Clurman, Harold

Clurman, Harold

(klo͝or`mən), 1901–80, American director, manager, critic, and author, b. New York City. In his early years he acted in minor roles, becoming associated with New York's Group Theatre as founder and managing director in 1931. After his debut as a director with Awake and Sing, he became known for his direction of works by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill, and William Inge, among many others. Clurman has written much theater criticism and several books, including The Fervent Years (1945), a history of the Group Theatre.

Bibliography

See his On Directing (1972) and All People are Famous (1974).

Clurman, Harold

 

Born Sept. 18, 1901, in New York. American theater director and critic.

Clurman studied directing at the American Laboratory Theater in New York. He joined the Greenwich Village Playhouse in 1924 and worked for the Guild Theater from 1925 to 1931.

Clurman was a founding member of the Group Theater, the leading US theater of the 1930’s (1931–41). It developed a national American school of acting following the principles formulated by Stanislavsky. Clurman’s most significant work there was the production of plays by C. Odets. After the Group Theater closed, Clurman directed for the Broadway theater (for example, Simonov’s Russian People, 1945). He devoted much attention to new American and foreign dramatic works. In 1963–64, Clurman was a consultant to the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center. In the postwar years Clurman frequently contributed drama criticism to various US and British periodicals. His articles and essays were published under the title Lies Like Truth.

WORKS

Lies Like Truth. New York, 1958.

K. A. GLADYSHEVA

Clurman, Harold (Edgar)

(1901–1980) director, theater critic; born in New York City. One of the founders of the Group Theatre in 1931, he directed his first play, Clifford Odet'sAwake and Sing, for the Group in 1935, and became its manager in 1936. He directed many important Broadway productions including Member of the Wedding (1950), Bus Stop (1955), and A Touch of the Poet (1958). From 1949 on, he was a theater critic and author of books.