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Webster, Margaret
Webster, Margaret (1905–72), actress and director. She was born in New York, the daughter of two famous players, Ben Webster and Dame May Whitty, and spent most of her early years on British stages. American audiences first saw her work when she directed Richard III in 1937 and first saw her act when she appeared as Masha in a 1938 revival of The Sea Gull. Webster subsequently directed several American Shakespearean productions, scoring her greatest success in 1943 with her staging of Othello. This production, which starred Paul Robeson and José Ferrer and in which she played Emilia, ran 295 performances, a still unbroken record for a Shakespearean mounting. She staged a highly praised revival of The Tempest in 1945 before joining Eva Le Gallienne and Cheryl Crawford to found the American Repertory Theatre, directing and performing in several of its offerings during its short existence. From 1948 to 1950 she toured with her Shakespearean company. Although Webster's stagings were usually lauded for their understanding of Shakespeare's characters and for their theatrical effectiveness, she regularly caused controversy for tampering with Shakespeare's texts: She eliminated the Clown in Othello, while in The Tempest she made an epilogue of the famous fourth act speech that begins with “Our revels now are ended.” Her theories and reminiscences were blended in her book Shakespeare Without Tears (1942).
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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Webster, Margaret." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Webster, Margaret." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-WebsterMargaret.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Webster, Margaret." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-WebsterMargaret.html |
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Margaret Webster
Margaret Webster 1905–72, American actress, producer, and director, b. New York City; daughter of Ben Webster and Dame May Whitty . Webster made her formal acting debut in 1924. After working with several English companies, including the Old Vic (1929–30), she returned to the United States and began (1935) an outstanding career as director and producer. In 1946, together with Eva Le Gallienne , she founded and managed the American Repertory Theatre, and from 1948 to 1951 she directed the Margaret Webster Shakespeare Company. Webster directed several operas and notable presentations of Shakespeare in England. She wrote Shakespeare without Tears (1942), Shakespeare Today (1957), and two autobiographical works, The Same Only Different (1969) and Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage (1972). |
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Cite this article
"Margaret Webster." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Margaret Webster." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WebsterM.html "Margaret Webster." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WebsterM.html |
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Whitty, Dame May
Whitty, Dame May, see WEBSTER, MARGARET.
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Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Whitty, Dame May." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Whitty, Dame May." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-WhittyDameMay.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Whitty, Dame May." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-WhittyDameMay.html |
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