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For Teachers
Harold Clurman and The Group Theatre:
A Celebration and a Call to Action
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Educational Guide - Part V
V. CLURMAN’S CHANGING ROLES AND EVOLVING IDEAS
A. Harold Clurman’s many roles throughout his lifetime in the
theatre
1. Harold Clurman, impassioned theatre activist
Clurman’s idealism and audacity distinguished him early on as a unique
personality in the theatre. His commitment to the Group Idea was unyielding,
and his belief in the power of art and human exchange inspired many through
the hardest of times.
2. Harold Clurman, director
Clurman did not direct for The Group Theatre until 1935, when he undertook
Odets’ Awake and Sing, hailed as The Group’s greatest artistic
success. He went on to direct four more Odets plays for The Group (Paradise
Lost, Golden Boy, Rocket to the Moon, and Night Music) and two by Irwin Shaw.
After the dissolution of The Group Theatre, Clurman’s career as a director
expanded. For thirty years, he directed steadily in the U.S. and throughout
the world, staging such notable and successful productions as The Member
of the Wedding with Julie Harris and Ethel Waters, Bus Stop with Kim Stanley,
and A Touch of the Poet with Kim Stanley and Helen Hayes. He directed works
by many of the 20th century’s greatest playwrights, including Arthur
Miller, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, and William Inge. Clurman’s
final effort as a director was an acclaimed production of Chekhov’s
Uncle Vanya with Joseph Wiseman at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in
1969.
Clurman directed many celebrated actors throughout his career; in addition
to those noted above, he also directed Eli Wallach, Maureen Stapleton, Kim
Stanley, Ralph Richardson, Roy Scheider Michael Redgrave, and Marlon Brando,
whom he cast in Truckline Café in his first adult role. Brando had been
recommended to Clurman by the young actor’s teacher, Stella Adler.
Clurman also worked outside the United States, directing in London,
Tel Aviv, and in Tokyo, where the actors in his productions of O’Neill’s
Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Iceman Cometh nicknamed him “Uncle
Fireball.”
Describing Clurman’s style and process as a director, producer Robert
Whitehead said: “ He would begin to discuss the life, the complexities and the purpose
of the play and the journey each actor will take as he or she finds the way to
the center of the play’s world…Harold had a way of grabbing an idea
and then improvising on his own words till they built and built into a passion
that was dazzling, frenzied, and illuminating…he then subsided into a pensiveness
in which he very thoughtfully watched the results of the imagery he had set in
motion” (Collected Works, 2).
3. Harold Clurman’s affirmative approach to dramatic criticism
Considered “the elder statesman of the American theatre,” Clurman
wrote as a critic first for The New Republic, and then for The Nation from
1953 until his death in 1980. His career writing theatre commentary began well
before this, however; articles, essays and reviews by Clurman had appeared
in a variety of publications beginning in the late 1920’s.
Clurman believed the function of the critic was to enlighten or illuminate,
rather than to “praise or damn.” Critics, he knew, had the power
and the tendency to do more harm than good and their opinions could cripple
or catapult careers as well as dictate the failure or success of a production.
While a typical critic might be short-sighted, blinded by personal bias, and
ultimately destructive to a production and artists, Clurman’s criticism
was altogether different in tone, always thoughtful, embracing, and forward-looking.
He “guarded and perpetuated a tradition,” culturally educating
his readers by relating the theatre’s rich past to the present moment
and examining the social significance of new theatrical trends. As Arthur Miller
proclaimed, “He has no peer among theatre critics and commentators in
this country.”
4. Harold Clurman, teacher, author, and more
In the 1950’s, Clurman began teaching late evening classes, working with
such actors including Maureen Stapleton, Elizabeth Wilson, Eli Wallach, Julie
Harris, Roy Scheider and Colleen Dewhurst. Clurman continued to teach private
classes until his death, personally guiding and inspiring hundreds of theatre
artists. He was also appointed as a professor of theatre at Hunter College
in New York, where he taught from 1967-1980.
His ideas on the theatre also found expression in his many books and
essays. Clurman’s published works include The Fervent Years, his comprehensive
account of The Group Theatre’s life and work in the 1930’s, On
Directing, and his autobiographical work All People Are Famous, among others.
In 1994, Applause Books published The Collected Works of Harold Clurman, containing
articles, interviews, letters, and criticism spanning six decades.
B. Why do we celebrate Clurman?
1. His ideas, and the passion with which he articulated them and put
them into action, inspired a generation of theatre artists (those who
would lead and shape the generation to follow) during the formative years
of the American theatre.
2. His initiative had an enormous effect on the course of history; his
actions are an inspiring tribute to the impact that can result from the
dreams and actions of one determined soul.
3. His universal embrace of life and art widened the scope of concern
of theatre artists in the 30’s. As a critic, his aim was to encourage
and support the health of our artistic institutions, rather than to damage
or control individual careers. His opinions were thoughtful and constructive;
his criticism was designed to take care of the art form and those who
devoted their careers to it.
C. Why are so many young theatre artists virtually unaware of Clurman’s
legacy and his tremendous contributions to their profession?
1. As Stella Adler has written, Harold Clurman’s legacy is in
danger of being lost because he established no heir. No studio or training
program bears his name, and though he influenced and touched many, no
one individual or set of individuals were selected to carry his ideas
and legacy into the future.
2. Despite the wealth of material written by Clurman, his many books
and essays rarely appear on class syllabi. Unfortunately, classes and
lectures on Clurman and The Group Theatre are all too frequently absent
from traditional theatre curriculum.
3. Ours is a society that tends to neglect our own history. Young theatre
artists are not well connected to the American theatre tradition because
many academic and independent training programs focus exclusively on
practical tools to the exclusion of cultural transmission.
4. As a leader in the American theatre, Clurman stands unparalleled.
Today’s theatre students lack a contemporary figure to which Clurman
compares. No subsequent leader has developed a technique and artistic
Idea that responds to the realities of today’s society, as Clurman
did in response to life in the 1930’s.
We remain a country with a tradition that still begs to be inherited
with each passing generation. Unfortunately, most American students find
themselves unable
to identify with the tradition of theatrical leadership initiated by Clurman.
5. However:
a. Some schools do assign The Fervent Years as required reading.
b. In 1979, The Harold Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row in New York City
was named to honor his legacy. Clurman was also the recipient of a number
of important awards; he was elected a Chevalier of the French Legion
of Honor and won the first George Jean Nathan Award for dramatic criticism.
c. The Group! and Clurman, two plays by Ronald Rand celebrating The
Group Theatre and Harold Clurman, are being performed in New York City
and around the country.
d. Anne Bogart’s SITI Company is creating a new piece about The
Group Theatre, based on Helen Krich Chinoy’s book Reunion.
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