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STAR STATUS
These days B'way marquees frequently feature unknowns.

[[IMAGE]]

NINA NOBODY
in 
MEDEA

The technical definition of a star is someone whose name appears above the title of the play. But there is also an implicit understanding that the name belongs up there. The names of Cornell, Hayes, Olivier, Gielgud, Hepburn, Benhardt, or any one of the Barrymores were far more important the the title of any play they ever appeared in. However in the past few seasons Broadway marquees which used to blaze with names of unquestioned glitter, are now frequently splattered with unknowns. 

Recently, Variety, the show biz news-paper which has covered theatre for 75 years, lamented this trend in a short piece headlined "Who dat?". In the article the editors asserted that they were not going to recognize star billing for anyone whose name was not remotely familiar to them. They maintained, quite rightly I think, that star status is something which should be earned like stripes in the navy. 

In addition to being widely recognized a genuine star is also someone whose name above the title presumably sells tickets. Examples: Elizabeth Taylor in The Little Foxes. David Bowie (and currently Mark Hamill) in The Elephant Man.

When it was announced that Mr. Bowie was taking over in Elephant Man, I stood in the Booth Theatre lobby for a couple of hours questioning the steady line of ticket buyers. With one exception every customer was there to see David Bowie. The single dissenter, who was almost the only one over 30, said, "Oh, God, no.. I don't want to see him." (She was nearly lynched by the young couple behind her.) I questioned her as to why she hadn't hurried to then play before Mr. Bowie got into it and she said she had just arrived that morning from Johannesburg. But for the rest, Tony Awards notwithstanding, it was "An Evening With David Bowie."

That should satisfy everyone, even the author. If you have a good show what do you care why they come? As Moss Hart used to say, "Just have an ass on every seat." Robert Preston put it even better to Margaret Sullavan when she complained bitterly that, although she was the box office draw in Janus, he had the show stealing part. "That's okay, Maggie," Bob said. "You keep on bringing them in and I'll keep on entertaining them."

Earlier this season we had a wonderfully graphic demonstration of what a bona fide star is: Richard Burton in the revival of Camelot. On the banner that floated over the New York State Theater, Burton's name was ten times the size of the title of the play. And rightly so. Burton, not Arthur, was the king of Camelot.

The reviews were not universally good. Couldn't have mattered less. King Richard's subjects lined up in double queues which overflowed the lobby out into the patios and encircled the fountains. Proof, of course, that notices have little to do with the business of being a star.

That unmistakable star quality was well explained in the George S. Kaufman- Edna Ferber play, Stage Door. The director in the play says to the aspiring actress (Margaret Sullavan): "Take Helen Hayes and Elisabeth Bergner. They might be the little girl who's come to deliver the

by Harold J. Kennedy

---

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Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-24 10:29:56 First image shows a group of four people in evening dress looking at a theater marquee reading "Nina Nobody in Medea" Check formatting of other images, I changed parentheses to brackets but I'm not sure whether the descriptions should be in there. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-24 11:58:24