Robert Pitman’s face was the perfect canvas for the theatrical palette. Capable of reflecting a wide range of emotion without uttering a word, Pitman transformed into character with the arch of an eyebrow or the curl of his lip. He was a dichotomy of personalities. His boyish charms and wry humor allowed him to play diverse roles such as Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac. While his commanding voice and austere demeanor lent itself to roles the likes of Henry VIII, Oberon, and Pope Urban VIII in Lamp at Midnight. In all per his curriculum vitae, from 1947-1972, Robert Pitman acted in 77 productions with ten theatre companies based in metropolitan Milwaukee, three based in New York City, and one based in Lexington, Kentucky.
Below is a sampling of Pitman portrayals.
Robert Pitman as Cardinal Mafeo Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII, in Lamp at Midnight, performed January 14 - April 19, 1969 in a touring production directed by Tyrone Guthrie.
He portrayed Dylan Thomas in the play, Dylan, by Sidney Michaels. It was performed August 11-13, 1967 at the Centennial Theatre in Lexington, KY.
Pitman portrayed Major Paul Petkoff during a Theatre Alverno production of Arms and the Man, October 30-November 7, 1970. He also directed.
In a production of Pirandello's Enrico IV staged at the UW-Milwaukee Summer Arts Festival, Robert Pitman portrayed Baron Tito Belcredi. The show was performed July 15-18, 1964.
He portrayed Horace Giddens in the play, The Little Foxes, by Lillian Hellman. It was performed June 24-27, 1965 at the Centennial Theatre in Lexington, KY.
As a guest artist in a production of Fiddler on the Roof honoring the 40th anniversary of the Milwaukee Players, Pitman was Tevye. The show was performed May 7-16, 1971.
Robert Pitman's theatrical headshot.
Robert Pitman directed 33 productions in his 15 years at Alverno. There will be much more detail about those productions in the exhibit section on the "Alverno Masquers and Theatre Alverno." He was a prodigious director which is reflected in his work with numerous other production companies in the Milwaukee area and beyond. Here is a list taken from his curriculum vitae:
1968 Salad Days
1969 The Streets of New York (musical version)
1970 Your Own Thing
1971 Rigoletto
1971 Oh, Boy!
1974 Cavalleria Rusticana
1974 Pagliacci
1970 Cavalleria Rusticana
1971 Madama Butterfly
1972 Fiddler on the Roof
1972 La Traviata
1973 Carmen
1974 Sound of Music
1974 La Boheme
1975 Faust
1965 The Imaginary Invalid
1965 The Importance of Being Earnest
1965 The Skin of Our Teeth
1966 A Midsummer Night's Dream
1966 The Man Who Came to Dinner
1967 Stop the World--I Want to Get Off!
1967 Arms and the Man
1965 Kiss Me, Kate
1965 Finian's Rainbow
1963 Brigadoon
1964 Finian's Rainbow
1960 Kiss Me, Kate
1961 Finian's Rainbow
1962 Once Upon a Mattress
1963 The Torchbearers
1963 Gypsey
1964 The Women
1964 The Play's the Thing
1964 Stop the World--I Want to Get Off
1966 The Man Who Came to Dinner
1959 The Torchbearers
1960 The Madwoman of Chaillot
1950 All I Want for Christmas (An original musical revue with Leontyne Price)
1953 An Evening with Will Shakespeare (Scenes from Various Plays)
1954 The Man Who Came to Dinner (Starring Roscoe Lee Browne)
1950 Pinocchio
1951 The Wizard of Oz
1951 The Three Bears
