Peter Arno: "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw

The Theatre Guild's 1926 revival of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" (1913) opened in New York on November 15 with stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. It ran for 143 performances before going on the road. The production reached Cleveland in 1927 by which time it had acquired a promotional illustration by the New Yorker's Peter Arno.

Peter Arno
Colonel Pickering, Eliza Doolittle, and Henry Higgins
"Pygmalion" (1913) by George Bernard Shaw
Theatre Guild traveling production, Cleveland 1927

https://www.amazon.com/Fontanne-PYGMALION-Alfred-Bernard-Cleveland/dp/B00XAIEY1K

Peter Arno
Amazon Listing Retrieved July 10, 2018

https://www.amazon.com/Fontanne-PYGMALION-Alfred-Bernard-Cleveland/dp/B00XAIEY1K

Peter Arno
Amazon Product Description

"Pygmalion" was originally slated to come to the Hollis St. Theatre in Boston for two weeks at the end of 1929, but it was postponed to January of 1930 at some time after the flyers were first printed; hence the date of the production has been overprinted on the back of the flyer.  The published reviews indicate that the Theatre Guild production had completed runs in New York and Philadelphia. The other illustrations in the four-page flyer are unsigned and appear more generic than the Arno. 

Peter Arno
Colonel Pickering, Eliza Doolittle, and Henry Higgins"
Pygmalion" (1913) by George Bernard Shaw
Theatre Guild traveling production, Boston 1930

Eliza Doolittle, Henry Higgins, and Colonel Pickering, left
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, right
"Pygmalion" (1913) by George Bernard Shaw
Theatre Guild traveling production, Boston 1930

George Bernard Shaw, back cover
Colonel Pickering, Eliza Doolittle, and Henry Higgins, front cover
"Pygmalion" (1913) by George Bernard Shaw
Theatre Guild traveling production, Boston 1930

Peter Arno
eBay Listing Retrieved July 10, 2018

https://www.ebay.com/itm/George-Bernard-Shaw-PYGMALION-Frieda-Inescort-Peter-Arno-1930-Boston-Herald/401553091811?hash=item5d7e6dece3:g:mKEAAOSw3ZNapLBp:sc:USPSFirstClass!10075!US!-1

Peter Arno
eBay Item Description

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Forced Perspective on Stage

Last weekend I attended a fine production of Shaw's "Pygmalion" at Princeton Summer Theater. The set consisted of a number of classical busts, a gesture to Ovid's ancient telling of the myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with his own creation. Note how the largest busts are on either side relatively downstage, while the smallest is farthest upstage. You might perhaps expect the smallest sculpture to be placed nearer to the audience, but there is good reason for keeping it where it is.

Your brain wants to believe that all the faces are approximately the same size. By placing the largest heads closer to the audience and the smallest further back, the audience perceives the stage as having greater depth than it actually does. This concept is known as forced perspective. The set designer has made good use of it.

Far downstage are Henry Higgins's slippers. Behind them is a bust of the Apollo Belvedere.

Professor Higgins's recording device is at center stage.

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