The Planets: A Modern Allegory

The cover of the 1938 edition of The Planets.

The Planets: A Modern Allegory is a radio play, written in verse, by Alfred Kreymborg. The first performance was on 6 June 1938 by the National Broadcasting Company at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, and was directed by Thomas L. Riley. The play was originally set to the music of The Planets Suite by Gustav Holst; for the first performance the NBC Symphony Orchestra was conducted by H. Leopold Spitalny. The first broadcast was so enthusiastically received that it was repeated a few weeks later.

The play describes the early history of the twentieth century, including the onset of World War I, and the 'hysterical' 1920s, ending with a mix of dread and uncertainty about the future. The book of the play is dedicated 'to peace'; it was published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, in 1938. The central figure of the play is the Astrologer, who encounters the various planets in turn, as the events of world history are alluded to in a somewhat prophetic tone.

Cast of the first performance

Kreymborg's inscription in a first edition of the play. The inscription is to William Thornton, the actor who played the Astrologer in the first performance, and reads: "To William Thornton the "Astrologer" who saved the Author. Alfred Kreymborg. 9/12/38"
Astrologer William Thornton
Mars Winfield Hoeny
Venus Selena Royle
Mercury Burford Hampden
Jupiter Charles Webster
Saturn Louis Hector
Uranus William Shelley
Neptune George Gaul
Narrator John Brewster
Echo Emile Beliveau
Husband Earle Larimore
Wife Francis Nabors

References

  • Kreymborg, Alfred: The Planets: A Modern Allegory, Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1938.