SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Western radio drama series starring James Stewart as an amiable drifter. The episode begins with a performance of Othello in a western town. The production is derided by the local audience and the actors refuse to continue. Their decision to leave town is reversed when P.T. Barnum asks to see the performance of Hamlet that night. The actors are fearful of a similar hostile response. Their fears are grounded when a badly acted ‘to be or not to’ soliloquy causes a riot and Britt Poncet (Stewart) steps on stage to calm the audience. Poncet is drawn into action as Horatio and after the show is offered an acting job by Barnum which he refuses.

Series

Six Shooter, The

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Radio

Transmission details

13 Dec 1953 (Channel: NBC)

Duration

29 mins

Credits

Director

Jack Johnstone

Writer

Frank Burt

Music

Frank Adlim

Cast

Dan O. O’Herlihy
James Stewart	Britt Poncet
Marvin Miller
Ted Bliss

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

Hamlet; Othello

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); westerns; Amateur theatre

Notes

Notes

Available from originaloldradio.com and the OTR.Network Library as an MP3 CD

Reviews

Jensen, Michael P. ‘Radio’ in Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. (p. 520 entry 2194)

Production Company

Name

NBC

Online Retailer

Name

originaloldradio.com

Web

http://www.originaloldradio.com External site opens in new window

Address

PO Box 522
Berea
KY 40403-0522
USA