Actor / on tour / Winter 1939
During the Winter of 1939, Melchor Ferrer
was touring in a production of "Camille" starring the legendary actress Eva Le Gallienne.
Although this particular version of "Camille" never made it to
the New York
City stage, it's fairly safe to assume it was based on the production in which
Ms. Le Gallienne starred in 1935 while her Civic Repertory Theatre of
New York was still flourishing. That company - in which Norman Lloyd
began his own career - disbanded at the end of 1935, immediately after
"Camille" closed at the Schubert Theatre. The 1935 version of "Camille" not only
starred Eva Le Gallienne but was produced and staged by her as well. By
1939 Ms. Gallienne was in the process of forming what would later
become The American Repertory Theatre and this was one of its earliest
productions.
The famous narrative is based on a short
story by Alexandre Dumas, which was translated for the English stage by Henriette
Metcalf. It relates the tragic story of a Parisian courtesan whose gay
life changes dramatically when she falls in love with Armand, a wealthy young
student.
Armand's father convinces her to leave his son, and only when she's
about to die of consumption does she discover how much Armand has always
loved her. It's the story on which the opera "La Traviata" is
based as well as the ballet "Marguerite and Armand" and
is a role coveted by all dramatic actresses.
Mel Ferrer recalls this gig with his customary good
humored deference, stating that he got the job "largely because, I have
always suspected, I appeared to be one of the very few people who can
learn to do the gavotte. I not only danced the gavotte in Camille, I
also played five parts." Looking at the various roles, he may have
played almost every male role except Armand himself.
The tour probably began in late April, shortly after Ms. Le Gallienne
ended a run on Broadway and appears to have ended before the Cape Town Summer
Season began.
