Christopher Walken at Stratford
Canada 1968
September 2024 Update
Shout out to Dr. Peter Binkley, University of Alberta, for sharing this
family treasure: Romeo
and
Julie program.
September 2023 Update
Scroll to the bottom to check out the Stratford promotional postcards from
the Walken production of ROMEO AND JULIET!
July 2002 Update
New commentary from John Lazarus has been added after the last
picture.
My fantasy of obtaining a videotape of KID CHAMPION remains unfulfilled,
but this is pretty groovy. Behold images of Christopher Walken appearing
in ROMEO AND JULIET (as Romeo) and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (as Lysander)
at the Stratford Festival of 1968. This miracle came about when a
co-worker's urchin, Jake Grussing, was assigned to sketch period costumes
for class. Mom Carrie sought the assistance of UMM's Dean, noted Nabokov
scholar Sam Schuman, who loaned her an antique theatre program. Rebecca
the Walken fan peeked over her shoulder at the photos in the program and
very nearly flipped.
Thanks to Deb Grant for the scans.
Christopher
Walken as Romeo
with Leo Ciceri as Mercutio
The text beneath the photo reads: Christopher Walken - Romeo.
Christopher Walken comes to the Stratford Festival from New York, where he
recently played Achilles in the highly acclaimed off-Broadway production
of "Iphigenia in Aulis", which starred Irene Pappas. The 25-year-old
actor began his stage career as a dancer while still attending Hofstar
[sic] University in Long Island, New York. His first performances were in
such musicals as "Baker Street" and "West Side Story". In 1966 he won a
Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of King Phillip in the Broadway
production of "The Lion in Winter" and also appeared with the New York
Shakespeare Festival. Mr. Walken's performance as Jack Hunter in the City
Centre's revival of "The Rose Tatoo" won him a Theatre World Award. In
1967 he starred in the title role of Peter Ustinov's "The Unknown Soldier
and His Wife." He joined the Stratford Festival Company last winter to
play Lysander in the tour of "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
Walken as Lysander in
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
The other actors are Jane Casson (Helena), Tedde Moore (Hermia), and Neil
Dainard (Demetrius).
September 2023 Paul S., who lives about an hour from Stratford, "bought a
bunch of vintage 'actors of Stratford' [post]cards at an antique place,"
including
this gem from ROMEO AND JULIET. Thanks for sharing, Paul!
Walken as Romeo in Stratford postcard
July 2002 Here's some material from a delightful email I've
received recently. John Lazarus writes: 'I'm a Canadian playwright and
screenwriter, and recently began teaching in the Drama Department at
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. I'm writing to tell you that I saw
[the Midsummer Night's Dream] production, and I remember noticing Walken
and memorizing his name, though of course he wasn't well-known at the
time. I have become a fan since those days, but I didn't think he was very
good in that show. (I was a 20-year-old student at the National Theatre
School of Canada, and had played Lysander in school, and knew
everything.) I remember him delivering the first joke in the play -- "You
have her father's love, Demetrius; Let me have Hermia's: do you marry
him" -- straight out to the audience, in a way that struck me as
phony. And I may be wrong about this, but I believe he either quit or got
fired before the season was over.
Footnotes: I became a "spear-carrier" (the lowest level of actor at that
theatre, kind of like an extra) at Stratford the following summer, and did
a very poor job. I reached my lowest point in the season when BLANK [an
actress whose name I was asked to delete before sharing this
material...RW]
got drunk and yelled at me one night in the bar. Neil Dainard (pictured as
Demetrius) went on to a distinguished career in Canadian film, theatre and
television; he and I recently met again in Vancouver, and reminisced about
those days. Leo Ciceri, pictured as Mercutio, was a wonderful actor and a
very kind man, who died tragically in a car crash just a couple of years
after those photos were taken.'
I'm Rebecca Webb and I can be reached via e-mail at:
webbrl@morris.umn.edu
Created: February 18, 1998. The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the
page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved
by the University of Minnesota.