Join Ten Chimneys Foundation as we welcome the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Artistic Intern Company for a book-in-hand reading of The Guardsman.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD | 7pm
$10 in advance or $15 at the door
Reservations: (262) 968-4110
About Play Readings at Ten Chimneys
Mentoring the next generation of artists was a role the Lunts valued, and continues to be a cornerstone of the programs Ten Chimneys Foundation nurtures, including our longstanding collaboration with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Artistic Internship Program as we present Play Readings at Ten Chimneys. We invite guests to join us in our beautiful Lunt-Fontanne Program Center as these contemporary protégés offer book-in-hand readings of the celebrated plays from the Lunts' era.
About The Guardsman
“Those who saw them last night bowing hand in hand, for the first time, may well have been witnessing a moment in theatrical history.” -Alexander Woollcott, in review of The Guardsman, 1924.
In 1924, after both Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne had respectively found much success in their individual careers, they made a decision that would permanently alter the theatre landscape. It was then they signed on with The Theatre Guild – a noncommercial theatre company desperately in need of a successful play, yet decidedly attractive to Alfred and Lynn for its vision and as Alfred later recalled, its “sense of mission.” The Guardsman proved an enormous success for The Theatre Guild and solidified what we all know today as the star power of “The Lunts.” For the next 35 years, they worked only together and became known as the greatest acting couple in American theatre history.
Lynn and Alfred opened The Guardsman at the Garrick Theatre on October 13, 1924. It went on to run for 248 performances in New York. In 1927 and 1928 the Lunts toured with a company from The Theatre Guild; The Guardsman was included in the repertory. For years thereafter Alfred and Lynn would divulge their intentions on reviving the play, but it was never brought back to the stage again. In 1931, The Lunts starred in the film adaptation of their stage hit, but then declined all film offers. Their life was to be dedicated to the art of live theatre.