Great Performances (PBS)(1972-79)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:
Rina Fox
references:
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive
GREAT PERFORMANCES
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Theater In
America
for PBS Broadcasting.
Executive Producer Jac Venza
####### Great Performances #######
########## 1972 - 1979 ##########
##############################
Great Performances: A TOUCH OF THE POET (150mins)
1974
Produced by David Griffiths
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Theater In America 1974
Based on the play by Eugene O'Neill
Directed by Kirk Browning
Cast:
Nancy Marchand ....... Nora Melody
Fritz Weaver ........ Cornelius Melody
Roberta Maxwell ...... Sara Melody
Donald Moffat ........ Jamie Cregan
John Heffernan ....... Paddy O'Dowd
Carrie Nye ........... Deborah Hartford
Robert Phaelen ....... Mickey Malloy
Synopsis:
Set in a shabby tavern outside Boston in 1828, the play centers on Cornelius Melody,
a proud Irishman who clings to memories of European gentility. Like other O'Neill works
such as "A Moon for the Misbegotten" and "Long Day's Journey into Night," "A Touch of the Poet"
explores its characters' conflicts with reality and illusion, as well as their joys and sorrows in love.
*Note: Produced on Broadway in 1958 five years after Eugene O'Neill's death, A "Touch of the Poet"
was conceived as part of a nine-play chronicle spanning 175 years.
Great Performances: THE WIDOWING OF MRS. HOLROYD
1974
Written by D.H. Lawrence
Directed by Arvin Brown & John Desmond
Music by Arthur Rubinstein
Produced by Jac Venza
Executive Producer Jac Venza
Cast:
Geraldine Fitzgerald ..... Grandmother
Joyce Ebert .............. Mrs. Holroyd
Rex Robbins .............. Holroyd
Frank Converse ........... Blackmore
Veronica Castang ......... Laura
Roberta Maxwell .......... Clara
Emery Battis
Vicky Geyer
Timothy Ousey
William Swetland
Synopsis:
D.H. Lawrence's "The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd" is a naturalistic drama drawn from Lawrence's
memories of his parents' turbulent marriage. Set in pre-World War I England, the play centers
on the conflict between a coarse, blustering coal miner and his refined, working-class wife.
Great Performances: THE SEAGULL
1975
Adapted by Stark Young
Based on Anton Chekov's play
Directed by John Desmond & Nikos Psacharopoulos
Music by Girish Bhargava
Produced by David Griffiths
cast:
Lee Grant ................ Irina Arkadina
Frank Langella ........... Konstantin Treplev
Blythe Danner ............ Nina
Kevin McCarthy ........... Trigorin
Marian Mercer ............ Masha
Olympia Dukakis .......... Pauline
David Clennon ............ Medvedenko
George Ede ............... Shamrayev
William Swetland ......... Storin
Louis Zorich ............. Dorn
Great Performances: THE CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE
1975
Adaptation of the Ronald Ribman play
Directed by Arthur Seidelman & Ken Rockefeller
Produced by Bob Markell
Executivie Producer Jac Venza
Music by Charles Gross
Cast:
Richard Kiley ............ King Ethelred
James Broderick .......... Sussex
Larry Gates .............. Kent
Jessie Royce Landis ...... Alfreda
Elizabeth Hubbard ........ Emma
John Horn ................ Edmund
Ernest Graves ............ Sweyn
Gilmer McCormick ......... Thulja
Michael Lombard
Howard Green
David Gwillim
Robert Gerringer
Synopsis:
The vacillating King Ethelred is drained of the decisive initiative he needs to save his throne and reputation.
With its exquisite lighting and liberal use of close shots, this production conveys the claustrophobic
miasma of fear and violence of a period when lives were undoubtedly nasty, short and brutish.
Great Performances: ZALMEN OR THE MADNESS OF GOD
1975
written by Elie Wiesel
Directed by Peter Levin & Alan Schneider
Produced by Ken Campbell
Executive Producer Jac Venza
Cast:
Joseph Wiseman ........... Rabbi
Dianne Wiest ............. Nina
Robert Prosky
Richard Bauer
Gary Bayer
Leslie Cass
Nancy Dutton
Michael Gorrin
Mark Hammer
Michael Haney
John Jellison
Kenneth Kantor
Howard Witt
Glenn Taylor
Sanford Seeger
Scott Schofield
John Koch
Leib Lensky
Michael Mertz
David Reinhardsen
Synopsis:
Set in post-Stalinist Russia in a synagogue on the eve of an appearance by a Western
acting troupe, "Zalmen" has been described as a cry of anguish about the collective guilt of "the silent."
Great Performances: YEAR OF THE DRAGON
1975
Written by Frank Chin
Directed by Russell Treyz & Portman Paget
Produced by Matthew N. Herman
Executive Producer Jac Venza
Cast:
George Takei ............. Fred Eng
Pat Suzuki
Synopsis:
A portrait of an Asian American's furious struggle for identity, the play is a searing statement, a powerful cry.
Great Performances: THE RULES OF THE GAME (90mins)
1975
Produced by Ken Campbell
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Theater in America 1975
By Luigi Pirandello translation by William Murray
Directed by Stephen Porter Kirk Browning
With:
Joan Van Ark ............. Silvia Gala
David Dukes .............. Guido Venanzi
John McMartin ............ Leone Gala
Glenn Close .............. Neighbor
Charles Kimbrough ........ Dr. Spiga
Joel Fabiani
Ellen Tovatt
George Ede
Clarence Felder
Peter Friedman
Munson Hicks
Jeanette Landis
Nicholas Hormann
Fred Morsell
Synopsis:
Luigi Pirandello's 1918 tragicomedy is set among the Italian upper class. The main characters
are an impulsive young woman, the lover she exasperates and her cynical husband. The
husband’s apathetic attitude is that life is a game played by arbitrary rules, and his role is that
of an unemotional observer. His philosophy is severely put to the test when his wife draws him
into a duel with a nobleman who drunkenly accosted her.
Great Performances: THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE (120minS)
1976
Produced by Lindsay Law
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Theater In America 1976
Based on a play by William Saroyan
Directed by Jack O'Brien & Kirk Browning
Narrated by William Saroyan
Cast:
Patti LuPone ............. Kitty Duval
Gerald Gutierrez ......... Wesley
Kevin Kline .............. McCarthy
Benjamin Hendrickson ..... Nick
Richard Ooms ............ Arab
Nicholas Survoy .......... Joe
Sam Tsoutsouvas .......... Willie
Elaine Hausman ........... Reporter
Michael Tolaydo .......... Drunkard
Norman Snow .............. Tom
Robert Bacigalupi ........ Dudley
Brooks Baldwin ........... Harry
Glynis Bell .............. Lorene
James Harper ............. Blick
Mary Lou Rosato .......... Mary
Roy K. Stevens ........... Krupp
David Schramm ............ Kit Carson
Synopsis:
William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play revolves around the denizens of a San Francisco
bar in 1939. Lonely, lovelorn, weary or cynical, the characters drift in and out of the bar
and each other's lives, giving voice to Saroyan's philosophies as they randomly comment
about the impending world war, the beauty of art, and traditional notions of good and evil.
At least one of the relationships stands a chance of enduring: a brawny innocent named
Tom, who is falling in love with a vulnerable young prostitute named Kitty. Saroyan
himself is heard reciting the play's prologue.
Great Performances: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (120mins)
1976
Produced by Ken Campbell
Associate Producer Charlene Harrington
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances: Theater In America 1976
Based on a play by William Shakespeare
Directed by William Ball & Kirk Browning Carol Englehart
Music by Lee Hoiby
Cast:
Fredi Olster ............. Katherina
Marc Singer .............. Petruchio
Stephen St. Paul ......... Lucentio
Sandra Shotwell .......... Bianca
William Paterson ......... Baptista
Harry Hamlin ............. Mariamo
Raye Birk ................ Gremio
Ronald Boussom............ Grumio
Barbara Dirickson ........ Sugarsop
Al White ................. Nathaniel
Laird Williamson ......... Vincentio
James R. Winkler ......... Hortensio
Rick Hamilton ............ Tranio
Michael K. Hall .......... Emilio
Daniel Kern .............. Biondello
Charles Hyman ............ Camellio
Earl Boen ................ a Pedant
Daniel Zippi ............. the Tailor
Robert Ellerbee .......... the Haberdasher
Deborah May .............. a Widow
Members of the American Conservatory Theater
Synopsis:
San Francisco's prize-winning American Conservatory Theater's rowdy commedia
dell'arte production incorporates slapstick, pratfall and earthy humor into William Shakespeare's
comedy about the two unmarried daughters of a wealthy Italian merchant. While daughter Bianca
is genteel and popular, daughter Kate is foul-tempered and strong-willed. No one dares to
marry Kate, until Petruchio arrives in Padua and tries his hand at courtship.
Great Performances: SEA MARKS (70mins)
1976
Produced by Ronald F. Maxwell
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances, Theater In America 1976
Based on the story by Gardner McKay
Directed by Steven Robman Ronald F. Maxwell
Cast:
Veronica Castang ......... Timothea
George Hearn ............ Colm Primrose
Synopsis:
The terrible beauty of a remote Irish island is the setting for a love story between a
fisherman smitten by an English woman he has glimpsed only once at a wedding.
Unschooled in letter-writing, he courts her by mail over the period of a year. She finds
primitive poetry in the way he writes and asks him to come to Liverpool to live with her.
There, she works at a publishing house that she interest in printing his "poems" in a slim
volume. For a moment he becomes a celebrity on the rise. But their ways of life are in
dreadful conflict and following the death of his father on their small fishing boat, he is
forced to return to the only life he can live well.
Great Performances: SECRET SERVICE (120mins)
1977
Produced by Ken Campbell
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Theater In America 1977
Based on a play by William Gillette
Directed by Daniel Freudenberger & Peter Levin
Introduced by Hal Holbrook
Cast:
Meryl Streep .............. Edith Varney
John Lithgow .............. Captain Thorne
Mary Beth Hurt ............ Caroline Mitford
Jeffrey Jones ............. Sergeant Wilson
Don Scardino .............. Wilfred Varney
Louise Stubbs ............. Martha
Lenny Baker ............... Henry Dumont
Charles Kimbrough ......... Benton Arrelsford
Arthur Miller ............. Messenger B
Hansford Rowe ............. Messenger A
David Harris .............. Jonas
Roy Poole ................. Major General Randolph
Rex Robbins ............... Lt. Foray
Frederick Coffin .......... Lt. Maxwell
Alice Drummond ............ Mrs. Varney
Joe Grifasi ............... Cpl. Matson
Moultrie Patten ........... Cavalry Orderly
Synopsis:
The tale of a Union spy working to seize control of the telegraph office in Richmond,
Virginia in 1864. Posing as a wounded Confederate captain named Thorne,
the spy's false orders to a Confederate Army commander raise the suspicions of a southern agent,
who uses a local girl in love with Thorne as his reluctant accomplice to set a trap.
Great Performances: THE SCHOOL OF SCANDAL (120mins)
1977
Produced by David Griffiths
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances, Theater In America 1975
Adapted by Michael Bawtree
Based on the play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Directed by Michael Langham & Nick Havinga
Music by Stanley Silverman
Cast:
Blair Brown .............. Lady Teazle
Kenneth Welsh ............ Charles Surface
Larry Gates .............. Sir Oliver Surface
Nicholas Kepros .......... Joseph Surface
Patricia Connolly
Synopsis:
First performed in 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's sophisticated comedy of manners
satirizes the extravagance and corruption of London society. "The School for Scandal's"
combination of elegant language and earthy comedy weaves a deliciously nasty tale of
intrigue, slander and clandestine love affairs. Blair Brown stars in this timeless, witty look at the
wages of scandal mongering and social climbing, scheming and hypocrisy.
Great Performances: THE ROYAL FAMILY (120mins)
1977
Produced by Ken Campbell
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances 1977
Based on the play by George S. Kaufman Edna Ferber
Directed by Kirk Browning & Ellis Rabb
Cast:
Rosemary Harris .......... Julie Cavendish
Eva Le Gallienne ......... Fanny Cavendish
Sam Levene ............... Oscar Wolfe
Ellis Rabb ............... Tony Cavendish
Keene Curtis ............. Herbert
Rosetta LeNoire .......... Della
John Remme ............... Joe
Mary Layne ............... Gwen
Donald Barton
Sherman Lloyd
Betty Low
David O. Petersen
Forrest Buckman
David A. Butler
Michael Cuddy
George Gitto
C. Salyk-Lynton
Mary Louise Wilson
Synopsis:
George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber collaborated on this 1927 hit comedy about an
eminent and slightly eccentric theatrical clan. A Barrymore-like brood, the Cavendishes,
are as flamboyant offstage as they are on. Their real-life family drama occurs in a Manhattan
apartment when the grand matriarch, Fanny Cavendish, learns that her daughter and granddaughter
may both be giving up the stage for marriage. Complicating the situation is the arrival of Fanny's
son, Tony - a matinee idol on the run from a breach-of-promise suit. Theatre legends
Rosemary Harris, Eva Le Gallienne, Sam Levene and Ellis Rabb have great fun portraying
characters they know all to well from their years on stage.
Great Performances: THE TRIAL OF THE MOKE (90mins)
1978
Produced by Ken Campbell
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Theater In America 1978
By Daniel A. Stein
Directed by Stan Lathan
Cast:
Franklyn Seales .......... Lt. Henry O. Flipper
Robert Burr .............. Colonel Shafter
Alfre Woodard
Samuel Jackson
Howard Rollins, Jr.
Synopsis:
"The Trial of the Moke" is based on the real life story of the humiliation and anguish suffered
by Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point. Assigned to serve at
Fort Davis, Texas in 1881, Flipper became the object of a conspiracy to rid the base of its
only black graduate. Flipper, portrayed by Franklyn Seales, was framed by white officers
who accused him of embezzling government funds. Ninety-four years later, Flipper was
vindicated only a week after "The Trial of the Moke" ended its world premiere run at the
Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 1976. A military reburial with honors followed in 1978.
Great Performances: TARTUFFE (130mins)
1978
Produced by Ann Blumenthal
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances: Theater In America 1978
By Jean-Baptiste Moliere translation by Richard Wilbur
Directed by Kirk Browning
Music by John Adams
Hosted by Hal Holbrook
With:
Donald Moffat ............ Tartuffe
Victor Garber ............ Valere
Tammy Grimes ............. Elmire
Geraldine Fitzgerald ..... Madame Pernelle
Patricia Elliott ......... Dorine
Stefan Gierasch .......... Orgon
Ray Wise ................. Damis
Johanna Leister .......... Mariane
Peter Coffield ........... Cleante
Roy Brocksmith ........... Monsieur Loyal
Ruth Livingston .......... Flipote
Jim Broaddus ............. Deputy
Synopsis:
Tartuffe manipulates his way into the confidence and affection of Orgon, an affluent bourgeois
concerned with his own salvation, and whose wife and daughter Tartuffe attempts to seduce.
Great Performances: UNCOMMON WOMEN AND OTHERS (90mins)
1979
Produced by Phylis Geller
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances: Theater In America 1978
Written by Wendy Wasserstein
Directed by Steve Robman & Merrily Mossman
Narrated by Alexander Scourby
Cast:
Meryl Streep ............. Leilah
Jill Eikenberry .......... Kate Quin
Swoosie Kurtz ............ Rita Altabel
Ann McDonough ............ Samantha Stewart
Alma Cuervo .............. Holly Kaplan
Ellen Parker ............. Muffet DiNicola
Josephine Nicholas ....... Mrs. Plumm
Cynthia Herman ........... Susie Friend
Anna Levine .............. Carter
Synopsis:
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein’s first play.
At a reunion seven years after their graduation from Mount Holyoke College, five former
classmates assess whether they have achieved their youthful goals. In a flashback,
the women, all part of a group dubbed "uncommon" - because they were expected
to be "amazing" before they reached thirty - relive their senior year and examine
the influences that shaped them.
Great Performances: VERNA: USO GIRL (90mins)
1978
Produced by Jac Venza
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York: Great Performances 1978
Adapted by Albert Innaurato
Story by Paul Gallico
Directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
With:
Sissy Spacek ............. Verna Vane
William Hurt ............. Walter
Sally Kellerman .......... Maureen
Howard Da Silva .......... Eddie
Joseph Turin ............. Pete
Vaughan Hooks ............ Sammy
Greg Enos ................ Lt. Smith
Thomas Kersey ............ Major
George Wolfert ........... Captain
Robert Roelse ............ Sergeant
Jamie Flanery ............ Driver
Louise Haraczka .......... WAC Sergeant
Synopsis:
Verna USO Girl, a kindhearted - but not particularly talented-member of a performing
troupe in World War II Belgium. She wins the heart of an American soldier memorably
played by William Hurt. "Verna:USO Girl" takes an entertaining look at the camaraderie
between USO entertainers and combat troops.
Adapted by Albert Innaurato from Paul Gallico's short story.
Great Performances: WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER, I'LL SKATE (60mins)
1979
Produced by Emile Ardolino Judy Kinberg
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York, Great Performances, Theater In America 1979
Written by Vinnette Carroll
Music by Cleavant Derricks, Clinton Derricks
Directed by Vinnette Carroll & Emile Ardolino
Cast:
Clevant Derricks
Lynne Thigpen
Lynne Clifton-Allen
Clinton Derricks-Carroll
Brenda Braxton
Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter
Reginald VelJohnson
Marilyn Winbush
Synopsis:
Vinnette Carroll's lively, spirit-lifting musical, celebrates the sheer joy - and survival -
of Black music, song and poetry since the days of America's Civil War. With utter grace
and ease, the gifted eight-member singing ensemble glides from gospel to disco
and from slave quarter sermons to contemporary black poetry. During the course of the
energetic production the cast pokes fun at many contemporary preoccupations, among
them dieting and dating. In the more tender moments, much is revealed: an actress
shares the frustrations of a black woman longing to be recognized for herself and not
simply for her "blackness"; while another actress sings the lively, yet poignant
"Elegy For A Lady, " dedicated to Billie Holiday.
Great Performances: THE SORROWS OF GIN (60mins)
1979
Produced by Ann Blumenthal, Peter Weinberg
Executive Producer Jac Venza
A Presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York
By Wendy Wasserstein adapting the work of John Cheever
Directed by Jack Hofsiss
Cast:
Sigourney Weaver ......... Marcia Lawton
Edward Herrmann .......... Kip Lawton
Eileen Heckart ........... Rosemary
Mara Hobel ............... Amy Lawton
Rachel Roberts ........... Mrs. Henlein
Marcella Lowry ........... Ruby
William Prince ........... Carl
Baxter Harris ............ Bill
John Harkins ............. Trace
Charlotte Moore
Sally Jane Heit
Holland Taylor
Synopsis:
An affluent suburban couple whose empty and gin-fueled lives are observed through
the eyes of their neglected, eight-year-old daughter in a teleplay adapted by playwright
Wendy Wasserstein from John Cheever's short story. The tension and sadness behind
the veneer of upper-class life in Shady Hill are at the heart of this insightful drama.
######## Great Performances ########
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