Opening Night | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Country of origin | Canada |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Producer | Robert Allen |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | CBC Television |
Original release | 9 October 1974 – 12 March 1975 |
Opening Night was a Canadian theatrical drama television miniseries which aired on CBC Television 1974 to 1975.
John Hirsch was appointed chief of CBC's drama department in 1974. He temporarily brought back the practice of presenting televised productions of stage dramas for the network in broadcasts such as '"Front Row Centre , Opening Night and Performance . [1]
Four videotaped versions of theatrical works were presented during the 1974-75 season (times in Eastern):
These productions are not to be confused with CBC's later Opening Night series (2002). [2]
The Browning Version is a play by Terence Rattigan, seen by many as his best work, and first performed on 8 September 1948 at the Phoenix Theatre, London. It was originally one of two short plays, jointly titled "Playbill"; the companion piece being Harlequinade, which forms the second half of the evening. The Browning Version is set in a boys' public school and the Classics teacher in the play, Crocker-Harris, is believed to have been based on Rattigan's Classics tutor at Harrow School, J. W. Coke Norris (1874–1961).
Sydney Cecil Newman was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State.
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by the architect W. G. R. Sprague with an exterior in the classical style and an interior in the Rococo style.
The Neptune Theatre is the largest professional theatre company in Atlantic Canada with a capacity of 458 and is located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It performs a mixture of new and classical plays. It is named after the play Théâtre de Neptune, which was performed at Port Royal, Nova Scotia as the first theatrical production in North America.
Patricia Colleen Nelligan, known professionally as Kate Nelligan, is a Canadian stage, film and television actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1991 film The Prince of Tides, and the same year won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Frankie and Johnny. She is also a four-time Tony Award nominee for her work on Broadway, receiving nominations for Plenty (1983), A Moon for the Misbegotten (1984), Serious Money (1988) and Spoils of War (1989).
Springbok Radio was a South African nationwide radio station that operated from 1950 to 1986.
Herbert Morse, known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999. His performing career spanned seven decades and he had thousands of roles to his credit, including work for the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Studio One is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on September 29, 1958, with a total of 467 episodes over the course of 10 seasons.
Jane Mallett was a Canadian actress. She was born as Jean Dawson Keenleyside in London, Ontario, Canada.
Gwendoline Watford, professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress.
A Christmas Carol, the popular 1843 novella by Charles Dickens (1812–1870), is one of the English author's best-known works. It is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy miser who hates Christmas, but is transformed into a caring, kindly person through the visitations of four ghosts. The classic work has been dramatised and adapted countless times for virtually every medium and performance genre, and new versions appear regularly.
Richard Jean Monette CM, DHum, LLD, was a Canadian actor and director, best known for his 14-season tenure as the longest-serving artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada from 1994 to 2007.
David Hugh Jones was an English stage, television and film director.
Yanna McIntosh, sometimes credited as Yanna MacIntosh, is a Jamaican-born Canadian television, movie and theatrical actress.
Kevin Elyot was a British playwright, screenwriter and actor. His most notable works include the play My Night with Reg (1994) and the film Clapham Junction (2007). His stage work has been performed by leading theatre companies including the Royal Court, National Theatre, Bush Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse and in the West End. He finished his final play, Twilight Song, not long before he died in 2014, which received a posthumous premiere at London's Park Theatre in 2017.
Michael Bawtree is a Canadian actor, director, author and educator.
Florence Paterson was a Canadian actress.
Hugh Webster was a Scottish-born Canadian actor. He was most noted for his role in the film For Gentlemen Only, for which he and his costar Ed McNamara were joint winners of the Canadian Film Award for Best Actor in a Non-Feature at the 27th Canadian Film Awards in 1976.
Of the Fields, Lately is a Canadian theatrical play by David French, first staged by Tarragon Theatre in 1973. It is the second in his Mercer Plays series, following Leaving Home (1972) and preceding Salt-Water Moon (1984), 1949 (1988) and Soldier’s Heart (2001).
Donald Austin Cullen was a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, and proprietor of the Bohemian Embassy, which he operated, off and on, in various Toronto locations from 1960 to the early 1990s. He was a prolific performer on radio, stage, and television, including as a featured player on Wayne and Shuster's CBC television broadcasts, for 25 years.