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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1960)
Former Festival Actor Is Lawyer In Broadway Production 'Saratoga' By WILLIAM WOLF ' New York Appearing in a Broadway musical isn't really so different from doing Shakespeare, says Richard Graham, veteran actor at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Graham, who has spent many years of his life per forming all 37 works of the Bard, is now getting his first crack at a Broadway musi cal comedy. He plays the fea tured role of a villainous lawyer in the current "Sara toga", with Howard Keel and Carol Lawrence. "You might say I'm a kind of a New Orleans, Philadel phia 1 a w y e r," Graham quipped, commenting on his role as the conniving attor ney in old New Orleans who plots to complicate life for the heroine. Comparing his Shakespear ean acting with his current work, Graham said: "There is really not a great deal of dif ference in approach. You're playing in a big theater. Your characterizations are not very deeply written. You have a presentational style of work ing to your audience. It is the same kind of situation we have on the stage at Ash land." Acting Job Graham's role in "Sara toga" is strictly an acting job. j He doesn t do any singing, ex cept off-stage "where no body can see me," when the cast vocalizes to back up some of the chorus on stage. "Not singing is just as well," he said emphatically. "I used to sing in church choir in Ashland, but had the courage IF (JESS Repairing and Refining Cleaning and Glazing Restyling Frances9 Furs 610 Valley View SAME PHONE SP 2-6526 because I was singing along with others." Offstage, Graham still wears his hair long, slanted sideburns which he had to grow for the show, and aside from his impeccable up-to-date suit, he looks as if he might have stepped out of the era depicted in the musical. "I notice people looking at me, and I expect someone to ask at any time, 'What kind of a beatnik is that?', he said. "Once when we were doing the show in Philadelphia a boy passed me, nudged his friend, and exclaimed, 'Elvis.'" The chance to get into "Saratoga" came when Gra ham was performing in New York's famous free Shake speare theatre in Central Park. The theater was a sub ject of much controversy last summer, when public opinion compelled the park commis sioner to reverse a decision barring the Shakespeare pro ductions because of the cost to the city. Similar Production "Although the stage we used in Central Park was dif ferent, the style and the pro duction is very similar to that we have done in Ashland," Graham said. He kept coming back to how high a calibre of work was done at the Oregon Festival. "When I first came to Ash land in 1948," he said, "I fell in love with the festival. I really had been planning to go to the Stratford festival in England, but I saw that the Family Dinner Honors Mayor Mrs. Maude Snider was hostess for a family dinner January 27 which celebrated the birthday anniversary of her son, Mayor John Snider. Guests were Mayor and Mrs. Snider and their three children; the mayor's sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Greenman and three children and Mr. and Mrs. Carl Schmidt. The event was held at Mrs. Snider's home, 406 Barnes avenue. ma griiie rgSj' (my signature) ff by g4":;V.: carveii-parfums Because a woman is remembered by the per fume she wears . . . remember "Ma Griffe", the most personal of the great French fragrances. Wear it to express your sense of fashion, your taste for elegance... and, most of all, the elusive essence of you. ' . Perfume, 4.00 to 60,00 Mis-M-st-i-fier, 5.50 Cologne, 5.00 to 15.00 Dusting Powder, 5.00 Bath Oil, 4.75 and 7.50 pl" fed. ta Open Daily: 8:30 A.M. to 10 P.M. Sunday and Holidays: 10:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. udson's Pharmacy- Festival in Oregon was really on the upgrade, and I got very excited about it and kept go ing back." One problem a Shakespear ean actor does not have is wondering whether or not his part will be cut from the script by the time the show opens., "This is a trap you have to watch for when you go into a musical," he said. "In Shake speare, particularly in Ash land, we use complete scripts, and in any event, you know just what your part will be. But the first thing you have to look for with a Broadway show is whether the part you have to do is essential to the plot. Otherwise, it is likely to be written out while the show is in the try-out stage." Part Expanded In Graham's case, his part in "Saratoga" was not cut, but expanded as a result of changes made on the road. He reports that he is enjoying do ing the show, and the cast does not seem upset that the production was not greeted with great enthusiasm by the critics. "The audiences love the show. The women especially like it, particularly the beau tiful costumes and gorgeous sets. I think that the perform ers are giving a better show than ever, as if to demon strate that the critics were wrong." The large advance sale of tickets for "Saratoga" assured a reasonable run even before the production opened, This is the first time Gra ham has returned to Broad way since 1936, when he ap peared in "St. Joan" with Katherine Cornell, Maurice Evans, Ralph Richardson and Tyrone Power. This was short ly after his first professional encounter with performing Shakespeare in "Romeo and Juliet," also starring Miss Cornell. Telephone Call "I was in my room at 7 p.m. when I got the telephone message and learned that I was wanted to step into a walk on the part that very night," he recounted. "I was in my pants and slippers, and I scooped up the rest of my clothes in one arm, my make up kit in the other, rushed outside still stripped to the waist, and rode that way in a taxi to the Martin Beck theater." Born in Detroit, Graham lived in many parts of the United States and also in Europe by the time he was nine. The family settled in Princeton, N.J., where he subsequently attended Prince ton university, performed in theater productions, and was bitten with the acting bug. During a summer trip to Can ada, he met Rowland Stebbins, who presented the very suc cessful "Green Pastures," and asked Stebbins' advice. The advice was to stay out of the theater because it is a precarious type of career. However, when Stebbins saw the determination of the as piring actor, he helped him get a role in "The Pursuit of Happiness," in which Gra ham made his Broadway de but. Stock Companies In the years since he last appeared on Broadway, Gra ham acted in stock compan ies in many parts of the United States, appeared with minor roles in a number of movies, some of which he oc casionally catches on televis ion, served with the Army Signal Corps during the war, and then participated in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 11 years. He came to New York two years ago with his wife, the former Jane Schnittger, whom he met when she managed the box office at the Ashland fes tival. They considered them selves "very lucky" to find immediately on coming to New York, a comfortable apartment, where they live with Mrs. Graham's two chil dren by a previous marriage, Martha, age 9, and Gretchen, 13. 613 East Main Phone SP 3-5345 Dinner Planned In Jacksonville Jacksonville - Attending the monthly potluck dinner to be held by the Odd Fellows and Rebekah lodges here on February 5 will be Stanley Oldham, deputy grand master of Lake Grove, Ore., and Ellsworth Robinson, Central Point, grand warden. Purpose of the visit is to discuss plans i for the annual historical trek. ! which will be held Saturday, April 23. Also expected are members of Etna Rebekah and Golden Rule Odd Fellows lodge of Grants Pass. They will fur nish entertainment. Moving pictures of lodge activities taken by a Jacksonville mem ber will be shown. The meeting will be held as usual at the Odd Fellows dining room at 6:30 p.m. Ruth Rebekah club met at the home of Mrs. Albert Hack ert January 26 with Mrs. Ir vin Boyd assisting. A potluck luncheon was served. Richard Graham, former actor at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival at Ashland, is shown in a scene from the 'current Broad way musical "Saratoga" with leading lady Carol .Lawrence. The production opened December 7 at the Winter Garden theater. Though in New York, Gra ham's thoughts frequently re turn to Ashland, as exempli fied by a recent incident which he described: "I used to be a lay reader at the Trini ty Episcopal church in Ash land. Recently, I read for the first time at the Church of the Ascension in New York. It was a coincidence that what I read was exactly what I had been, chosen to read the first time at Trinity church in Ashland." Grandmothers Donate to Fund Members of the Rogue chapter, Grandmothers Clubs of America, voted to donate to the Parkinson's disease fund during a meeting Janu ary 25. Forty-four members attended; dessert was served. Mrs. Fred Ryde, president, conducted ' the meeting and Mrs P. M. Aldredge furnished piano music. Mrs. Jennie Hutchinson, chaplain, conduct ed the prayer service. A re port was made on community club awards. The Rogue chap ter won high point and $435. Mrs. Harry L. Cole conducted games. Prizes were won by Mrs. Elsa Walker, Mrs. Or pha Wendell and Mrs. David N. Fraysher. Meetings Announced For Degree of Honor Degree of Honor Protective Association will hold an ex ecutive meeting Monday, Feb ruary 1 at 11:45 ajn. at the home of Mrs. Frank Gleaves, 1170 West McAndrews road. Degree of Honor Past presi dents will hold a revelation party Tuesday, Febriary 2 at 8 p.m., in the home of Miss Adabee Seiler, 1132 West Main street. Sunday, Jan. 31, 1 960 A MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. 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