Setting the Stage

by Whittaker, Herbert; Plummer, Christopher; Rittenhouse, Jonathan

• ISBN13: 9780773520028
• ISBN10: 0773520023
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

In Montreal Whittaker witnessed the early careers of actors such as Christopher Plummer, Gratien Gelinas, John Colicos, Jean Gascon, Denise Pelletier, and Amelia Hall. He worked in close collaboration with many pioneers of the Little Theatre Movement, the Dominion Drama Festival, and Canadian theatre in general, such as Martha Allan, Charles Rittenhouse, and Pierre Dagenais. His involvement with Dagenais' L'Equipe allows him to report on the early days of francophone theatre in Montreal and the cross-fertilization between Martha Allan's Montreal Repertory Theatre and actor-directors such as Dagenais, Gratien Gelinas, and Yvette Brind'Amour. He also gives us glimpses of the early theatrical spaces in the city that no longer exist, as well as some, such as the Salle de Gesu and the Monument-National, that have survived. This engaging memoir of exciting times is prefaced by a personal tribute from Christopher Plummer and set in context through an introduction, chronology, and bibliography by Jonathan Rittenhouse. Illustrated with a selection of Whittaker's stage and costume designs as well as photographs, Setting the Stage provides a captivating visual record of the period and is a must for everyone interested in Canadian theatre, Canadian arts, culture, and Montreal.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Christopher Plummer
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xv
Jonathan Rittenhouse
The Story So Far	3	(166)
Beginnings: Hamlet Launches Three Careers	11	(10)
The Church and the Stage Meet	21	(21)
Searching for a Role	42	(15)
The Montreal Repertory Theatre	57	(20)
MRT to Guy Street and Moyse Hall	77	(21)
Our Fair-Weather Theatre	98	(18)
Riding Off in All Directions	116	(9)
The Critic, Retrospective	125	(22)
Le rideau se leve	147	(22)
Afterword: A Contextual Commentary	169	(32)
Jonathan Rittenhouse
Chronology of Montreal Theatre, 1920-1949	201	(42)
Notes	243	(16)
Selected Bibliography of Articles and Books Pertaining to Theatre in Montreal, 1920-1949	259	(16)
Index	275