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By the 1940s, the
Theatre Guild, a prestigious theatrical
production company, had evolved from its more
radical beginnings in 1919 to become established
as an almost de facto national theater for the
United States. In 1945, as part of an effort to
reach a broader audience, the Guild developed a
radio program,
The Theatre Guild on the Air.
This anthology series initially presented live
broadcasts of adaptations of plays which had
been produced originally by the Guild, such as
Ferenc Molnár's The Guardsman (1945)
with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. It also
occasionally offered dramatic works which had
been staged by other producers. First broadcast
on the ABC Radio Network (1945-1949), the
program's sponsor was the United States Steel
Corporation. Arminia Marshall (wife of one of
the Guild's original founders, Lawrence Langner)
was responsible for coordinating the
administrative aspects of the radio program for
the Guild.
Theatre Guild on the Air
was heard on the NBC Radio Network from the fall
of 1949 to the spring of 1953, when it was
revamped as a television series,
The United States Steel Hour. |
