Eightieth Anniversary of Lillian Gish's Ophelia at The Empire Theater in New York

October 8, 1936, Miss Gish opened as Ophelia in "Hamlet." Eighty years ago and people are still talking about her performance. Source: Broadway Internet Database.  See Notes on People : Lillian Gish Recalls a Part, NYT February 16, 1981 at end. 

Hamlet   

Empire Theatre, (10/08/1936 - circa. 1/1937)

St. James Theatre, (1/1937 - Closing date unknown)

First Preview:		Total Previews:	0
Opening Date:	Oct 08, 1936
Closing Date:	Closing date unknown	Total Performances:	132

Category: Play, Tragedy, Revival, Broadway

Description: A play in five acts

Setting: In and around Elsinore Castle in Denmark

 

• Opening Night Credits

Production Staff
Theatre Leased by Nesca Realty Co., Inc.
Produced by Guthrie McClintic
Written by William Shakespeare
Staged by Guthrie McClintic
Scenic Design by Jo Mielziner; Costume Design by Jo Mielziner; Technical Assistant to Jo Mielziner: Rose Bogdanoff
General Manager: Stanley Gilkey; Company Manager: William G. Tisdale
Stage Manager: William Richardson; Assistant Stage Mgr: John Cornell, Kurt Steinbart and Donaldson Murphy

Cast

John Gielgud	Hamlet son to the late, and nephew to the present King
Judith Anderson	Gertrude Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet
Arthur Byron	Polonius Lord Chamberlain
John Emery	Laertes son to Polonius
Lillian Gish	Ophelia daughter to Polonius
Malcolm Keen	Ghost
	Claudius King of Denmark
Evelyn Abbott	Ensemble
Harry Andrews	Horatio friend to Hamlet
Neal Berry	Ensemble
Whitner Bissell	Cornelius
	Lucianus
John Cromwell	Rosencrantz Courtier
James Dinan	Voltemand
	Ensemble
Morgan Farley	Osric a Courtier
John Galland	Ensemble
Stanley Gould	Ensemble
Peter Gray	Ensemble
Reed Herring	Bernardo Officer
	Fortinbras Prince of Norway
Henry Hull Jr.	Ensemble
Barry Kelly	Marcellus Officer
	Gravedigger
Mary Lee Logan	Ensemble
Ruth March	Player Queen
Harry Mestayer	Player King
Donaldson Murphy	Ensemble
George Nash	Gravedigger
William Roehrick	Guildenstern Courtier
Sydna Scott	Ensemble
William Stanley	Sailor
Kurt Steinbart	Ensemble
Ivan Triesault	Prologue
	Priest
George Vincent	Captain
Murvyn Vye	Francisco Officer
	Reynaldo
Francis Wayne  Notes on People New York Times February 16, 1981, Page B4 Lillian Gish recalls a Part One reason she consented to be honorary chairman of the Friends of French Opera benefit performance of Ambroise Thomas’s “Hamlet,” says Lillian Gish, is because she has “a special affection for the role of Ophelia, Hamlet’s ill-fated lady.” Miss Gish, who has been working for tomorrow’s Carnegie Hall benefit despite a persistent cold, recalled the other day that Ophelia was the first role she played opposite Sir John Gielgud, “and I almost didn’t get it.” The actress, who is 83 years old, was 40 when the director Guthrie McClintic suggested to Sir John that she play Ophelia to his Hamlet. “Gielgud’s reply got back to me,” she said. “She’s lovely, but is she young enough?” He was appearing on Broadway – it was 1936 – and undaunted I presented myself in his dressing room and asked him pointblank – ‘Well, am I young enough?’” He apparently said yes, for Miss Gish recalled, “We had a long run at the Empire Theater, with Judith Anderson as Queen Gertrude.” Source: New York Times 2/16/81 Page B4. The brief article is accompanied with a black –and-white photograph of Miss Gish that is too grainy to reproduce here. Special Note: Lillian’s friend Helen Hayes was born October 10, 1900, in Washington DC. Lillian was born October 14 1898/1893 in Springfield, OH. About Jim Patterson Former U.S. diplomat Jim Patterson is a Washington, DC-based speaker, writer, longtime Friend of Gish and a lifelong Gish student. He speaks on her career, introduces her films, gives quotes to journalists and researchers, and contributes articles on her life and career to publications like Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, Classic Images, Auburn Magazine, and others. He travels from Washington DC Contact: JEPWriter@gmail.com