Call Me by My Rightful Name

Call Me By My Rightful Name is a 1961 American play by Michael Shurtleff which is based on the novel The Whipping Boy by S.F. Pfoutz.[1]

Synopsis

Set in the early 1960s, Call Me By My Rightful Name is a three-act play about two Columbia University roommates, one white and one black, caught in a love triangle over a white woman.

Production

The production premiered Off-Broadway on January 31, 1961, at One Sheridan Square (now the Axis Theatre) where it ran for a total of 127 performances. The production was directed by Milton Katselas and designed by Charles Evans. It starred Robert Duvall as Doug, Joan Hackett as Chris, Alvin Ailey as Paul, Robert Hogan as Elliot, and Milo Boulton and Dortha Duckworth as Mr. and Mrs. Watkins.[2] Hackett won a Theatre World Award, an Obie Award, and a Drama Desk Award for her performance.[3]

Censorship

In July 1962, the Rockport, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen denied a production company, planning to stage Call Me By My Rightful Name and The Zoo Story, access to the city high school's auditorium. The plays were banned for being "quite sexy."[4]

Film

In 1972, Shurtleff wrote and directed a film version of the play. It starred Don Murray (who also worked on the screenplay with Shurtleff), Otis Young, Cathy Lee Crosby, Kent Smith, Edith Atwater, and Gary Clarke. Murray supposedly wanted Sidney Poitier to play opposite him in the film originally.[5][6] The film is extremely rare, but has been shown at a few events in the 2010s by Murray himself.[5][7]

References
  1. Shurtleff, Michael (1961). Call me by my rightful name: a play. New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service. p. 2. ISBN 9780822201755. OCLC 48367664.
  2. "Call Me By My Rightful Name - Lortel Archives". www.lortel.org. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  3. "Call Me By My Rightful Name - 1961 Off-Broadway - Backstage". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  4. "Rockport Bans 2 Plays". The Bridgeport Post. United Press International. 1962-07-13. p. 16. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  5. "A Special Weekend with Don Murray, Roxie Theater, Program for July 12, 2014". www.midcenturyproductions.com. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  6. Brown, Dennis (2011-03-10). "Repudiated upon its 1961 release by the tough-talking clergyman who inspired it, The Hoodlum Priest remains as obscure and intriguing as ever". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2018-10-24. I proposed starring Sidney Poitier in an adaptation of an off-Broadway play titled Call Me By My Rightful Name. But Sidney's current film, A Raisin in the Sun, was not a commercial success, so UA turned him down.
  7. Law, Janee (2016-07-14). "Actor Don Murray To Premiere Lost Film In Huntington". Long Islander News. Retrieved 2018-10-25.


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