An Interview with Eli Wallach

Abstract

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, there was an astonishing convergence of talent and originality in the New York theater. Playwrights like Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and William Inge emerged on the scene; directors of the calibre of Elia Kazan, Daniel Mann, and Harold Clurman staged landmark productions; The Actors Studio was established in 1947. Eli Wallach is one of the actors most closely associated with this momentous and dynamic epoch in American theater history. He is a prominent figure in some of the most celebrated productions of the period, notably as Mangiacavallo in the Broadway premiere of Williams’ The Rose Tattoo (1951), which was directed by Mann. Later, Wallach originated the role of Kilroy in the same playwright’s Camino Real (1953), directed by Elia Kazan. Wallach remained a durable fixture on the Broadway stage, demonstrating his versatility by moving dextrously across a range of styles, from Shavian comedy to the theater of the absurd. Among the plays he performed in were Mademoiselle Columbe (1954), Teahouse of the August Moon (1954), Major Barbara (1956), The Chairs (1958), The Rhinoceros (1961), The Typist and the Tiger (1963), Luv (1964), Staircase (1968), and The Waltz of the Toreadors (1973). He has been the recipient of numerous awards for his stage work: The Donaldson, Theater World, and Antoinette Perry.