Premiere of First Version
Opened on September 9th, 1943 at the Zurich Schauspielhaus in Zurich, Switzerland
Directed by Leonard Steckel with set design by Teo Otto.
Cast included Steckel himself (as Galileo), Karl Paryla and Wolfgang Langhoff
Staged without Brecht's participation, this was a moderately successful production, though it was dismissed by one critic as "Lehrstuck" -- "a didactic piece." In general, the critical response drew strong parallels between the plight of artists and intellectuals in Nazi Germany with Galileo's struggle against the Church and Inquisition.
Premiere of Second Version
Opened on July 30, 1947 at the Coronet Theatre in Beverly Hills, California
Transferred to Maxine Elliott's Theatre on Broadway on December 7th, 1947; closed on December 14th
Directed by Joseph Losey and Brecht with set design by Robert Davison
Cast included Charles Laughton (as Galileo), Hugo Haas (as Barberini), and Frances Hefflin (as Virginia)
The New York production received unenthusiastic reviews, failing to crack the stonefaced front of Brecht’s reputation in America. However, Laughton was acknowledged as magnificent (Brecht himself thought Laughton exemplary not only as Galileo specifically but as an practitioner of his acting theory in general). The play’s spare staging and episodic structure lacking in suspense and emotional volatility left the Broadway crowd cold. Brooks Atkinson “panned the play and set a trend that was to dominate the reception of Brecht’s work by the critical establishment in the United States for many years to come.” (Siegfried 344) He primarily criticized what he perceived as overly didactic and ambitious and bleak. Brecht’s previous and following reception in America was of a similar tenor—leveling criticism that ranged mostly from vitriolic to apathetic, complaining of its excess of Marxism or its lack of empathy, largely on the basis of American (mis)understanding of Brecht and his theories more than the plays and their productions. Brecht himself was morally outraged that the American audiences didn't seem to be morally outraged by Galileo.
PDF version of NY Times' (Gladwin Hill) review of the 1947 LA premiere: "Brecht's Galileo Bows on the Coast"
PDF version of NY Times' (Brooks Atkinson) review of the 1947 Broadway transfer: "Charles Laughton Opens Experimental Theatre Season in Brecht's 'Galileo'"
Transferred to Maxine Elliott's Theatre on Broadway on December 7th, 1947; closed on December 14th
Directed by Joseph Losey and Brecht with set design by Robert Davison
Cast included Charles Laughton (as Galileo), Hugo Haas (as Barberini), and Frances Hefflin (as Virginia)
The New York production received unenthusiastic reviews, failing to crack the stonefaced front of Brecht’s reputation in America. However, Laughton was acknowledged as magnificent (Brecht himself thought Laughton exemplary not only as Galileo specifically but as an practitioner of his acting theory in general). The play’s spare staging and episodic structure lacking in suspense and emotional volatility left the Broadway crowd cold. Brooks Atkinson “panned the play and set a trend that was to dominate the reception of Brecht’s work by the critical establishment in the United States for many years to come.” (Siegfried 344) He primarily criticized what he perceived as overly didactic and ambitious and bleak. Brecht’s previous and following reception in America was of a similar tenor—leveling criticism that ranged mostly from vitriolic to apathetic, complaining of its excess of Marxism or its lack of empathy, largely on the basis of American (mis)understanding of Brecht and his theories more than the plays and their productions. Brecht himself was morally outraged that the American audiences didn't seem to be morally outraged by Galileo.
PDF version of NY Times' (Gladwin Hill) review of the 1947 LA premiere: "Brecht's Galileo Bows on the Coast"
PDF version of NY Times' (Brooks Atkinson) review of the 1947 Broadway transfer: "Charles Laughton Opens Experimental Theatre Season in Brecht's 'Galileo'"
Premiere of Third Version
Opened in January 1957 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm by the Berliner Ensemble
Directed by Erich Engel with set-design by Caspar Neher.
Cast included Ernst Busch in the title role
A few months before Brecht's death in East Berlin in August 1956, he had begun rehearsals of this version with the
Berliner Ensemble. In the penultimate scene Brecht directed his actors to “convey a sense that the contents of the book were like the technical secrets that would lead to nuclear fission. He said to the two actors in this scene, ‘It must work on a colossal scale, like the H-Bomb.’” (Fuegi 585) Eric Bentley noted how “On stage the appartatus of alienation is called into action as a fire brigade. The whole effort of the Berlin Ensemble production is to counteract the natural flow of sympathy to Galileo.” (Bentley 85) Overall the production was popular with the public but received mixed reviews from critics.
Directed by Erich Engel with set-design by Caspar Neher.
Cast included Ernst Busch in the title role
A few months before Brecht's death in East Berlin in August 1956, he had begun rehearsals of this version with the
Berliner Ensemble. In the penultimate scene Brecht directed his actors to “convey a sense that the contents of the book were like the technical secrets that would lead to nuclear fission. He said to the two actors in this scene, ‘It must work on a colossal scale, like the H-Bomb.’” (Fuegi 585) Eric Bentley noted how “On stage the appartatus of alienation is called into action as a fire brigade. The whole effort of the Berlin Ensemble production is to counteract the natural flow of sympathy to Galileo.” (Bentley 85) Overall the production was popular with the public but received mixed reviews from critics.