Genre Drama Original language(s) English First episode date 25 July 1949 Language English | Country of origin United States Producer(s) Curtis Canfield Final episode date 12 September 1949 | |
Original release July 25 – September 12, 1949 | ||
Academy Theatre is a drama anthology series that aired on NBC in 1949. It ran for eight weeks as the summer replacement for Chevrolet on Broadway.
Contents
Format
The series utilized a different cast each week who appeared in short works by established playwrights. The plays were broadcast live in 30-minute segments on Monday nights.
Development
In April 1949, Charles R. Denny, NBC Executive Vice-President and a graduate of Amherst College, arranged for a production of Julius Caesar to be broadcast to 14 cities nationwide. The play was performed by the Amherst College Masquers and directed by F. Curtis Canfield, a professor at Amherst and Director of Amherst's Kirby Theatre. The broadcast marked the first time that an entire play by Shakespeare aired on television.
During the following summer, Canfield (who would later become the first Dean of the Yale School of Drama), again collaborated with NBC to bring a series of one-act plays to the network. Academy Theatre was the result.
During a sabbatical as an NBC producer, Canfield convinced the network to create Masterpiece Playhouse, one-hour productions of seven classic plays including Hedda Gabler, Uncle Vanya, and Othello. Broadcast in 1950, each play was produced for the "heavy-budget" sum of $10,000.