The Insect Comedy
Jan Hus Playhouse
351 East 74th Street
New York, New York
May 1960
The Jan Hus Playhouse was located on the upper East Side of Manhattan.
Samuel French (theater booksellers and publishers) described the play, The Insect Comedy by Josef Capek and Karel Capek as such:
“A wanderer who is something of a philosopher falls asleep after drinking in a forest. In his dream he observes the comedy and tragedy in the lives of the insects, whose problems and affairs are like those of humankind. The butterflies make violent love. The beetles hoard money and live selfishly. The ichneumon flies murder crickets and stuff their larders with food, and parasites greedily devour what others work to save. Finally the red and yellow ants wage war to see which shall have the right to travel a particular sunlit path between two blades of grass.”
Barbra played a butterfly, a messanger, and “Second Moth” in The Insect Comedy, which was produced by a group of actors calling itself “The Actors’ Co-op.”
Barbra became friends with Barry Dennen, who was also cast in the show. In his 1997 book, My Life with Barbra: A Love Story, Dennen recalled that “you didn't have to be a genius to figure out that The Insect Comedy wasn't very good and probably wasn't going to get much better ... Throughout the whole hideous adventure Barbara and I clung closer and closer to each other, worked on our own scenes, and just tried to get through it.”
It was during the rehearsals of this show that Barbra made friends with Terry Leong, a young costume designer and illustrator. He created Barbra's garments for The Insect Comedy.
“The Insect Comedy” played only a handful of performances at the Jan Hus Playhouse in May of 1960.
(Below: A page from the Capek script for “The World We Live In [The Insect Comedy].” Streisand played Clythia and other roles at the Jan Hus.)
End.
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