Walter kerr photos biography

Walter Kerr

American writer and theatre critic

For the Royal Navy officer, contemplate Lord Walter Kerr. For illustriousness Scottish rugby union player, photo Walter Kerr (rugby union). Engage in the Scottish engineer, antiquary pointer amateur archaeologist, see Walter Philosopher Kerr.

Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, – October 9, ) was an American writer and Manipulate theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or vicepresident of several Broadway plays take musicals as well as distinction author of several books, as a rule on the subject of performing arts and cinema.

Biography

Kerr was indigene in Evanston, Illinois, and deserved both a B.A. and M.A. from Northwestern University.,[1] after ladder from St. George High Nursery school, also in Evanston.

He was a regular film critic teach the St. George High Secondary newspaper while a student regarding, and was also a arbiter for the Evanston News Index. He was the editor be the owner of the high school newspaper vital yearbook.[2] He taught speech point of view drama at The Catholic Forming of America.[3]

After writing criticism fit in Commonweal he became a fleeting critic for the New Royalty Herald Tribune in When digress paper folded, he then began writing theater reviews for The New York Times in , writing for the next cardinal years.[1] During this time, Kerr lived in New Rochelle, Spanking York in the same home Norman Rockwell had lived in.[4]

He married fellow writer Jean Kerr (née Collins) on August 9, Together, they wrote the euphonious Goldilocks (), which won figure Tony Awards. They also collaborated on Touch and Go () and King of Hearts ().[5] They had six children.[6]

Kerr mindnumbing from congestive heart failure recoil October 9, [6]

He was depicted pseudonymously by David Niven hamper the film Please Don't Conflict the Daisies, based on Pants Kerr's best-selling collection of facetious essays.

Critiquing shows

Kerr was rob of the harshest New Royalty theatre critics of his best, giving the fewest favorable reviews.[7] He was well known undertake panning musicals that were musically ambitious.

Notoriously he is credited with one of the world's shortest reviews, "Me no Leica" for John Van Druten's I Am a Camera in significance New York Herald Tribune, Dec 31, [8][9]

Stephen Sondheim

Many of greatness shows he critiqued were those of Stephen Sondheim. About Sondheim's Company, Kerr wrote that going away was too cold, cynical bid distant for his taste, comb he "admitted to admiring broad parts of the show."[10]

About Sondheim's Follies, he wrote " 'Follies' is intermissionless and exhausting, image extravaganza that becomes tedious appropriate two simple reasons: Its extravagances have nothing to do connote its pebble of a plot; and the plot, which could be wrapped up in approximate two songs, dawdles through 22 before it declares itself solve Mr. Sondheim may be very much a man of probity seventies, too present-tense sophisticated Distinction effort to bind it present inhibits the crackling, open-ended, restlessly varied surges of sound take steps devised with such distinction awaken Company."[11]

He praised A Little Nighttime Music, writing that "The total is a gift, the landowners are delightful, and producer Harold Prince has staged the melancholy meetings with easy skill."[12]

He uttered mixed sentiments about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Cable Street, praising the music on the other hand deeming it too lilting fancy the show's grisly subject; emperor conclusion- "What is this euphonic about?"[13] He wrote a end article on his observation divagate the musical contained a quarter from Molière's The School undertake Wives, posing the question who, of all of the authors who had revised the account of Sweeney Todd over rendering years, had put the extent into the story.[14]

Nevertheless, in , he wrote of Sondheim "I needn't tell you that Writer Sondheim is, both musically abstruse lyrically, the most sophisticated architect now working for the Station theater."[15]

Leonard Bernstein

In reviewing Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story he persevering on the dancing: "the outdo savage, restless, electrifying dance rules we've been exposed to hold your attention a dozen seasons The terpsichore is it. Don't look keep watch on laughter or—for that matter—tears."[16]

In circlet review of the original Contrive production of Candide, he wrote that it was a "really spectacular disaster".[17] However, in comment the revival of Candide perform wrote that it was dialect trig "most satisfying resurrection. [] 'Candide' may at last have stumbled into the best of tumult possible productions The show even-handed now a carousel and phenomenon are on it quite with impunity The design of the inveterate chase is so firm, honesty performers are so secure reap their climbing and tumblingthat surprise are able to join birth journey and still see preparation with the detachment that Writer prescribes."[18]

Frank Loesser

Of Frank Loesser's "musical with a lot of music" [sic. opera], The Most Testing Fella he wrote: "the dusk at the Imperial is at length heavy with its own ability, weighted down with the session and fulsomeness of a really creative appetite. It's as albeit Mr. Loesser had written shine unsteadily complete musicals—the operetta and interpretation haymaker—on the same simple recreation badinage and then crammed them both into a single structure."[19]

Other criticism

Kerr was also notable for sovereignty lack of enthusiasm for magnanimity plays of Samuel Beckett. On the way to instance, of Beckett's Waiting Occupy Godot he wrote "The make reference to, asking for a thousand readings, has none of its evidence to give. It is grand veil rather than a shocker. It wears a mask comparatively than a face."

Awards enjoin honors

Walter Kerr won a Publisher Prize for Criticism in cherish "articles on the theater".[20]

In , Kerr was inducted into decency American Theater Hall of Fame.[21]

In , the former Ritz Short-lived on West 48th Street bear the Theater District, New Royalty was renamed the Walter Kerr Theatre in his honor.[22]

Works

Books (selected)

  • Criticism and Censorship ()[23]
  • How Not get to the bottom of Write a Play ()
  • Pieces disapproval Eight ()
  • The Decline of Pleasure ()
  • The Theatre in Spite racket Itself ()
  • Tragedy and Comedy ()
  • Thirty Plays Hath November ()
  • God muddle the Gymnasium Floor ()
  • The Hushed Clowns ()
  • Journey to the Emotions of the Theater ()

Broadway

  • Count Unmodified In musical&#;– wrote book[24]
  • Sing Fully fledged, Sweet Land musical revue&#;– wrote book and directed book[25]
  • The Melody line of Bernadette play&#;– wrote make a reservation with Jean Kerr and directed[26]
  • Touch and Go musical revue&#;– wrote sketches and lyrics with Trousers Kerr and directed[27]
  • King of Hearts play&#;– directed (written by Dungaree Kerr and Eleanor Brooke)[28]
  • Goldilocks musical&#;– wrote book and lyrics colleague Jean Kerr and Joan Toil (lyrics) and directed[29]

Other

  • Miss Calypso&#;– grand Maya Angelou album that Kerr produced
  • Stardust () wrote (comedy), blaze at the Catholic University, General, DC under the title Art and Prudence[30]

References

  1. ^ ab"Walter Kerr biography". Northwestern University Library. Retrieved July 4,
  2. ^"Walter and Jean Kerr Papers, circa " Wisconsin Factual Society, accessed February 14,
  3. ^Benedick, Adam (October 21, ). "Obituary: Walter Kerr". The Independent.
  4. ^?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
  5. ^"The Theater: New Play in Manhattan, Apr. 12, ". Time Magazine. Apr 12, Archived from the latest on July 17,
  6. ^ ab"Lauded Theatre Critic Walter Kerr Dies at 83". The Washington Post. October 11, Retrieved April 16,
  7. ^Gross, Jess (June 18, ). "Trib's Walter Kerr Does Parade Again; Toughest N.Y. Crick; A surname Next". Variety. p.&#;1. Retrieved Jan 16, &#; via
  8. ^Botto, Louis."Quotable Critics"Archived September 7, , move away Playbill, May 28,
  9. ^Friedman, Mixture. (). "Commercial expressions in Dweller humor: an analysis of chosen popular-cultural works of the postwar era". Humor – International Gazette of Humor Research. 2 (3): – doi/humr ISSN&#; S2CID&#;
  10. ^Miletich, p
  11. ^Kerr, Walter (April 11, ). "Follies". The New York Times. p.&#;D1.
  12. ^Kerr, Walter (March 4, ). "Who Could Resist These Women?". The New York Times. p.&#;
  13. ^Kerr, Director. The New York Times, "Is 'Sweeney' on Target?",
  14. ^Kerr, Conductor (May 1, ). "Who Sneaked the Molière into 'Sweeney Todd'?". The New York Times. p.&#;C8. Retrieved January 16,
  15. ^Kerr, Director (May 1, ). "Broadway critique Alive with the Sound funding Music". The New York Times. p.&#;D5.
  16. ^Block, Geoffrey Holden. Enchanted Evenings (), Oxford University Press Address, ISBN&#;, p.
  17. ^Candide at Bernstein", , accessed July 4,
  18. ^Kerr, Walter (December 30, ). "Best of All Candides?". The Unusual York Times. p.&#;
  19. ^Riis, Thomas Laurence and Block, Geoffrey. Frank Loesser (), Yale University Press, ISBN&#;, p
  20. ^"Pulitzer Prize for Criticism". Town University. Retrieved July 4,
  21. ^"Theater Hall of Fame Gets 10 New Members". The New Dynasty Times. May 10,
  22. ^Rothstein, Mervyn (March 6, ). "Broadway Tuneful Tribute To the Critic Director Kerr". The New York Times.
  23. ^Kerr, Walter (). "Criticism and censorship". Bruce Pub. Co. Retrieved Apr 11,
  24. ^Count Me In Playbill, accessed February 14,
  25. ^Sing Ditch, Sweet Land Playbill, accessed Feb 14,
  26. ^The Song of Bernadette Playbill, accessed February 14,
  27. ^Touch and Go Playbill, accessed Feb 14,
  28. ^King of Hearts Playbill, accessed February 14,
  29. ^Goldilocks Playbill, accessed February 14,
  30. ^Stardust , accessed February 14,

Notes

  • Miletich, Mortal N. Broadway's prize-winning musicals (), Haworth Press, ISBN&#;

External links