Truth About Bladys and Mr. Pim Passes By

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M I L N E AT T H E M I N T

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2 ‘PRE-POOH’ DELIGHTS 1 CAST IN ROTATING REPERTORY

ory CAST Lisa Bostnar Jack Davidson Kristin Griffith James Knight Katie Lowes Victoria Mack Jack Ryland Stephen Schnetzer Sets: Sarah Lambert Lights: Mark T. Simpson Costumes: Theresa Squire Costume Associate: Naama Greenfield Hair and Wigs: Broadway Wig Co. Props: Judi Guralnick Sound: Jared Coseglia Casting: Sharron Bower Dialects: Amy Stoller Stage Manager: Samone B. Weissman Asst. Stage Manager: Eleanor Boockmeier Production Manager: Helena Webb Press Representative: David Gersten & Associates Flyer: Jude Dvorak Show Logos: Aaron Lenehan Director: Jonathan Bank

The Mint has been rummaging around in the attic of theater history for the last ten years, winning a Special Drama Desk Award and an Obie while bringing to light such worthy but neglected plays as The Voysey Inheritance, Far and Wide and most recently, The Daughter-in-Law -selected by Bruce Weber of The New York Times as one of the top ten season highlights with the praise: “Proof that theater history is worth excavating.”

Now, the company is applying its full dramaturgical resources to illuminate the considerable dramatic talent of a single author — Alan Alexander Milne—proclaimed in 1922 by Alexander Woolcott of The New York Times as “The happiest acquisition the English theater has made since it captured Shaw and Barrie.”

“Alan Alexander Milne ... that extraordinarily brilliant theatrical prospect.”

“In its way it is priceless, it is extraordinarily entertaining.”

The New York American, 1922

When is the truth better left unsaid?

When A. A. Milne passed away in 1956 at the age of 74, virtually all of his prodigious literary productivity was out-of-print—over two-dozen plays, ten novels, and several volumes of poetry—all forgotten. The only books that remained were four slim volumes about a bear named Winniethe-Pooh.

Heywoud Broun, The Post 1922

“The most brilliant light comedy since Oscar Wilde.”

The Nation, 1921

What great events from little causes spring!

The remarkable fact is that before Pooh, Milne was one of England's most promising and successful playwrights. When The Truth about Blayds arrived in New York in 1922, it was Milne’s fourth Broadway opening in just 54 weeks! Blayds followed close on the heels of Mr. Pim Passes By, The Great Broxxup and The Dover Road.

Fellow playwright St. John Ervine jealously complained: “He has not yet taken possession of the sixty theaters of New York, but if he continues to occupy them at his present pace, the whole lot will soon be labeled ‘Reserved for Mr. Milne.’”

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WHY ALL ?

THIS MILNE SPEAKING WITH JONATHAN BANK

A: At first, I was just planning a production of Blayds, but while I was preparing for rehearsals and looking into the play’s original production history I noticed all of this overlapping casting: Dion (Dot) Boucicault played Mr. Pim and William in Blayds; his wife, Irene Vanbrugh, played Olivia in Pim and Isobel in Blayds. A young Leslie Howard was also in both; the Times wrote, This Leslie Howard should be placed immediately under contract to play nothing but Milne plays as long as they both shall live. Even the two maids were played by the same actress (Ethel Wellesley)—and I realized that I could Leslie Howard do the two plays with one company of actors. The opportunity was just too tempting to pass up; I knew that it would be challenging for the actors, fun for the audience, and most important—by doing both plays, we would bring attention to Milne’s talent as a playwright and show off his range, too.

Q: But haven’t you already done Pim at the Mint?

A: Yes, and in Peterborough, NH too. I admit to loving the play! The first Mint production was seven years ago, and we’ve made so many new friends since then—literally thousands of people who have never met Mr. Pim. I’ll wager that the mere thought of the play will bring a smile to the face of anyone who has seen it.

SAVE THE DATE: Monday April 26th Lucille Lortel Theater “Hide and Seek with the Angels” Our second annual Benefit reading will recreate the triple-bill of short plays that gave Milne his debut as a dramatist: one by Milne and two by his good friend J.M. (Peter Pan) Barrie.

Call 212-315-0231 to request an invitation.

MILNE AT THE MINT ‘SURROUND’ EVENTS Free to all Milne at the Mint Patrons Post show discussions last approximately 50 minutes

Milne and his Contemporaries-Saturday April 3rd matinee A post-performance discussion with scholar Patricia Denison, a professor of dramatic literature in the departments of English and Theatre at Barnard College. Denison has published articles on Victorian, modern British, and American drama. She is currently finishing a book on Arthur Wing Pinero.

Milne and the Edwardian Theater-Saturday April 17th matinee Cary M. Mazer will discuss pre and post-World War I drama. Mazer is Chair of the Theater Arts Program at The University of Pennsylvania and Assoc.

Professor in English.

Victorian Poets and Poetry-Saturday May 8th matinee Dr. Gerhard Joseph & Dr. Anne Humpherys from Lehman College are scholars and authors with teaching experience in areas such as Victorian poetry; these two will have a lot to say when they learn the truth about Mr. Blayds: “The Last of the Victorians.”

READINGS

(Reservations required 212-315-0231)

The Ivory Door -Sunday April 18th at 7 pm A reading of Milne’s The Ivory Door, a fantasy and a political fable, exploring the intersection of power and personal beliefs and whether the heart or the mind rules the choices of men and women.

Peace with Honour -Sunday May 16 at 7 PM

Q: Is there some personal affinity that you have for Milne, going back to childhood, perhaps?

A: Honestly, I can’t remember even reading Winnie-the-Pooh as a child! (or ever for that matter). The bane of Milne’s existence as a writer was the label “whimsical”—and no one has ever accused me of whimsy, you can be sure of that. My trouble has always been that I’m too darn serious. I can’t believe you found a picture of me laughing—I think Easton was making fun of me.

“I think more of Peace with Honour than of any book that I have ever written,” said Milne. We will read an excerpt from Milne’s passionate pleas for peace during a time of war, as well as two short plays about soldiers returning home after The Great War.

OFF-SITE MILNE SURROUND EVENTS The Boy Comes Home -Monday April 5th at 1:00 PM

Mint Artistic Director Jonathan Bank with Anne Hathaway and Richard Easton rehearsing the last spring’s Benefit reading of A.A. Milne’s dramatization of Pride and Prejudice entitled Miss Elizabeth Bennet. (photo by Richard Termine)

Presented by “Food for Thought Lunch Hour Theater” Enjoy a buffet-style lunch, and then take in Milne’s riveting one-act play about a returned soldier, read by New York’s finest actors. “Food for Thought”, a leading venue for the oft neglected one-act play, presents plays simply without the trappings of lights or sets. The audience is then privy to an intimate question and answer period with the cast.

National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South. http://www.foodforthoughtproductions.com/main.htm (Call 212-362-2560 to purchase tickets)

Special Family Event at the Donnell Library!- Saturday May 1st You and your family can join us in the Reading Room of the Donnell Library at 3PM for a reading of Milne’s beloved works of literature for children.

That’s right, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet too! The original stuffed animals that Christopher Robin Milne played with as a child are on display at the Donnell, 20 West 53rd Street.