Theatre Design & Technology - May 1967 - 4

It would be presumptuous to single out a particular value to
be derived from the exhibit, for each viewer will take away
from the exhibit his own special values and interests. If
there is a major flaw in the exhibit it is a repetition of
form which dulls perception in the viewing. A second minor
weakness lies in the two bad costume reconstructions which
are heavy and suggest the Elizabethan period rather than
the light baroque style of Jones. The five models of Jones'
stage settings leave something to be desired also in that
the overall rendering is more 19th than 17th century. The
positive factors far outweigh any of these minute shortcomings, however.
For those fortunate enough to see the exhibit there are
106 Jones sketches excluding those of Whitehall, and 6
Webb sketches. If time or geography prohibit seeing the exhibit the next best thing is to pick up the catalogue, for a

modest $ 3.75. This catalogue includes 53 black and white
costume plates, 4 color costume plates, 40 scene design
or set piece plates and 8 sketches of headdress. In addition
there are five John Webb scene designs in the catalogue
plus the plan and elevation for the Whitehall Banqueting
House and an elevation of the same building's facade.
The perfect combination
lightly viewing, a return
lesiurely viewing of the
the catalogue will more
tance of this exhibit.

for me seemed to be a once-overtrip several days later and then a
catalogue. If time doesn't permit,
than serve to establish the imporJ.H. Yocum
The American University

(Ada Louise Huxtable's review of the same exhibit can be
found on p.D250f The New York Times for April 9, 1967.
Editor)

Note on the Death of Jack Landau
Drama, which had been so much a part of his life, overtook
Jack Landau during the dark hours of March 14 or 15th
as extraordinary violence left him dead from multiple stab
wounds and strangulation in his basement apartment in the
Back Bay area of Boston, near the Charles River Basin.
Three young men who had been seen carrying objects from
the apartment have since been taken into custody by Boston
authorities.
Born in Pittsburgh, the ensuing 42 years bristled with activity indicative of a flexible talent, as Jack Landau contributed to a variety of entertainment media throughout the
northeastern United States. A graduate of Peabody High
School, Pittsburgh in 1940, Jack finished Cum Laude at
St. John's College, Md. in 1944. He had lived in Newton,
Connecticut recently before moving to Boston this past fall.
Earning his early recognition in the theatre as a designer,
Landau created the scenery for Christopher Fry's A Phoenix
Too Frequent and the ANTA production of Mary Rose
starring Helen Hayes. This was followed by designing the
Curtain Call series for NBC in 1952, after which he became a staff designer for CBS.
Again the Boston area called as Landau made the transition
to a director's role for the Group 20 production She Stoops
to Conquer at the Theatre On The Green in Wellesley,
1954, and also in 1956 when he directed Shoemaker's
Holiday for the same group. The intervening year brought
Landau's first awards. His direction of the Phoenix production of Webster's The White Devii in 1955 won him the
ASFTA annual Shakespearean award, and his direction of
The Clandestine Marriage along with Devil won him the
Vernon Rice Award that same year. TV credits during this
period included direction of School For Wives on Omnibus
for ABC in 1956, and associate producer of The Nutcracker Suite on Playhouse 90 for CBS in 1958. In addition he directed a stage production of Eliot's Murder in
the Cathedral in October 1957 as a member of the Council of Participating Directors at Boston University School of
Fine and Applied Arts.
Landau's continuing affil iation with the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre at Stratford Connecticut was to begin
shortly thereafter as he collaborated with John Houseman
on the direction of King John, Measure for Measure,
Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale, and The
Merry Wives of Windsor. During one season as artistic

director, Landau staged Merchant of Venice with Katharine Hepburn and Morris Carnovsky, as well as Romeo and
Juliet and Anthony and Cleopatra with Miss Hepburn and
Robert Ryan.
This association led to his staging a command performance
of a Shakespeare program at the White House for President
and Mrs. John F. Kennedy on October 4, 1961.
Recent activities are best gleaned from a Landau memo,
dated March 13, 1967, prepared for Boston TV station
WHDH, for which he was a consultant on TV documentaries
at the time of his death:
"Here is some background information. It is not a
complete professional biography, and I have probably
forgotten the most important things.
"My work had been quite extensive with the theatre
as well as with television. In both these areas I have
worked as Producer and Director, and have written
several of the documentary films listed here:
Some film documentaries: The Block, Voyage To
America, The Losers, RX For The Losers, This
Is Leontyne Price, This Is Ben Shahn, Fountains Lost And Found, A Child's Eye The Iron Curtain,
Alice In Wonderland - The Christmas Gift Of
Lewis Carroll, The Armory Show, Footsteps To The
Past - Adventures in Archeology [series] 3, Sculpture At The Guggenheim.
I have recently completed the script and preliminary
production phase - in collaboration with John Houseman - for a Sound and Light project at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. to take place
on the Mall in 1968.
Other recent Television includes:
Director - The First Look (NBC)
Producer - Director - N.W .T. Playhouse, dramatic
series."
Clearly Jack Landau mixed his humility with work of varied
talents in the entertainment arts, that many may remember
and regretfully miss what his friends describe as his, "dark
eyes that fairly blazed with enthusiasm about his work."
Richard Land
Boston
THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

MAY 1967

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - May 1967