Attempted Bloggery: Blog Post No. 4100: The American Theatre's Carnival for Britain

Friday, October 7, 2022

Blog Post No. 4100: The American Theatre's Carnival for Britain

On February 21, 1941, nearly ten months before Pearl Harbor, and thus nearly ten months before the United States was to enter the Second World War, Americans were actively supporting embattled Great Britain through the British War Relief Society. The American Theatre Wing organized a Carnival for Britain at Radio City Music Hall in support of the cause. The show went on at midnight on Friday, February 21, 1941, presumably after whatever evening performance had been previously scheduled. This allowed the stellar cast to converge after their other commitments.

The program included twenty-two performances, with well-known celebrities like Fred Allen, Gracie Allen, George Burns, Helen Hayes, Walter Huston, Boris Karloff, Danny Kaye, Ethel Merman, and Arthur Treacher. The show featured stage music by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. There was classical music by Ravel and by von Weber. George Balanchine choreographed one of the pieces.

And there was quite a printed program. The example shown here is from eBay, currently between auctions. Peter Arno's cover brings civil defense into the theater quite literally.

That cover foretells a wartime New Yorker cartoon Arno would later create for the issue of January 17, 1942:

"Of course, if they don't bomb Sutton Place, I'm going to look like a damn fool."
Peter Arno
The New Yorker, January 17, 1942, p. 14

The remarkable entertainment program featured many entertainers whose names remain familiar eighty years later:

“We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down.”—Winston Churchill

Jo Mielzener, who created the serious drawing of war planes over St. Paul's, below, was not a cartoonist by trade but a scenic designer. Of the artists listed in the program, the eBay seller has shown us Arno and Mielzener, of course, plus New Yorker stalwarts Perry Barlow and Richard Taylor, below. John Root's art might very well be here too. The other listed artists are quite outstanding and also should be worth seeing.

"—on earth to men of good will!"

Jo Mielziner

Richard Taylor's cartoon was reprinted from The New Yorker. It is not specifically a gag related to the war effort. That is, it was apparently intended to be about ordinary house movers, but in the context of this program it could be construed as relating to the clearing of museums during the blitz.

"Why[,] Gogarty, you're blushing!"

Richard Taylor

Reprinted from The New Yorker, September 14, 1940

The apparently unsigned illustration Freedom of Speech may be the work of scenic designer John Root. The Foreword by Rachel Crothers demonstrates the serious mission of the American Theatre Wing. "The one purpose of The Wing is to use the united power of the theatre to do its share of the grim work America has ahead of it—to help England stop the evil which is now stalking the earth—and to save civilization for all time."

New Yorker cartoonist Perry Barlow is represented with a cartoon that is apparently not previously published.

"But[,] dear! Isn't this the medal you won in a bowling tournament?"

Perry Barlow

Peter Arno
eBay listing ended September 11, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165659961625?hash=item26921a6919%3Ag%3AcjUAAOSwc3hjCm9M&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4EcorhlPVpZgZB3r5QAFVmlri8iQh6AYR5LTfo68GaLUJ2UaqsY580op2FQODTP8zbSrpHhmLq4laBMgDh%2BBfUEgP6rr%2BfarksfiDRAVe18E0KA1BhmYqlDajWjJoevNbSVtqKslFB0tU0GEkGbx8KjRZECAQNPXW%2Fpu8O6l0mv0

6l%2BnPwkZl9%2Fb2B1EuQSyyRdPoFkRuFDcDQZrGe%2BfbmRb1uW%2FonBjUEzJz9UawnlCcysAxptf9YWS3eT8MMSgTZCQtBNvQwm0yl9DwRBlfKnJUsQinNjpPd94NWBbq4N7%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9rduazqYA&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Peter Arno
eBay item description

Image added February 14, 2023

"Why, Gogarty, you're blushing!"
Richard Taylor
The New Yorker, September 14, 1940, p. 21

With cartoons by Garrett Price and Richard Taylor

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1940-09-14/flipbook/020/

We know from page 41 of the program that cartoonist Garrett Price's work is in the program too, but it may not be a cartoon originally from The New Yorker, and it almost certainly isn't from the same two-page spread as the Taylor drawing.

"Pardon me. Could you tell us how to get to West Linwood?"
Garrett Price
The New Yorker, September 14, 1940, p. 20

"Of course, if they don't bomb Sutton Place, I'm going to look like a damn fool."
Peter Arno
The New Yorker, January 17, 1942, p. 14

A cartoon by Peter Arno and a spot drawing by an unidentified artist

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1942-01-17/flipbook/014/

Spot drawing
Artist unidentified

Note: The full program also has cartoons by Alain (Daniel Brustlein), Whitney Darrow, Jr., Richard Decker, Al Hirschfeld, Garrett Price, George Price, and William Steig. Tantalizingly, they are not seen in the eBay listing. If a reader can supply these missing images, I will add them to the post.

By the way, can anyone confirm that John Root made the Freedom of Speech drawing? Any luck identifying The New Yorker's spot artist?