Word: playboy
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Playboy Action...
...play concerns a rich playboy on trial for shooting his wife in the backside; his defense is that before the revolver went off, as he was cleaning it, he had drunk two bottles of whisky. After a prosecution doctor testifies that no one could drink that much without passing out, the defense enlists Actor Poston to prove the contrary. And, particularly at the second-bottle stage, Actor Poston shows an amusing gift for exuberant pantomime, as does Director Abbott for moderate pandemonium. But no play can keep from falling on its face just by having the hero continue...
...musical Playboy, retitled The Heart's a Wonder, is pure Synge: the rollicking story of Christy Mahon, the peasant boy who became a hero by telling a tale of parricide. The scene is still Michael James Flaherty's peat-smoked shebeen (pub), and the rich poetic dialogue is still, as Synge said a good play must be, "as fully flavored as a nut or apple." For music the O'Farrell sisters borrowed Irish ballads. As for the lyrics, they did a remarkable job of bending Synge's own lifelike speech into rhyme...
Playwright Synge's heirs (he died in 1909), who had at first refused to let anyone tamper with Playboy, finally gave their blessings for the O'Farrell production. BBC bought out one performance to broadcast the show, and there were nibbles from U.S. producers. The charm of lyrics, music and dances took some of the original sting out of Synge. Playwright Synge had never liked what he called "the false joy of the musical comedy," but seeing this show would probably have set his heart awonder...
Esquire, a lit'ry, prurient playboy in the '30s and a leering satyr in the '40s, is a mature and well-behaved 25-year-old this month. Circulation is a record 829,817, an increase of 43,661 over last year; ad revenues are up 12.4% this year. The $1 anniversary issue carries $1,040,000 worth of ads, and articles that are hardly for hairy-chested males or boudoir bounders: musings on his craft by Poet Robert Graves, blasts against conformity by Educator Robert Hutchins, and the early thoughts of Playwright Arthur Miller on his forthcoming...