As it happened, Ms.Crawford, Lee Strasberg, Molly Kazan and Elia Kazan had for a time been considering the possibility of "opening-up" the work at the Studio (which at the time had a reputation both sacrosanct and much maligned) by showcasing an "in-house" production. This was not a subject without controversy. However, it was decided that "Conversation At Midnight" was the right project for such a purpose. (At this point I want to say that this is a much longer, deeper, more complicated and far-reaching story than can be told here. And I am telling it in a book-in-progress about my adventures in theater, television and movies. But to round out it’s purpose in this time and place, I need to tell what took place after the first performance.
Present at that remarkable, history making opening night, along with Norma Millay (sister to "Vincent" (as she was known) and her husband the artist Charles Ellis, were two gentlemen who were not only "fictionally represented" by two of the play’s characters, but who had in the intervening years become icons in American literature. They were Archibald MacLeish, a Poet Laureate of the United States and Thornton Wilder, one of the giants of modern playwriting.They had been invited by Cheryl Crawford to travel to NYC for the purpose of seeing the never-before- performed play by their late, great poet friend. She had a dream to take the show to Broadway and hoped their responses would persuade Norma Millay(who controlled the rights) to give permission.
It was proposed that the director and I join them all in Mr.Wilder’s hotel room for our own "conversation at midnight." Their praise for everyone was abundant, sincere, generous, celebratory as well as personally and deeply felt. It was an unforgettable experience. The results, as the saying goes, will be revealed in the full account, doing justice I hope, to one of my professional life’s greatest gifts: "CONVERSATION AT MIDNIGHT".
.....and so it is to that memory and to everyone connected to it that I dedicate this page. Here’s looking forward to some good talk!