The Seagull Produced by Stanislavsky
New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1952. 1st Edition. Octavo, publisher’s terracotta cloth, spine gilt, original illustrated dust jacket, eight index cards with notes laid in.
First edition of this dossier on Russian theater impresario Konstantin Stanislavsky's landmark production of the first of Chekhov’s great tragicomedies, the copy of influential American theater designer John Conklin. First staged by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898, Stanislavsky’s production was one of the defining events of modern drama, establishing his approach to psychological realism and Chekhov’s reputation as a dramatist. This volume presents Stanislavsky's production score with notes on movement, gesture, atmosphere, pacing, and the psychological undercurrents beneath Chekhov’s dialogue, with historical photos, sketches, and reproductions, a lengthy introduction by theater scholar Sergei Dmitrievich Balukhaty, and a postscript by English actor Herbert Marshall. A set designer for stage and opera, John Conklin earned a reputation for his psychologically attuned designs at such venues as the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass, Broadway, and off-Broadway. He worked on the Williamstown Theatre Festival's celebrated 1974 production of "The Seagull," starring Blythe Danner, Lee Grant, Frank Langella and Olympia Dukakis, later televised on PBS. Conklin's ownership signature appears on the front endpaper, along with occasional marginal pencil marks throughout. Additionally, eight large index cards with Conklin's brief notes in red marker are laid in. Light wear to spine-ends; unclipped dust jacket with moderate soiling, edgewear, and a few closed tears with cellotaper repair to verso. About very good, with excellent provenance. Item #13091
$100.00