Horse Eats Hat
Encyclopedia
Horse Eats Hat is a 1936 farce
play co-written and directed by the 21-year-old Orson Welles
, and performed by the Mercury Theatre
. It was the second Mercury production, after their highly successful Voodoo Macbeth
.
The script by Welles and Edwin Denby
was an adaptation of the classic French farce Un chapeau de paille d'Italie
by Eugene Labiche and Marc-Michel.
The play premiered at the Maxine Elliott Theatre
, New York
on 26 September 1936, running until 5 December.
Welles told his biographer Peter Bogdanovich
:
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
play co-written and directed by the 21-year-old Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, and performed by the Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
. It was the second Mercury production, after their highly successful Voodoo Macbeth
Voodoo Macbeth
The Voodoo Macbeth is a common nickname for the Federal Theatre Project's 1936 New York production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, featuring an all-African American cast directed by Orson Welles...
.
The script by Welles and Edwin Denby
Edwin Denby
Edwin Denby may refer to:* Edwin Denby , U.S. poet, novelist, dance critic* Edwin Denby , U.S. politician, Secretary of Navy, noted in the Teapot Dome Scandal...
was an adaptation of the classic French farce Un chapeau de paille d'Italie
Un chapeau de paille d'Italie
Un chapeau de paille d'Italie may refer to:* Un chapeau de paille d'Italie , an 1851 vaudevilliste play by Eugène Marin Labiche and Marc MichelAdaptations of the play include:...
by Eugene Labiche and Marc-Michel.
The play premiered at the Maxine Elliott Theatre
Maxine Elliott Theatre
The Maxine Elliott Theatre was a Broadway theater located at 109 West 39th Street in New York City. Built in 1908, it was demolished in 1960. The theater was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago firm Marshall and Fox....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 26 September 1936, running until 5 December.
Welles told his biographer Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
:
- "The farce Horse Eats Hat was the best of the Mercury shows - and, though successful, it divided the town. The press was mixed, yet it was always packed, and had an enormous following. Some people went to it every week as long as it ran."
See also
- http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/federaltheatre/playsandplayers/classics/ExhibitObjects/HorseEatsHat.aspx Library of Congress listing for the play]