Dear Liar
{{short description|Play}}
Dear Liar, full title Dear Liar: A Comedy of Letters is a play by American actor, director, and playwright Jerome Kilty.{{cite news |url= https://www.twincities.com/2012/09/14/jerome-kilty-playwright-of-dear-liar/ |title=Jerome Kilty, playwright of 'Dear Liar' |work=St. Paul Pioneer Press |date=September 14, 2012 |access-date=September 28, 2021}} It was first staged in 1957 and published in 1960. A television adaptation was made in 1964, directed by David Gardner for National Educational Television.{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Jerry |title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors |publisher=Scarecrow Press pg. 189 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8108-6378-1}} Two film adaptations were later created, one in English by director Gordon Rigsby in 1981 and another in French as Cher menteur (meaning Dear liar) in 1982 by French director Alexandre Tarta.
The play
The play is based on the correspondence between famed playwright George Bernard Shaw and actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell.{{cite news |last1=Doman |first1=Don |last2=Doman |first2=Peg |url= https://thesubtimes.com/2018/03/20/dear-liar-a-stage-reading-review/ |title=Dear Liar: A Stage Reading – Review |work=The Suburban Times |date=March 20, 2018 |access-date=September 28, 2021}} In the play written by Kilty, two actors duel with each other as they act on the letters exchanged between Shaw and Mrs. Campbell. In 1960, Dodd, Mead & Company published the play under the title Dear Liar: A Comedy of Letters adapted by Jerome Kilty from the Correspondence of Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell.
The play was staged first in Chicago in 1957. A production by Guthrie McClintic and Sol Hurok, starring Katharine Cornell and Brian Aherne and directed by Jerome Kilty, had its world premiere on March 3, 1959 at the Sombrero Playhouse in Phoenix, Arizona.{{cite news |last=Buchen |first=Charlotte |title='Dear Liar', Moving, Nostalgic |work=The Arizona Republic |date=March 4, 1959 |location=Phoenix, Arizona |page=2 |via = Newspapers.com}} It then went on a national tour, arriving in New York on March 17, 1960. The play had a very successful run in New York. It was later staged in London for the first time in 1963. After London showings, in 1964 Kilty and his wife, actress Cavada Humphry, made a world tour with the play.
Television adaptation
In 1964, the U.S.-based National Educational Television (NET) staged Dear Liar as a two-character play on its series NET Playhouse. The television staging was directed by David Gardner based on Jerome Kilty's work and starred Zoe Caldwell and Barry Morse.
Film adaptations
=''Dear Liar''=
{{Infobox film
| name = Dear Liar
| image =
| caption =
| director = Gordon Rigsby
| producer =
| writer = Jerome Kilty
| starring = Jane Alexander
Edward Herrmann
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1981|||USA}}
| runtime =
| country = USA
| language = English
| budget =
}}
The play was brought to the screen in 1981 by the director Gordon Rigsby with the lead roles by Jane Alexander as Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Edward Herrmann as George Bernard Shaw.{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |author-link=John J. O'Connor (journalist) |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/15/arts/tv-pbs-s-shavian-dear-liar.html |title=TV: PBS's Shavian 'Dear Liar' |work=The New York Times |date=April 15, 1981 |access-date=September 28, 2021}}
=''Cher menteur''=
{{Infobox film
| name = Cher menteur
| image =
| caption =
| director = Alexandre Tarta
| producer =
| writer = Jean Cocteau
Jerome Kilty
| starring = Jean Marais
Edwige Feuillère
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1982|02|22|France|df=yes}}
| runtime = 105 minutes
| country = France
| language = French
| budget =
}}
A 1960 adaptation in French was written by Jean Cocteau under the title Cher menteur (Dear Liar).{{Cite web |title=Cher menteur : Comédie en deux actes / de Jérôme Kilty / Texte français de Jean Cocteau,...; d'après les lettres de G. Bernard Shaw; et Mrs Patrick Campbell; Athénée Louis Jouvet - Sudoc |url=https://www.sudoc.fr/12319315X |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.sudoc.fr}}
The 1982 film directed by Alexandre Tarta had in lead roles Edwige Feuillère as Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Jean Marais as George Bernard Shaw.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{ibdb production|2194}}
- {{IMDb title|qid=Q123536812}} (1964)
- {{IMDb title|qid=Q123538244}} (1981)
- {{IMDb title|qid=Q123538264|title=Cher menteur}}
Category:American plays adapted into films