Scarecrow

Percy MacKaye’s masterpiece The Scarecrow, hailed on its debut as an “unquestionable work of genius” is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Feathertop.” The premier performance was at Harvard Dramatic Club in December of 1909. It later opened on Broadway January 17, 1911 and was then subsequently filmed in 1923 as “Puritan Passions” starring Glenn Hunter, and again in 1972 as “The Scarecrow” for Broadway Theatre Archive starring Gene Wilder and Blythe Danner. In 1945, The Scarecrow was adapted into an opera by Normand and Dorothy Lockwood and dedicated to MacKaye’s late wife Marion.


The Scarecrow
September 30th - October 30th, 2005 Thursday - Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm Post-Show Discussions Oct. 2nd, Arnold Aronson of Columbia University Oct. 16th, James Leverett of Columbia University	Percy MacKaye’s masterpiece The Scarecrow, hailed on its debut as an “unquestionable work of genius” is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Feathertop.” The premier performance was at Harvard Dramatic Club in December of 1909. It later opened on Broadway January 17, 1911 and was then subsequently filmed in 1923 as “Puritan Passions” starring Glenn Hunter, and again in 1972 as “The Scarecrow” for Broadway Theatre Archive starring Gene Wilder and Blythe Danner. In 1945, The Scarecrow was adapted into an opera by Normand and Dorothy Lockwood and dedicated to MacKaye’s late wife Marion.
Set in Colonial Massachusetts, the play follows the plight of a living scarecrow, fabricated by his “mother” and animated by the Devil to take revenge against a hypocritical, well-to-do neighbor. Claiming to be the illegitimate son of the aspiring gentleman, the scarecrow beguiles the man’s innocent niece, but falls in love with her himself. As the scarecrow discovers the limits of both his humanity and inhumanity his dilemma forces those around him to discover the secrets of their own hearts.
Starring: John Blaylock, Avery Clark, Sean Dill, Sidney Fortner, Ian Gould, Deborah Johnstone, Andy MacDonald, Melissa Miller, Jeff Pagliano, Courtney Seiberling , Matthew Trumbull and Shelley Virginia	Written by: Percy MacKaye Directed by: Alex Roe Music by: Michael Kosch Stage Manager: Kimberly Wadsworth Set Design by: Ryan Scott Costume Design: Rayna Smith Lighting Design: Maryvel Bergen Dramaturgy by: Michael Bloom and Peter H. Judd
Percy MacKaye (1875-1956) Born in New York City’s Lower East Side in 1875, Percy MacKaye was the son of the theatrical innovator Steele MacKaye, who brought The Delsartre System of acting and founded the first theater school in America on East 10th Street, changing the American theatrical landscape forever. Poet, Biographer, Essayist, and Playwright, Percy MacKaye was one of the last of America’s Renaissance men, lauded in his lifetime as an American treasure. A forgotten giant of American Theater and his quintessential work celebrated for four weeks only.
* Member, Actors Equity Association	The Scarecrow is an Equity Approved Showcase Production