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London Calling (play)

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London Calling
Little Theatre playbill
Written byGeoffrey Kerr
CharactersStraight
Mary Dayton
Anne Hunter
Jenny Fall
George Craft
Willie Craft
Carl Merodini
Mrs. Craft
Chauncey Knayling
Blewes
Henry Dayton
Date premieredOctober 18, 1930 (1930-10-18)
Place premieredLittle Theatre, Rochester, New York
Original languageEnglish
GenreComedy
SettingManhattan

London Calling is a comedy play in three acts, written by Geoffrey Kerr, produced by John Golden, and directed by Dan Jarratt. The play was first performed at Little Theatre, Rochester, New York, on October 18, 1930.[1] The star of the original production was British-born thespian St. Clair Bayfield. Geoffrey Kerr had previously performed in The Stork (1925) and also wrote short stories on the side for Vanity Fair magazine.[2]

Plot

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The comedy centres on two brothers Willie and George Craft, whose American mother and British father long have been divorced. Willie Craft has been raised in America by his mother, George by his father in London, England. When George appears for a surprise visit to Manhattan, he and Willie soon fall for a designing woman, Anne Hunter. Their mother decides she is not suitable and prevents her from seeing them, and in the process tries reconciling with their father.[3]

Scene synopsis

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Mrs. Craft's apartment on Park Avenue and George Craft's furnished apartment on East 49th Street.

Original production

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Cast and characters

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  • St. Clair Bayfield - Straight
  • Emma Bunting - Mary Dayton
  • Helen Flint - Anne Hunter
  • Penelope Hubbard - Jenny Fall
  • Geoffrey Kerr - George Craft
  • Charles Lawrence - Willie Craft
  • Edward Leiter - Carl Merodini
  • Anne Sutherland - Mrs. Craft
  • Graham Velsey - Chauncey Knayling
  • Dallas Welford - Blewes
  • Walter Wilson - Henry Dayton

Notes

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  1. ^ Bordman, Gerald Martin. American Theatre: a Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1930-1969. (Page 9) Oxford, 1996 ISBN 0-19-509078-0
  2. ^ New York Times Review 18th October 1930 [1]
  3. ^ Time Review 27th October 1930 [2]
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