Glimmerglass Opera’s Online Book Club moves forward with Barry Day’s This Wooden O: Shakespeare's Globe Reborn: Achieving an American's Dream. The book ties closely with Glimmerglass Opera’s summer season, in that Glimmerglass is realizing the saga of rebuilding its own Globe Theatre – albeit on a much smaller scale.
This Wooden O delves into the research, planning and implementation of today’s Globe Theatre, which stands in London’s Bankside. More specifically, it focuses on the efforts of American actor Sam Wanamaker to make the new Globe a reality. Author Barry Day guides readers on the emotional journey taken by Wanamaker and his supporters – a journey fraught with trials and tribulations, beginning in 1949 and concluding in 1997. While the book documents the legal processes and red tape Wanamaker and those who shared his dream encountered over the years, it is also chock-full of historical tidbits (At what angle should the theater be arranged to most effectively utilize sunlight in the open theater? What geometric model was used by medieval builders?). The book chronicles fascinating construction details as well as the political drama that went into building a historically-accurate representation of Shakespeare’s Globe.
The set that is currently being built in Cooperstown, New York, for Glimmerglass Opera’s 2008 Festival Season will not be an exact replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – simply an evocation. But understanding the history behind Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will undoubtedly make the 2008 Shakespeare-inspired season that much more interesting. This Wooden O gives remarkable insight into the re-creation of the Globe Theatre as well as the passion of an actor who wanted an international audience to experience Shakespeare’s world…thatched roof and all.
This Wooden O delves into the research, planning and implementation of today’s Globe Theatre, which stands in London’s Bankside. More specifically, it focuses on the efforts of American actor Sam Wanamaker to make the new Globe a reality. Author Barry Day guides readers on the emotional journey taken by Wanamaker and his supporters – a journey fraught with trials and tribulations, beginning in 1949 and concluding in 1997. While the book documents the legal processes and red tape Wanamaker and those who shared his dream encountered over the years, it is also chock-full of historical tidbits (At what angle should the theater be arranged to most effectively utilize sunlight in the open theater? What geometric model was used by medieval builders?). The book chronicles fascinating construction details as well as the political drama that went into building a historically-accurate representation of Shakespeare’s Globe.
The set that is currently being built in Cooperstown, New York, for Glimmerglass Opera’s 2008 Festival Season will not be an exact replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – simply an evocation. But understanding the history behind Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will undoubtedly make the 2008 Shakespeare-inspired season that much more interesting. This Wooden O gives remarkable insight into the re-creation of the Globe Theatre as well as the passion of an actor who wanted an international audience to experience Shakespeare’s world…thatched roof and all.