BROADWAY RECALL: Memorial Plays

Welcome to BROADWAY RECALL, a bi-monthly column where BroadwayWorld.com's Chief Theatre Critic, Michael Dale, delves into the archives and explores the stories behind the well-known and the not so well-known videos and photographs of Broadway's past. Look for BROADWAY RECALL every other Saturday.

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, the time of year when all of New York starts looking like a Jerome Robbins ballet.  But while it’s fun for us to play host for Gotham’s esteemed U.S. Navy guests during Fleet Week, it’s also important to pay tribute to those who have given their lives protecting our freedom.  So this week BROADWAY RECALL remembers some recent Broadway productions concerning those who bravely make the ultimate sacrifice.

R.C. Sherriff's 1928 World War I drama Journey's End, received glowing reviews from the New York critics, but directorDavid Grindley’s compelling production couldn’t find an audience.  Despite many weeks of sparsely filled houses the producers kept the play open until it won the 2007 Tony for Best Revival of a Play.  The first ten minutes of this episode of Broadway Beat features cast members talking about their characters.

John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest led a 2008 revival of Arthur Miller’s classic, All My Sons, about a businessman whose effort to make a profit while supporting the troops during World War II goes tragically wrong.

Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still explored the up-close and detailed information we can now receive about our soldiers overseas through issues involving a pair of war journalists who bring their various wounds back home with them.

Photo of Hugh Dancy and Stark Sands in Journeys End by Paul Kolnik.

After 20-odd years singing, dancing and acting in dinner theatres, summer stocks and the ever-popular audience participation murder mysteries (try improvising with audiences after they?ve had two hours of open bar), Michael Dale segued his theatrical ambitions into playwriting. The buildings which once housed the 5 Off-Off Broadway plays he penned have all been destroyed or turned into a Starbucks, but his name remains the answer to the trivia question, "Who wrote the official play of Babe Ruth's 100th Birthday?" He served as Artistic Director for The Play's The Thing Theatre Company, helping to bring free live theatre to underserved communities, and dabbled a bit in stage managing and in directing cabaret shows before answering the call (it was an email, actually) to become BroadwayWorld.com's first Chief Theatre Critic. While not attending shows Michael can be seen at Citi Field pleading for the Mets to stop imploding. Likes: Strong book musicals and ambitious new works. Dislikes: Unprepared celebrities making their stage acting debuts by starring on Broadway and weak bullpens.

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