Music of the Highlands in Manhattan: William Saroyan’s Drama Debut

Abstract

W. Saroyan, one of the most significant American writers in the first half of the XX century, was always strongly attracted to theater. However, his drama debut did not take place immediately – only when he gained mastery and success as an author of short stories. The legendary Group Theatre (NYC) helped his play see the stage for the first time. The paper centers on the history of Saroyan’s one-act play “My Heart’s in the Highlands”, its creation and onstage production in the Group Theatre. The production united the efforts of the playwright (Saroyan), the composer (Paul Bowles), and the director (Robert Lewis), having become one of the most important works of the Group Theatre. It allowed to essentially develop the Group’s artistic possibilities, given the experience of acting in a “poetic fable”, a style beyond psychological realism and naturalism. The analysis given in the paper is aimed at expanding the knowledge of the Group Theatre’s activity as well as theatrical history of Saroyan’s plays.

Keywords

• w. saroyan
• american theater
• broadway
• group theatre
• play “my heart’s in the highlands”