Lawrence
Langner (1890-1962) was a major influence in American theatre during the first
half of the twentieth century. His significant role was as a producer rather
than a playwright, but he wrote a number of plays throughout the years and The Broken Image, published in 1918, is
his one-act play relating to World War One.
The
play is set in an interior of a church in a Bavarian village during February of
1918. A priest is praying when a wood-carver from the city of Oberammergau,
Bavaria enters. The wood-carver is very recognizable to many citizens in
Bavaria, since he has played the part of Christ many times in the famous
Oberammergau Passion Play. He closely
resembles the artistic images of Christ including the small wooden figure that stands
on a ledge of this church.
The
action of the play is centered upon Kaiser Wilhelm II, who comes to visit this
small church in the hope of finding a little time to relax from the pressures
of waging war. He is interrupted from
his thoughts by his two leading Generals, who want to escalate their military
might on the Western front. One of the Generals proclaims, he does not believe
in God and grabs the wooden image of Christ from its ledge. Later he attempts to replace it, but the
statue falls off the ledge and breaks.
The Generals are without remorse, but Wilhelm is shocked. After the Generals leave, the wood-carver
from Oberammergau walks through the sanctuary and sees the broken image. He says “They have broken my image!” Wilhelm
witnesses this moment and he is sure he has seen Christ. He tries to cancel the western offensive, but
the Generals laugh at him. It is clear that the title of this play is symbolic
for both the loss of Kaiser Wilhelm’s authority as well as the loss of
religious belief.
The
published version of The Broken Image
may not have appeared until 1919, since that was when it was mentioned in
popular journals and magazines under New Book columns. The delay could have
occurred due to Langner’s commitment to working on an international committee
preparing clauses to be inserted into the Treaty of Versailles related to
Patents, Trade-Marks and Copyrights. He
was also invited by the United States government to organize Patent Law reforms
that would assist the United States Patent Office.
The
play was reviewed as a book drama in several journals. The review in The Nation, volume 108, page 948
believed this one-act play, like several others at this time, relied on “the
element of surprise” to capture the audience. The reviewer thought Langner did
not create anything new in this play in terms of style and technique. A review
of the play in The Unitarian Register,
Volume 98, July 3, 1919 mentions “The theme is handled with delicacy, and
reaches a strong climax naturally and unexpectedly. Decidedly superior to most
of the plays suggested by the late conflict.”
I
have found no record of this play being produced in any of the theatres
Lawrence Langner was associated with at the time. He never mentioned this play
in his 1951 autobiography titled The
Magic Curtain. I find this a bit of a mystery since he
dedicated The Broken Image: “To
WOODROW WILSON: A Great Leader at a Great
Moment”.
An
announcement about the publication of The
Broken Image appeared in The Flying
Stage Plays-For Little Theatre. This information would have disseminated
the availability of the play to the national community of Little Theatres, but
the war would have been over for at least six months. Interest in the subject of this play would
have dwindled. I have seen no information regarding a production of this play
undertaken by a Little Theatre company.
While The Broken Image is an interesting minor
work of Lawrence Langner’s, I was drawn to this play due to the other
theatrical contributions this man had made. Langner was born in South Wales,
but received most of his education in London.
He was sent to the United States by his employer, a large firm of
Charter Patent Agents. He was assigned to
serve as the technical agent in the London firm’s New York office. He was
twenty years old when he arrived in New York during January of 1910. Eventually
Langner became a patent lawyer.
In The Magic Curtain, Langner mentioned that he visited Oberammergau.
This happened while he was traveling in Europe prior to World War One. He looked out his hotel window one morning and
saw the man who portrayed Christ, for many years, in the Passion Play. He was
in the garden drinking and chatting with the man who played Judas. This scene seems to have stayed with Langner
and provided the inspiration for The
Broken Image.
By 1914 Langner became
involved with the creation of the Washington Square Players. This launched his second career as a
theatrical producer and playwright.
Langner was able to bring many notable British and European plays to the
United States for American audiences following the end of World War One. His extensive travels in Europe and his
upbringing in England made him able to bridge many theatre communities and
bring the best of what he saw to the United States. Many of these plays were produced by the
Theatre Guild (1918-1965), another group that Langner established. The Theatre Guild
produced 228 plays on Broadway in forty-seven years and introduced American
audiences to many playwrights who gained worldwide recognition. Lawrence Langner was an extraordinary
individual and man of several outstanding talents.
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