1955

The 1955 Season was a significant one for the Bucks County Playhouse. Mike Ellis continued to guide the theatre towards national recognition. No less than 20 productions made it to the stage that year. This was no small feat since Mother Nature put on the biggest show of the season in August when New Hope was beseiged by The Great Flood and the Playhouse as well as the town was forced to close.

The first significant show of the season was The Fairly Fortune starring Victor Jory. During the run of The Fairly Fortune, Dave Garroway and NBC's Today Show visited the Bucks County Playhouse for two days. The little Playhouse in New Hope was suddenly garnering national attention as "America's Playhouse". Interestingly, Victor Jory did scenes from The Fairly Fortune during the Today Show and since it was the days of live television, each segment had to be done three times because of the time differences across the country. Through it all, a live two way conversation between Dave Garroway and Mike Ellis told of the beauty of New Hope and the significance that the Playhouse was making to the theatrical world.

Victor Jury

Playwright William Inge was already a hit on Broadway with Bus Stop. His play, Picnic was was performed for two weeks, beginning May 30. The play starred John Perkins and Sally Gracie.

William Inge

After Oliver Oliver (the fifth show of the season), Donald Woods and old Playhouse favorite Philip Bourneuf starred in Point of No Return. Described as the "story of a man who reaches the last station when he can examine the values of his life", Point of No Return was written by Paul Osborn. Donald Woods had appeared the previous year in Dial M for Murder.

Donald Woods

Actor Walter Matthau appeared in two consecutive productions at the Playhouse in 1955. His first show was Mrs. Gibbons' Boys written by Will Glickman and Joseph Stein. Also appearing in this production was William Windom. The second show Matthau appeared in was Wedding Breakfast. In the program for Wedding Breakfast, Matthau was decribed as "one of a new crop of "stars" who achieved national prominence via the television screens, on which he has been seen in dramatic presentations on virtually every major show."

Walter Matthau

Dorothy Stickney appeared in A Palm Tree in a Rose Garden. Also appearing in the show was actress, Alice Ghostley. The show ran from August 15 through August 20.

Dorothy Stickney

Next up, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes starring from left to right, Sara Seegar, Ronald Telfer and Ruth White. Sara Seegar was Theron Bamberger's choice to play Regina, the role originated on Broadway by Tallulah Bankhead. Ruth White was Birdie. Ronald Telfer played Horace Giddens.

Sara Seegar, Ronald Telfer and Ruth White

Around Saturday, August 20, the Delaware River began to rise. So began, The Great Flood of 1955. The rains from Hurricane Diane, a hurricane that hit North Carolina with a vengance, had knocked out the dams up river. The water continued to rise so much so that New Hope was soon under water. The Playhouse itself suffered major water damage. The water level eventually went two inches above the stage and two inches above the level of the box office counter. Cresting around 7 AM on August 20, the flood waters eventually went down twenty-four hours later.

As the town of New Hope cleaned up after the flood, it was debated whether the Playhouse should try to reopen in September or wait until the 1956 season. It was decided that in order to tell the world that New Hope was alive and well, the Playhouse should reopen at all costs. The staff and many volunteers repaired over $27,000 in damages. The only lasting damage was a turntable situated in the floor of the stage that took two years to dry out before it could be used again.

Actor Larry Storch made his first of two consecutive appearances in 1955. The first was in the musical You Never Know based on the famous sophistocated comedy, Candlelight. It was Storch's legitimate theatre debut. The second was in The Tender Trap. The Tender Trap dealt with two young women who are out to catch themselves husbands. Storch portrayed the man both girls wanted. The two ladies were portrayed by Judy Johnson and Frances Reid.

Larry Storch

The Wayward Kiss was the fourth and final tryout play of the season. Written by Irving W. Phillips, The Wayward Kiss starred Monica Lovett who was making her Playhouse debut, along with Frederic Tozere, Felix Deebank and Anne Francine.

Monica Lovett

Next up was Time Out For Ginger starring Paul Hartman and Sloan Simpson. Paul Hartman was described in the program for Time Out For Ginger as being "America's leading dance satirist". He had just completed a co-starring role in Frank Sinatra's television musical production of Our Town. Sloan Simpson would also appear in the next show of the season in The Fifth Season.

Paul Hartman

The Fifth Season written by Sylvia Regan, was a play about the garment business and ran from October 3 thru October 8. Also in leading roles were Joseph Buloff and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

Joseph Buloff

Following a production of Othello starring William Marshall and The Brattle Shakespeare Players, was Oh, Men! Oh, Women! Written by Edward Chodorov, the play was described as "an hilarious lampoon of sex and psychiatry." The play starred Georgiann Johnson who had starred on every top television program of the day. She also had a running role as Marge Bellows on the Mr. Peepers television series.

Georgiann Johnson

The final show of the 1955 season was Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Sidney Blackmer starred as Captain Queeg, the disciplinarian captain who loses his grip on the crew. Blackmer had appeared at the Playhouse the previous year in Head of the House.

Sidney Blackmer