THE ART OF ACTING

Program 04-09-19-B

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To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio

"We can be bought," they said," but we can't be bored." The king and queen of American theater, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne turned down a fantastic sum from the movies in the middle of the depression to continue to live their illusion on the stage. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the art of acting, from the Bard to Barrymore and beyond.

SEGMENT 1:

Margot Peters is the author of "Design for Living" - a biography of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. She tells Jim Fleming the Lunts were the royalty of American theater, passionate perfectionists, and that Alfred Lunt might have become the greatest actor of his age. Also, The Lunts called their Wisconsin home Ten Chimneys. Jim Fleming takes us to visit the property and we hear from Sean Malone, Director of the Ten Chimneys Foundation. Listeners can see pictures of the Lunts and their house at the Ten Chimneys website.

SEGMENT 2:

John Barrymore "The Great Profile"

Lee Ernst has played John Barrymore several times in a play about the actor by William Luce, at American Players Theater repertory company in Spring Green, Wisconsin.. He performs excerpts and talks with Jim Fleming about John Barrymore, his art and his alcohol addiction.

SEGMENT 3:

Stephen Greenblatt is the author of "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare." He tells Steve Paulson he thinks Shakespeare's father was a drunk, leaving Will with complex feelings about alcohol, and that Shakespeare was probably the only literate member of his family. Also, Grace Tiffany's new novel is called "Will." She talks about the Will Shakespeare in her mind with Anne Strainchamps, and excerpts from her book are dramatized by actors from James Ridge and Jonathan Smoots of the American Players Theater repertory company in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

The movie montage at the end of the show contains the following:

Mel Gibson in "Hamlet"
Ethan Hawke in "Hamlet"
Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes in "Shakespeare in Love"
(Romeo and Juliet speech)
Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in "Much Ado About Nothing"
Leonardo diCaprio and others in "Romeo and Juliet"

earlier in the hour, we heard an excerpt from a 1970 film production of
"King Lear"

Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 04-09-19-B.

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Books:

• Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare (Norton)
• Margot Peters, Design for Living (Knopf)
  
• Grace Tiffany, Will: a novel (Berkley)

Links:

• www.tenchimneys.org

Music:

• 1. After Margot Peters and Ten Chimneys segments: "Ambulatory Suite", by George and Ira Gershwin -- on "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook." (Verve Records)
• 2. After Lee Ernst and Stephen Greenblatt: Gerry Arling and Richard Cameron, "Music for Imaginary Films". (Emperor Norton Records)
• 3. Under Shakespeare reading: Lutz Kirchhof, "The Lute in Dance and Dream." (Vivarte)

Distribution dates:

week of 08/07/2005 - hour 1 week of 09/19/2004 - hour 2

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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