Punch and the Judy
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Punch and the Judy is a comic ballet about marital discord choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Robert McBride. Arch Lauterer designed the set, Charlotte Trowbridge, the costumes. Edward Gordon Craig provided text for the narrated portions. The piece premiered on August 10, 1941, at the Bennington College Theatre in Bennington, Vermont.[1]
The roles include Punch, The Judy and their child; the winged horse Pegasus; Punch's mistress Pretty Polly; The Three Heroes: the Soldier, the Scout and the Highwayman; and three Fates. The original cast members were:[2]
- Martha Graham as The Judy
- Erick Hawkins as Punch
- Merce Cunningham as Pegasus
- Nina Fonaroff as the Child
- Pearl Lang as Pretty Polly
- Mark Ryder (then known as Sasha Liebich) as the Soldier
- David Zellmer as the Scout
- David Campbell as the Highwayman
- Jean Erdman, Jane Dudley and Ethel Butler as the Fates