Michael Benthall

Michael Pickersgill Benthall (1919–1974) was an English theatre director.

As an undergraduate at Oxford University, Michael Benthall met Robert Helpmann, who had been fulfilling an invitation to dance at there. The two men formed a relationship that was to last for 36 years, the couple living and working together quite openly until Benthall's death.

As director of the Old Vic, he was responsible for the policy and artistic direction of the organisation. His first connection with the Old Vic was during the 1944 season when the company, owing to enemy action, had been forced to relocate to the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre).Benthall directed a production of Hamlet jointly with Tyrone Guthrie.^[1]

Benthall provided the scenario for two ballets by Arthur Bliss: Miracle in the Gorbals (1944), and Adam Zero (1946). He directed I'm Solomon a musical remake of an Israeli Musical called King Solomon and Shalmai the Shoemaker ("Shlomo ha'Melech ve'Shalmai ha'Sandlar") that ran in Jaffa in the Summer of 1967. I'm Solomon starred Dick Shawn, Salome Jens, Carmen Mathews. Ernest Gold, who had written the score for the movie Exodus(1960) wrote the music. Geoffrey Holder choreographed the show. Benthall then directed Coco starring Katharine Hepburn with music by André Previn and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Michael Bennet chorographed the show. Bebnthall then directed Her First Roman, a musicalization of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra starring Lesley Uggams and Richard Kiley. Michael's close friend throughout his life was Vivien Leigh.

References

1. ^ Old Vic Australian Tour 1955, M Benthall's biography in theatre programme.

Persondata
Name	Benthall, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1919
Place of birth
Date of death	1974
Place of death

This article about a performing arts director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 1919 births 1974 deaths English theatre directors Alumni of the University of Oxford Director stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Miss USA 1983 No. 5 Fighter Sector RAAF Look at other dictionaries: Michael Culver — Born 16 June 1938 (1938 06 16) (age 73) Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom …   Wikipedia Richard Burton (acteur) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Richard Burton. Richard Burton …   Wikipédia en Français Richard Walter Jenkins — Richard Burton (acteur) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Burton. Richard Burton dans Cléopâtre (sorti en …   Wikipédia en Français Richard burton (acteur) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Burton. Richard Burton dans Cléopâtre (sorti en …   Wikipédia en Français Chronology of stage, film and television performances given by Laurence Olivier — Laurence Olivier in the trailer for the film The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) This is a chronological list of the work of British actor Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier. Although Olivier preferred the theatre, his film career flourished, making… …   Wikipedia Coco (comédie musicale) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Coco. Coco Titre original Coco Livret Alan Jay Lerner Lyrics Alan Jay Lerner Musique …   Wikipédia en Français Cymbeline — This article is about Shakespeare s play. For other uses, see Cymbeline (disambiguation). Imogen in her bed chamber where Iachimo witnesses the mole under her breast. Illustrated by Wilhelm Ferdinand Souchon in 1872 Cymbeline ( …   Wikipedia Miracle in the Gorbals — (1944) is a one act ballet choreographed by Robert Helpmann to a story by Michael Benthall, with music by Arthur Bliss. The setting is the 1940s slums in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. It became a staple of the Royal Ballet, performed each season… …   Wikipedia Robert Helpmann — Infobox Person name=Sir Robert Helpmann caption=Portrait of Robert Helpmann in London circa 1945 birth date=birth date|1909|4|9|df=y birth place=Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia death date=death date and age|1986|9|28|1909|4|9|df=y death …   Wikipedia Chichester Festival production history — Contents 1 1962 2 1963 3 1964 4 1965 …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”