Roy Roberts and Nancy Sheridan were the leads. More comedies were presented this year at Elitch because the company selected was especially suited for comedies, although their years of experience allowed them to also take on heavier and more dramatic roles that might have been required by a script.
In Accent on Youth, the opening play of the season, Roy Roberts, Elitch’s relatively young leading man, was cast as the 47-year-old playwright involved in a romance with a girl in her twenties. This was noted by the drama editor.
Roberts, the leading man, is a bit unfortunate in having to make his initial appearance before Denver theatergoers in a part that calls for him to enact a character some twenty years older than himself, but Roberts’ performance in the part gave promise of a summer characterized by a practically flawless leading man.
The play Ah, Wilderness! was the only comedy written by Eugene O’Neill. It was a Theatre Guild production in 1933, running for 289 performances on Broadway, and was described as “the tenderest and most amusing comedy of boyhood in the American Drama.” George M. Cohan appeared as Nat Miller, the father, and was praised for his fine-tuned performance. The play had never been presented in stock until permission was granted to Elitch Theatre, an honor paid to America’s well-recognized Theatre.
Ceiling Zero required a large cast which made it necessary to augment the Elitch company to double its regular size, using local performers to assist, including Jack Gurtler, son of Arnold B. Gurtler.
[Borrillo, T. A. (2012). Denver’s historic Elitch Theatre: A nostalgic journey (a history of its times). Colorado. p. 177-178]
Theatre Staff:
- Arnold B. Gurtler, President
- George L. Roberts, Treasurer
- Marie M. Gurtler, Secretary
- Addison Pitt, Director
- Lucian Self, Stage Manager
- G. Bradford Ashworth, Scenic Director
Resident Company:
- Nancy Sheridan
- Millicent Hanley
- Edith Gresham
- Adrienne Marden
- Roy Roberts
- Romaine Callender
- William J. Kelly
- Harlan Briggs
- Eric Wollencott.
Productions:
- Week of June 15: Accent on Youth, by Samson Raphaelson.
- Week of June 23: Petticoat Fever, by Mark Reed
- Week of June 30: The Bishop Misbehaves, by Frederick Jackson
- Week of July 7: Something Gay, by Adelaide Heilbron
- Week of July 14: Post Road, by Wilbur Daniel Steele and Norma Mitchell
- Week of July 21: Ceiling Zero. by Frank Wead
- Week of July 28: Unexpected Husband, by Barry Conners
- Week of Aug. 4: The Curtain Rises, by B. M. Kaye
- Week of Aug. 11: Kind Lady, by Edward Chodorov
- Week of Aug. 18: Ode to Liberty, by Sidney Howard.
- Week of Aug. 25: Ah, Wilderness!, by Eugene O’Neill. Elisha Cook, Jr. was “guest star” in his original role of Richard.
