Theatre Alverno (formerly, the Alverno Masquers), was organized as an on-campus theatrical producing organization in September 1954, by moderator Sister Vernard Greve and drama director Ruth (Rudd) Lehmann. The organization functioned under the Speech Department and later the Speech/Drama Department.
Ruth Lehmann continued as drama director until December 1958. Joseph Dennis Konkel was appointed drama director in January 1959 and continued as director until May 1963. Robert Pitman joined the Speech faculty in the fall of 1963 and as drama director for the Alverno Masquers. Pitman continued directing until his death in 1978. Penelope Reed was the director of Theatre Alverno from 1978 to 1981.
Alverno students, alumnae, and guest artists from the Milwaukee area made significant contributions to the success of the production company over the years. The Alverno Masquers and Theatre Alverno brought dozens of Broadway productions to life for Milwaukee theater fans.
Sister Vernard Greve (left) with Alverno drama director Ruth Lehmann.
The first play produced and performed by the newly formed theater group, Alverno Masquers, was the Magdalene Kessie play The Summons of Sariel. The play was performed on November 7, 1954.
Here is the cast list from that production
Below is a link to a printable copy of the production program for The Summons of Sariel.
When Alverno College opened its new campus in 1953, it included a large auditorium which was built to serve the college as a lecture hall, performance center, and assembly space.
Robert Pitman arrived on campus in 1963 and soon made the auditorium his office, his classroom, and his sanctuary. The walls resonated with the sound of his voice and his passion. The auditorium soon became the cornerstone for performing arts on Milwaukee's south side built in part on the reputation and quality of Pitman’s productions. Robert Pitman was the essence of theater and Theatre Alverno was Pitman for fifteen years.
Robert Pitman collaborated with Celeste Raspanti (formerly known as Sister M. Poverello, O.S.F.) on some of her earlier original plays. She was an Associate Professor of English at Alverno College. Their collaborations brought together the creative talents of Alverno’s faculty, staff, students, and local community actors.
Under the Greenwood Tree
The first Raspanti play that Pitman directed was an original operetta set in the Shakespearean era. Written to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, the play Under the Greenwood Tree was an Alverno College endeavor from beginning to end. The idea for the script sprang forth from the college’s decision to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th birthday. Sister M. Poverello (Celeste Raspanti) wrote the script and collaborated with Sister M. Vernon (Sister Marion Verhaalen) on the lyrics and music for the operetta. Sister Francis Marie (Sister Francis Marie Gnader) was the musical director for the play. It was up to Robert Pitman to assemble a cast of 23 children and three Alverno College students to bring the production to life. The play ran from April 24, 1964 through June 6, 1964 for a total of eight performances.
Below, the cast of Under the Greenwood Tree listen to director Robert Pitman (right foreground) during a dress rehearsal of the play.
Below is a link to a printable copy of the production program for Under the Greenwood Tree.
Dear Mr. Noah
Concerned that there were so few plays written for children, Sister Poverello pondered the idea of how free and uncluttered children’s lives are. She spent a month using that idea as a basis for her next play, Dear Mr. Noah. The plot is a modernized interpretation of the biblical story of Noah's Ark and brings with it a childlike attitude toward the tale. The script was written in dialogue and rhyme to appeal to an audience of children, though adults would also find the play enchanting. The play ran November 14 & 15, 1964.
Pictured, the “animals” from the play Dear Mr. Noah listen intently to Rabbit (Nancy Morrison, 1967 Alumna).
This is a link to a printable copy of the production program for Dear Mr. Noah.
A Place of Springs
Celeste Raspanti’s drama, A Place of Springs (now known as I Never Saw Another Butterfly after she got copyright permission to use that title,) is based on the story of Raja Englanderova. Raja was one of 15,000 Jewish children that were interred at the German concentration camp, Terezin. There were only 100 children who survived that camp from 1942 until its liberation in May of 1945. Raja was one of those children. The play was performed in Wehr Hall November 10-19 and December 1-3, 1967.
Based on a collection of poems and drawings that were created by the children of Terezin and published under the title I Never Saw Another Butterfly, the play follows Raja as she enters the prison camp with her mother, father, brother, and uncle. Raja suffers through the death of her father and the fear of losing her mother. We learn of her friendships with the other children of the camp. Through Raja and the other children we are shown the brutality of imprisonment and life at the hands of the Nazis. We also learn of the hope that the children held onto as they awaited their fates.
Some of the Children of Terezin from the play, A Place of Springs
Here is a link to a printable copy of the complete program for A Place of Springs
1963 House of Bernarda Alba
1964 Under The Greenwood Tree (Premier Of Children’s Operetta)
Dear Mr. Noah (Premier Of Children’s Play)
1965 The Imaginary Invalid
1966 The Streets Of New York (Musical Version)
Stop The World– I Want To Get Off!
1967 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
In White America
A Place Of Springs (Premier Of Original Play)
1968 The Golden Apple
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Oh What A Lovely War
1969 Camino Real
1970 She Loves Me
King Lear (Starring Morris Carnovsky)
Arms and the Man
1971 Ballad For A Firing Squad
Everything In The Garden
Hay Fever
Help, Help, The Globolinks!
1972 The Skin Of Our Teeth
Blithe Spirit
A Flea In Her Ear
1973 Promenade (Musical Version)
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The- Moon Marigolds
1974 Gypsy
Fashion (Musical Version)
1975 Company
After Magritte and The Real Inspector Hound
1976 Babar The Elephant (Children’s Opera)
The Good Doctor
1977 Old Times
The House of Bernarda Alba
Pitman’s directorial debut as a new faculty member at Alverno College was the Frederico Garcia Lorca play, The House of Bernarda Alba. The play ran December 14-15, 1963
The Alverno Campus News interviewed Pitman about choosing the play as his Alverno directorial debut. Pitman said he selected the play, “because it was one of the better all-woman scripts.” “If it (the play) comes off, the impact is shattering.” He conceded that it is one of the more challenging and difficult plays to direct.
Here is a link to a printable copy of the November 19, 1963 Alverno Campus News article about the production of The House of Bernarda Alba.
Scenes from the production.
This is the program cover from the Alverno Masquer's production of The House of Bernarda Alba.
Below is a link to a printable copy of the complete program from the show.
The Imaginary Invalid
A handbill advertising The Imaginary Invalid
The Alverno Masquers production of Moliere’s The Imaginary Invalid was presented March 5-7, 1965. A review by Georgiana Pilley that appeared in the March 6, 1965 edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel described the performance as demonstrating what “imagination can do to prevent the 17th century play from seeming like old hat.”
Here are some production photos:
Here is the program cover and the cast listing from within.
Here is a link to a printable copy of the complete program.
Arms and the Man
Occasionally audiences could find Robert Pitman acting onstage in one of his own productions. He directed Theatre Alverno’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man in which he portrayed the character of Major Paul Petkoff. The play ran from October 30-November 7, 1970 to excellent reviews.
Some Scenes from Arms and the Man
Timothy Koetting as Major Sergius Saranoff takes the Petkoff’s servant, Louka, into his arms. Louka was played by Karen Schnackel, a 1973 Alverno Alumna.
Major Saranoff embraces his fiancé, Raini Petkoff, played by Mary Wagner, an Alverno student from 1969-1971.
The sets for Arms and the Man were designed by K. Keith Klemmt and his crew. Klemmt was the technical director for most of Pitman’s productions from 1969 to 1976.
K. Keith Klemmt
Klemmt’s set designs and staging for Arms and the Man drew special attention from The Milwaukee Journal theater critic, Dominique Paul Noth. In his October 31, 1970 critique he stated, “…the sets of K. Keith Klemmt plunge us gorgeously into a romantic Bulgaria of the late 1800s.”
Here are some photos of Klemmt's sets.
Below is is a link to a printable copy of the program for Arms and the Man.
Ballad for a Firing Squad
Robert Pitman directed the very first production of Ballad for a Firing Squad following its off-Broadway staging in 1968. Reviews were far more favorable for Pitman’s production and his handling of the play. The play’s author, Jerome Coopersmith, as well as the composer, Edward Thomas, and lyricist Martin Charnin attended the Theater Alverno opening. Alverno's production ran March 12-13 & 19-20, 1971.
In these photos Pitman directs his cast during a rehearsal.
There was a favorable review in the March 14, 1971 edition of The Milwaukee Journal which led with the statement “Theatre Alverno provided commendable proof this weekend that a musical that didn’t make it to Broadway should have.” Dominique Paul Noth's review ended with the endorsement that the play is “eminently worth “ a journey to the Alverno Auditorium for the next performance.
A couple of scenes from Ballad for a Firing Squad
Harry Zummach (right) in the lead role of Captain LaFarge with Morri Richlin as Major Bonnard.
Here is the program cover and the cast listing from within.
Here is a link to a printable copy of the complete program.
The Skin of Our Teeth
Theatre Alverno performed the play, The Skin of Our Teeth, to mark the 75th birthday of the Wisconsin native and playwright, Thornton Wilder. The show ran March 10-11 & 17-18, 1972.
Here are some scenes from the show.
Robert Pitman played the role of “The Stage Manager” shown conducting a rehearsal of cast replacements during the third act of the play.
Here is the program cover and the cast listing from within.
Below is a link to a printable copy of the complete program.
