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
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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.
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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.
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