George S. Kaufman, 1889-1962

GEORGE S. KAUFMAN, 1889-1962 THIS LITTLE ESSAY will only be concerned with the earlier section of George Kaufman's long career as a playwright and director in one of the most exciting periods of our theater when American drama came of age in the period between the World Wars, roughly 1918-1939. All of Kaufman's serio-comic genius came to flower in that period. There is nothing of real significance after that if you disregard the dramatic recrndescence of John P. Marquand's brilliant novel of Boston society, The Late George Apley (1944) and the delightful spoof of big business provided by The Solid Gold Cadillac, written in collaboration with Howard Teichmann (1953). Kaufman was the born collaborator. He wrote only one play alone and one adaptation from the French early in his career before he found success. He was a shrewd and demanding collaborator as has been evidenced by such distinguished writers as Edna Ferber and Moss Hart, in their memoirs, and by lesser commentators in newspaper columns. He had tremendous inventiveness and many original ideas, but he worked best in tandem. He soared in proportion to the abilities of his co-writers, but this does not mean that he could not and did not rise above them-as in moments of honesty they were willing to admit. The fact that he liked to work on his feet, acting out and demonstrating ideas, scenes, and lines suggests the possibility that he may have been a frustrated actor unconsciously. Although he occasionally appeared in skits intended for his professional confreres, not the public, he did act for the public at the Buchs County Playhouse at New Hope, Pennsylvania, in a summer stock presentation of The Man Who Came To Dinner, which he wrote with Moss Hart. Possibly because of his memories of his own days on the Borscht Circuit prior to his success as a writer, he undertook the same role for an overseas tour for G.I.'s in Alaska and the Pacific. As the dramatic critic of the Morning Telegraph I was invited along with other drama reviewers in New York City to journey out to what used to be called Camp Yaphank in Irving Berlin's day as a soldier in World War I. With no intended disrespect to the late Moss Hart, he was wise to become a writer and leave acting to others. Aside from exceptions such as David Garrick, Colley Cibber, Noel Coward, and Sacha Guitry, few playwrights have been gifted actors. 241 242 MODERN DRAMA December Kaufman's playwriting began with the worthless Someone In The House (1918) written with Larry Evans and Walter Percival just about the time he was leaving the New York Tribune for the Times. He was a brilliant drama reporter and his Sunday news piece was widely read even when his newspaper did not have the preeminent position it now enjoys. He is credited with creating a character named Tecumseh, who scouted for theatrical news, as well as naming the Times Square area the Rialto, a term which still sticks. Lewis Funke is now the Sunday Tecumseh, but he doesn't use the title. Kaufman really came into his own when he teamed up with another Algonquin wit (for which see Margaret Case Harriman's The Vicious Circle and her father Frank Case's books about the famous hostelry he created) Marc Connelly. Connelly was a former newspaper man, and they spoke the same language. From his own work we can surmise that Connelly supplied the whimsy and the light touch while Kaufman provided the structure and the more barbed lines which are now termed "wisecracks." The collaborators began with Dulcy (1921), a play about a beautiful dimwit which brought Lynn Fontanne to stardom under Howard Lindsay's crisp direction. Kaufman had not yet become a stage director. Then came To The Ladies (1922) in which Helen Hayes shone, and this play was followed by an entertaining spoof of the silent days of the films, Merton of The Movies, which brought stardom to Glenn Hunter. The playwrights' collaboration continued with Helen of Troy, New York (1923) and The Deep Tangled Wildwood (1923). It reached its high...