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{{short description|1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{About|the play|the associated film|I Am a Camera (film)|the song by [[Yes (band)|Yes]] and [[The Buggles]]|Into the Lens|the song by [[Gentle Giant]]|Civilian (Gentle Giant album)}}
{{About|the play|the associated film|I Am a Camera (film)|the song by [[Yes (band)|Yes]] and [[The Buggles]]|Into the Lens|the song by [[Gentle Giant]]|Civilian (Gentle Giant album)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox play
{{Infobox play
| name = I Am a Camera
| name = I Am a Camera
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| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption = [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] as Sally Bowles<br><small>Photograph by [[Carl Van Vechten]], May 1952</small>
| caption = [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] as Sally Bowles<br><small>Photograph by [[Carl Van Vechten]], May 1952</small>
| writer = [[John Van Druten]]
| writer = [[John Van Druten]], Adapted from the ''Berlin Stories'' by [[Christopher Isherwood]]
Adapted from the ''Berlin Stories'' by Christopher Isherwood
| characters = Christopher Isherwood <br> Fraulein Schneider <br> Fritz Wendel <br> Sally Bowles <br> Natalia Landauer <br> Clive Mortimer <br> Mrs. Watson-Courtneidge
| characters = Christopher Isherwood <br> Fraulein Schneider <br> Fritz Wendel <br> Sally Bowles <br> Natalia Landauer <br> Clive Mortimer <br> Mrs. Watson-Courtneidge
| setting = A room in Fraulein Schneider's flat in Berlin 1930
| setting = A room in Fraulein Schneider's flat in Berlin 1930
| premiere = November 28, 1951
| premiere = November 28, 1951
| place = Empire Theater, New York City
| place = [[Empire Theatre (41st Street)|Empire Theatre]], New York City
| orig_lang =
| orig_lang =
| subject = An English writer living in Berlin before the rise of the Hitler regime
| subject = An English writer living in Berlin before the rise of the Hitler regime
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| web =
| web =
}}
}}
'''''I Am a Camera''''' is a 1951 Broadway play by [[John Van Druten]]<ref name=play>{{cite book|last=Van Druten |first=John|year=1951|title=I Am a Camera|publisher=Random House, Inc}}</ref><ref name=Druten>{{cite book|last=Van Druten |first=John|year=1998|title=I Am a Camera|publisher=Dramatists Play Service, Inc|isbn=0822205459}}</ref> adapted from [[Christopher Isherwood]]'s novel ''[[Goodbye to Berlin]]'', which is part of ''[[The Berlin Stories]]''. The title is a quote taken from the novel's first page: "''I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking''."<ref name=Isherwood>{{cite book|last=Isherwood |first=Christopher|year=1963|title=The Berlin Stories: the Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin|publisher=New Directions|isbn=0811200701}}</ref> The original production was staged by John Van Druten, with scenic and lighting design by [[Boris Aronson]] and costumes by Ellen Goldsborough.<ref name="play"/> It opened at the [[Empire Theatre (41st Street)|Empire Theatre]] in New York City on November 28, 1951 and ran for 214 performances before closing on July 12, 1952.<ref name=playbill>{{cite web|author=Playbill Vault |url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/3946/I-Am-a-Camera|title=I Am a Camera on Broadway |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
'''''I Am a Camera''''' is a 1951 Broadway play by [[John Van Druten]]<ref name=play>{{cite book|last=Van Druten |first=John|year=1951|title=I Am a Camera|url=https://archive.org/details/iamcameraplayin00vand |url-access=registration |publisher=Random House, Inc}}</ref><ref name=Druten>{{cite book|last=Van Druten |first=John|year=1998|title=I Am a Camera|publisher=Dramatists Play Service, Inc|isbn=0822205459}}</ref> adapted from [[Christopher Isherwood]]'s 1939 novel ''[[Goodbye to Berlin]]'', which is part of ''[[The Berlin Stories]]''. The title is a quotation taken from the novel's first page: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking."<ref name=Isherwood>{{cite book|last=Isherwood|first=Christopher|year=1963|title=The Berlin Stories: the Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin|publisher=New Directions|isbn=0811200701|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/berlinstories00ishe}}</ref> The original production was staged by John Van Druten, with scenic and lighting design by [[Boris Aronson]] and costumes by Ellen Goldsborough.<ref name="play"/> It opened at the [[Empire Theatre (41st Street)|Empire Theatre]] in New York City on November 28, 1951 and ran for 214 performances before closing on July 12, 1952.<ref name=playbill>{{cite web|author=Playbill Vault |url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/3946/I-Am-a-Camera|title=I Am a Camera on Broadway |access-date=27 October 2013}}</ref>


The production was a critically acclaimed success for both [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] as the insouciant [[Sally Bowles]], winning her the first of five [[Tony Award]]s of her career for Best Leading Actress in a play, and for [[Marian Winters]], who won both the [[Theatre World Award]] and Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Play. The play also won for John Van Druten the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] for Best American Play (1952).<ref name="playbill"/> It also earned the famous review by [[Walter Kerr]], "Me no [[Leica Camera|Leica]]".<ref>Botto, Louis.[https://archive.is/20120907145523/http://www.playbill.com/features/article/118112-Quotable_Critics "Quotable Critics"] ''Playbill'', May 28, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Friedman |first=M. |title=Commercial expressions in American humor: an analysis of selected popular-cultural works of the postwar era |work=Humor – International Journal of Humor Research |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=265–284 |issn=1613-3722<!--(online) |issn=0933-1719 (print)--> |doi=10.1515/humr.1989.2.3.265 |year=1989}}</ref>
The production was a critically acclaimed success for both [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] as the insouciant [[Sally Bowles]], winning her the first of five [[Tony Award]]s of her career for Best Leading Actress in a play, and for [[Marian Winters]], who won both the [[Theatre World Award]] and Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Play. The play also won for John Van Druten the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] for Best American Play (1952).<ref name="playbill"/> It also earned the famous review by [[Walter Kerr]], "Me no [[Leica Camera|Leica]]".<ref>Botto, Louis.[https://archive.today/20120907145523/http://www.playbill.com/features/article/118112-Quotable_Critics "Quotable Critics"] ''Playbill'', May 28, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Friedman |first=M. |title=Commercial expressions in American humor: an analysis of selected popular-cultural works of the postwar era |journal=Humor – International Journal of Humor Research |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=265–284 |issn=1613-3722<!--(online) |issn=0933-1719 (print)--> |doi=10.1515/humr.1989.2.3.265 |year=1989|s2cid=145418943 }}</ref>


{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}

==Original Broadway Cast (1951)==
==Original Broadway Cast (1951)==
*Christopher Isherwood – [[William Prince (actor)|William Prince]]
*Christopher Isherwood – [[William Prince (actor)|William Prince]]
*Fraulein Schneider – Olga Fabian
*Fraulein Schneider – [[Olga Fabian]]
*Fritz Wendel – Martin Brooks
*Fritz Wendel – [[Martin Brooks]]
*Sally Bowles – Julie Harris
*Sally Bowles – [[Julie Harris]]
*Natalia Landauer – Marian Winters
*Natalia Landauer – [[Marian Winters]]
*Clive Mortimer – Edward Andrews
*Clive Mortimer – [[Edward Andrews]]
*Mrs. Watson-Courtneidge – Catherine Willard
*Mrs. Watson-Courtneidge – [[Catherine Willard]]


==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|I Am a Camera}}
*{{Commons category-inline|I Am a Camera|''I Am a Camera''}}
* {{IBDB show|4590}}
* {{IBDB show|4590}}


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[[Category:1951 plays]]
[[Category:1951 plays]]
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[[Category:British plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
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[[Category:Plays based on novels]]
[[Category:Berlin in fiction]]
[[Category:Berlin in fiction]]
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[[Category:Fiction set in 1930]]
[[Category:Plays adapted into films]]
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[[Category:Plays based on novels]]
[[Category:Plays by John Van Druten]]
[[Category:Plays by John Van Druten]]
[[Category:Works set in cabarets]]
[[Category:Plays about abortion]]
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[[Category:Plays set in cabarets]]
[[Category:Works about the Weimar Republic]]


{{1950s-play-stub}}
{{1950s-play-stub}}
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[[Category:Plays about abortion]]

Latest revision as of 17:53, 14 December 2024

This article is about the play. For the associated film, see I Am a Camera (film). For the song by Yes and The Buggles, see Into the Lens. For the song by Gentle Giant, see Civilian (Gentle Giant album).

I Am a Camera
Julie Harris as Sally Bowles
Photograph by Carl Van Vechten, May 1952
Written byJohn Van Druten, Adapted from the Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
CharactersChristopher Isherwood
Fraulein Schneider
Fritz Wendel
Sally Bowles
Natalia Landauer
Clive Mortimer
Mrs. Watson-Courtneidge
Date premieredNovember 28, 1951
Place premieredEmpire Theatre, New York City
SubjectAn English writer living in Berlin before the rise of the Hitler regime
GenreDrama
SettingA room in Fraulein Schneider's flat in Berlin 1930

I Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten[1][2] adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin, which is part of The Berlin Stories. The title is a quotation taken from the novel's first page: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking."[3] The original production was staged by John Van Druten, with scenic and lighting design by Boris Aronson and costumes by Ellen Goldsborough.[1] It opened at the Empire Theatre in New York City on November 28, 1951 and ran for 214 performances before closing on July 12, 1952.[4]

The production was a critically acclaimed success for both Julie Harris as the insouciant Sally Bowles, winning her the first of five Tony Awards of her career for Best Leading Actress in a play, and for Marian Winters, who won both the Theatre World Award and Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Play. The play also won for John Van Druten the New York Drama Critics' Circle for Best American Play (1952).[4] It also earned the famous review by Walter Kerr, "Me no Leica".[5][6]

Original Broadway Cast (1951)

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Adaptations

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References

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  1. ^ a b Van Druten, John (1951). I Am a Camera. Random House, Inc.
  2. ^ Van Druten, John (1998). I Am a Camera. Dramatists Play Service, Inc. ISBN 0822205459.
  3. ^ Isherwood, Christopher (1963). The Berlin Stories: the Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin. New Directions. ISBN 0811200701.
  4. ^ a b Playbill Vault. "I Am a Camera on Broadway". Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  5. ^ Botto, Louis."Quotable Critics" Playbill, May 28, 2008
  6. ^ Friedman, M. (1989). "Commercial expressions in American humor: an analysis of selected popular-cultural works of the postwar era". Humor – International Journal of Humor Research. 2 (3): 265–284. doi:10.1515/humr.1989.2.3.265. ISSN 1613-3722. S2CID 145418943.
[edit]
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