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Dear Playbill...

Dear PLAYBILL: In the February "Dear PLAYBILL" column you stated that the Anthony Burgess translation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Cyrano de Bergerac was the same one used by the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in 1971. As one of the producers of the recent RSC Cyrano, I must point out that Mr. Burgess did a new translation for our production and for director Terry Hands.
-Dale Duffy
New York, N.Y.

We thank you for pointing out this error. The information was supplied to us by one of the Press Representatives for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Dear PLAYBILL: Can you tell me if movie actress Louise Brooks ever appeared on the Broadway stage?
- Frank Weihs
Sea Girt, N.J.

Ms. Brooks appeared on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies and George White's Scandals in the 1920's. She also danced with the Ruth St. Denis Company and with Dario at the Persian Room of the Plaza in 1935.

Dear PLAYBILL: In the credits section of the PLAYBILL for Cats, Mathilde Pincus is listed as Musical Preparation Supervisor. What does this title entail?
-Shawn Paul Spencer
Scituate, Ma.

One of the most complex aspects of a Broadway musical is the task of copying all the musical parts for each instrument in the pit. Ms. Pincus, as Musical Preparation Supervisor, must oversee the copying of these parts and make certain that the work is being achieved on schedule and accurately.

Dear PLAYBILL: I thoroughly enjoyed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Cort Theatre, but one thing bothered me: the clock on the wall of the set. The play takes place in 1927, but I feel certain that the type of clock onstage was not invented yet in that year.
-Elmo Gross
Oakland, N.J.

The Press Representative for this play has assured us that the clock onstage in this play was of a type manufactured in 1927.

Dear PLAYBILL: I was appalled recently when I took a party to see the long-running hit, A Chorus Line, and noted that there was no orchestra in the pit. A recording of the score was played, although the singing was live. Is this a common practice in theatres today to take advantage of an unwary audience?
-Richard S. Koplin, M.D.
New York, N.Y.

There is a live orchestra in the pit at the Shubert Theatre where A Chorus Line is playing, but you can't see it because the pit has been masked with a black cloth. The American Federation of Musicians does not permit taped music to be used in a Broadway musical in lieu of live musicians.

Dear PLAYBILL: I was amazed that Hugh Whitemore's new play, Pack of Lies, ends with a question - "Is it always like that?" Are there many other plays that end with a question?
-William P. Hines
Scranton, Pa.

There have been many plays and musicals that end with a question. Some examples include: The Little Foxes ("Are you afraid, Mama?"; Agnes of God ("Wouldn't it?") and Torch Song Trilogy ("You hear that, Ma? Ma? Ma?").

Have a question about the theatre? Write to PLAYBILL, Dept. D.P. 71 Vanderbilt Avenue, Suite 320, New York, N.Y. 10169

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