6 RMS RIV VU had its premiere performance at the Helen Hayes Theatre on October 17, 1972.
Synopsis: The play is set in the early 1970's in a rent controlled empty apartment in New York City. The characters in the play grew up in the 1940's and 1950's so there are many allusions to celebrities across a wide time frame (Eve Arden to Mort Sahl, with a few politicos thrown in). We are going to furnish the audience with a "6 rms riv vu" Trivia Quiz to play while waiting for the curtain to go up. Should be fun!
News Herald Reviews:
The Entertainer, Feb. 9, 2001
The Entertainer, Feb. 16, 2001
Inia Jean Plumb directed this show, assisted by Mark A. Wells.
Cast:
Trivia Quiz: This play has many references to historical people and pop personalities, see if you can remember them, or enlighten yourself if you never knew! (Answers below.)
1. Eric Fromm -
2. Eva Braun -
3. Ann Miller -
4. Ripley -
5. Mike Nichols -
6. Elaine May -
7. Mamie Van Doren
8. Adlai Stevenson
9. Mort Sahl
10. Katy Keene -
11. John Updike -
12. WASP -
13. Jerry Kretchmer -
14. Chubby Checker -
15. Eve Arden -
16. Zelda Fitzgerald -
17. J. D. Salinger -
18. McGee -
19. Phillip Roth -
20. Gilbert and Sullivan -
21. Horowitz -
22. Holden Caulfield -
23. Andy Hardy -
24. Doris Day -
25. Ayn Rand -
27. Bette Davis and Paul Henreid -
28. Gloria Graham -
1. Eric Fromm - 1900-1980, American psychoanalyst and author; b. Germany. He emigrated (1934) to the U.S., where he practiced psychoanalysis and lectured at various institutions. Fromm held that the individual is a product of society and that in industrial society human beings have become estranged from themselves.
2. Eva Braun - Hitler’s mistress
3. Ann Miller - Tap dancer of immense talent, she caught the attention of filmmakers at RKO when she was just thirteen. She was soon starring in a long string of movie musicals, On the Town, Kiss Me Kate, Easter Parade to name a few.
4. Ripley - Originator of newspaper and film features “Believe It or Not;” now a weekly television series on TBS.
5. Mike Nichols -Early improvisation talent, now award winning stage and film director (Carnal Knowledge, The Graduate, Bird Cage, Primary Colors).
6. Elaine May - Improvisation partner of Mike Nichols, now successful play and screen writer (Ishtar, Bird Cage, Primary Colors).
7. Mamie Van Doren - Movie sex goddess of the 1950’s; still going strong on the Internet.
8. Adlai Stevenson - Democratic candidate for U. S. President in 1952; later U. S. ambassador to the United Nations.
9. Mort Sahl - Political satirist debuted at The Hungry I in the 1960’s; still lampooning today.
10. Katy Keene - comic book character of the 1940’s.
11. John Updike -American author and Pulitzer Prize winner. His elegantly written fiction usually deals with the tensions and tragedies of contemporary middle-class life, as in the quartet of novels covering the life of Harry Angstrom: Rabbit, Run (1960), Rabbit Redux (1971), Rabbit Is Rich (1981; Pulitzer Prize), and Rabbit at Rest (1990; Pulitzer Prize).
12. WASP - abbreviation for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
13. Jerry Kretchmer - anti-pollution activist of the 1970’s.
14. Chubby Checker - Originator of the 1960’s dance craze “The Twist.”
15. Eve Arden - Television’s “Our Miss Brooks” in the 1950’s. In the movies of the 1930’s and 1940’s noted for her acerbic wit and sarcastic quips.
16. Zelda Fitzgerald - American writer, artist, free spirit of the 1920’s and wife of acclaimed writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.
17. J. D. Salinger - American novelist and short story writer, known for his stories dealing with the intellectual and emotional struggles of adolescents who are alienated from the empty, materialistic world of their parents. Author of Catcher in the Rye and Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters.
18. McGee -1930-40’s radio sitcom, Fibber McGee and Molly,
with a dose of
vaudeville patter shot through it; the "story" usually
took a back seat to exchanges with Wistful Vista's citizens based
around a theme (or not), while Fibber was trying to accomplish
something, although usually he didn't. Molly's role in all of
this was to offer a voice of reason, in an often futile attempt
to keep Fibber anchored in reality (“T’aint funny,
McGee.”). The climax of each show was the sound effects
of debris tumbling out of a hall closet.
19. Phillip Roth - American author whose best sellers include:
Goodbye,
Columbus, Portnoy’s Complaint and The Human Stain.
20. Gilbert and Sullivan - Sir William S. Gilbert, English playwright and poet. With the composer conductor Sir Arthur Sullivan he wrote a series of popular, satiric operettas, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado. Gilbert was a metrical craftsman, and his lyrics are often scintillatingly funny. Sullivan also wrote such serious music as the oratorio Kenilworth and the opera Ivanhoe.
21. Horowitz - World renowned Russian-American concert pianist praised especially for his performances of the works of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt and the Russian composers Rachmaninoff and Scriabin.
22. Holden Caulfield - The adolescent protagonist and narrator of the J. D. Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye.
23. Andy Hardy - Character played by Mickey Rooney (often
paired with Judy
Garland) in a series of 1930’s films about an irrepressible
teenage son of a judge.
24. Doris Day - Started as a Big Band singer and evolved into America’s favorite singer, dancer, and actress in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. Noted for her roles as the virtuous virgin.
25. Ayn Rand - (born Alice Rosenbaum)American author, her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are still best selling introductions to the ideas of personal freedom and of the free market.
27. Bette Davis and Paul Henreid - stars remembered for the famous lighting of two cigarettes scene in the film Now Voyager.
28. Gloria Graham - film star of the1940’s and ‘50’s, usually cast as the “bad girl” or “other woman.”