Four Major Plays

At the playБЂ™s climax, the judge dolefully sings the anthemic union ballad БЂњI Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night,БЂ«then BANG! Joe Hill is shot by a firing squad. Blackout. As the reading drew to an end, we could hear sniffles and muffled sobs. When it was over the crowd applauded strenuously and tearfully. I had asked my big brother, David, to come to the reading that day. He still remembers it as one of the most moving moments of theater he has ever seen. Unrehearsed play readings can sometimes have that effect. A few months after we did that downtown reading, I went back to work on Broadway. I joined the cast of Peter HallБЂ™s production of Bedroom Farce at the Brooks Atkinson on Forty-seventh Street. That showБЂ™s producer was Robert Whitehead, one of the great gentlemen of the New York theater. In his day, Bob had produced such historic Broadway fare as The Member of the Wedding, A Man for All Seasons, and the premieres of four major plays by Arthur Miller. With his impeccable suits, his urbane mustache, and his mane of white hair, Bob radiated class ...»