refugee theatre group, the Theatre of Friendship House" would present the play Sunday, May 4.<ref>"Theatre Tops Million for Greek War Relief, Benefits to Continue," ''New York Daily News'' (April 24, 1941), p. 5M.</ref> Additional performances were scheduled for Thursday, May 8, and Sunday, May 11, 1941.

The group recruited Walter Firner, former director of the Austrian Peoples' Theater in Vienna, to direct ''The Play of Everyman''. In title role of Everyman, Firner cast Maurice Burke, an actor, singer, and dancer who had appeared in Broadway productions since the 1920s. The roles of the Lord God and Mammon were played by Stefan Schnabel, who although born in Germany, had been a member of [[The Old Vic]] repertory theater in England alongside [[Laurence Olivier]] for four years, and since 1937 in New York was one of the original members of [[Orson Welles]] and [[John Houseman]]'s [[Mercury Theatre]] on Broadway and radio, including Welles' famous radio broadcast [[The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)|"The War of the Worlds"]]. One of two angels in the play was performed by internationally famous Austrian soprano [[Judith Hellwig]].

===1941 critical reception=== [[Brooks Atkinson]], the most influential drama critic of the time, reviewed the production in the ''New York Times''. He was not impressed with Sterling's adaptation, nor with Firner's direction: "Like all European stage directors, he must have seen Reinhardt's celebrated Salzburg production more than once. What Mr. Firner has managed to do with lights, organ music, a beautiful chancel and a wide assortment of actors, may be amusingly naïve, but it conveys none of the wondrous faith of the original play. The words of the text are fearfully cultivated. The acting is modern and superficial. In spite of Maurice Burke's handsome and manly acting of Everyman, no one is likely to be frightened into piety by Mr. Firner's artful production. ... If ''Everyman'' is to stir theatre-going imagination today, it must be spoken in rude language full of Anglo-Saxon words and it must be acted in primitive style. It must smack more of the church than of the theatre. For it is not enough to act a religious play inside a church building. It is necessary to act with some of the reverence and humility that the church represents."<ref>Brooks Atkinson, "The Play: ''Everyman'' in Park Avenue," ''New York Times'' (May 9, 1941), p. 19.</ref>

===1941 characters and cast=== Lord God – [[Stefan Schnabel]] Angels – [[Judith Hellwig]] and Clara Kwartin Death – Theodore Goetz Faith – Margrit Wyler Good Deeds – Elizabeth Charney Devil – Richard Odlin Mammon – [[Stefan Schnabel]] Everyman – Maurice Burke Everyman's Mother – Eda von Buelow Friend – Edwin Clay Paramour – Cyrilla Dorne Thin Cousin – Bert Bernd Fat Cousin – Ludwig Roth Steward – James Kent Cook – Charles Kelley Poor Neighbor – Paul Marx Debtor – Marshal Reid Debtor's Wife – Carol Johnsen Guest – John Salter Dancers – Anne Greenfield, Lavina Nehaus, Simone Moser, [[Ann Hutchinson Guest|Ann Hutchinson]]

==University of California, Berkeley 1943 production== The University of California Little Theater presented ''The Play of Everyman'' on September 23, 24, and 25 in the 700-seat auditorium of [[Wheeler Hall]] at the University of California, Berkeley.<ref>"''Everyman'' Next Production of Little Theater," ''Oakland Tribune'' (September 6, 1943), p. D9.</ref>

==Arthur Henry's 1977 production== The Village Church of Westwood Lutheran sits in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood, home to many people in the motion picture and television industries. For church activities, entertainment workers often create sets and costumes, and experienced actors, some famous, participate in church benefits. On March 16 and 23, 1977, Arthur Henry, pastor of the Village Church, joined with local theater group Theatre Palisades to produce two performances of ''The Play of Everyman'' at the church.<ref>"''Everyman'' Play Will Be at Village Church," ''Los Angeles Times'' (March 10, 1977), p. WS11.</ref> Actor [[Fritz Feld]] had played a small role in Max Reinhardt's 1920 Salzburg production of von Hofmannsthal's ''Jedermann'', and now served "as a consultant" to producer Henry and possibly played a role in Henry's production of the play.<ref>Feld in Salzburg: Salzburger Festspiele ''Jedermann'' program, 1920: https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/p/jedermann-1920</ref>

==Impacts on participants' careers== * Before he wrote ''The Play of Everyman'', [[George Sterling]] had little experience writing full-length plays, and not much practice using blank verse for poetic dramas. Writing ''The Play of Everyman'' helped contribute experience and confidence for Sterling to finish his long-stalled poetic drama ''[[Lilith (play)|Lilith]]''—often called Sterling's masterpiece—and write his plays ''Rosamund'' and ''Truth''. ''The Play of Everyman'' in 1917 brought Sterling in contact with the film community in Hollywood. Those meetings may have been a reason [[Douglas Fairbanks]] hired Sterling in 1924 to write screen titles for Fairbanks' fantasy film ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1924 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]''. * Richard Ordynski wanted to direct operas for the New York [[Metropolitan Opera]]. Favorable reviews of ''The Play of Everyman'' helped him secure an agreement to direct the Met's March 8, 1917 world premiere of [[Reginald De Koven]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Pilgrims]]'', the first of more than 100 operas Ordynski would direct for the Met. * Praise for twenty-year-old [[George James Hopkins]]' costumes and sets for the 1917 ''The Play of Everyman'' resulted in movie producers quickly hiring Hopkins to design motion picture sets, for which he eventually won four Academy Awards. * Young [[Edward Weston]] photographed actresses from the 1917 production wearing Hopkins' costumes. * Violinist and songwriter [[Victor Schertzinger]] had worked on only two films before his music for the 1917 ''The Play of Everyman'' gave him the visibility in Hollywood to begin an Academy Award-winning career as a movie director. * Twenty-two-year-old Welsh actor [[Gareth Hughes]] came from New York to Hollywood to star as the main character Everyman in 1917. He made show business connections who helped him establish a film career two years later. After the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] wiped Hughes out financially, the government's [[Works Progress Administration]] unemployment relief organization paid Hughes a tiny salary to work for its [[Federal Theatre Project]], which put him in charge of producing and directing religious plays. The Federal Theatre acquired Father Clarus Graves' English translation of Peter Dorland's sixteenth-century Dutch play ''Everyman''. In 1938 Hughes produced, directed, and starred in small 16-actor productions of Graves' ''Everyman'' throughout Southern California. Hughes left the Federal Theatre in 1939, was ordained as an Episcopal monk, and served for years as a missionary to Native Americans in a remote part of Nevada. While there, every year at Lent Hughes produced and starred in one performance of Graves' ''Everyman'' for his parishioners.<ref>Russel Stone, "The Spirit of the Thing Is All: The Federal Theatre's Staging of Medieval Drama in the Los Angeles Religious Community," ''Journal of American Drama and Theatre'' (''JADT'') v. 35 n. 1 (Fall 2022).</ref> * Actor [[George Houston (actor)|George Houston]] had appeared in only three minor movies before playing the title role in ''The Play of Everyman'' in 1936. Afterwards, a movie magazine captioned a photo of him: "George Houston's fine performance in stage play ''Everyman'' makes him a first line threat for stardom."<ref>Photo caption, ''Movie Classic'' v. 11 n. 4 (December 1936), p. 71.</ref> More prominent in Hollywood, Houston was cast in films with [[Greta Garbo]] and [[Cary Grant]] and starred in eleven "Lone Rider" westerns. * [[Kay Nielsen]]'s designs of sets and costumes impressed [[Walt Disney]] when Disney attended the premiere of Thalberg's 1936 production.<ref>"''Everyman'' to Mark Brilliant Bowl Premiere," ''Hollywood Citizen-News'' (September 10, 1936), pp. 11, 18.</ref> When animator and story artist [[Joe Grant]] asked Disney to hire Nielsen to work on ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', Disney agreed. Nielsen worked for Disney from 1937 to 1941. He designed ''Fantasia''{{'}}s "[[Night on Bald Mountain]]" and "[[Ave Maria]]" sequences. Nielsen also contributed visual designs and story ideas for ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'', a film project the Disney company did not complete until 1989. The 1989 animated film credits Nielsen as its "visual development artist".

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Play of Everyman, The}} [[Category:1917 plays]] [[Category:Everyman]] [[Category:American plays]] [[Category:Adaptations of works by Hugo von Hofmannsthal]]