EQUUS by PETER SHAFFER Playbill SIGNED by ORIGINAL CAST 1974

Description

EQUUS
by PETER SHAFFER Playbill
Signed by Members of the
Original Cast 1974
EQUUS opened in 1974 and played on Broadway for three years. Yes, the extensive nudity might in part explain the long run. But EQUUS is far from a simple skin fest. New York Times critics called EQUUS " a psychiatric detective story -- of infinite skill" and "an exploration of passion, guilt and obsession". Passion is actually demonstrated on stage in a brutal scene. And so is the lack of passion -- in quieter scenes. The guilt and obsession are less dramatically evident. Over the course of the play, they are shrewdly and by design drawn from the young boy who blinded six horses. Drawn out by a psychiatrist who has his own problems and who, in stark contrast to the boy, is unfamiliar with or perhaps devoid of the staggering passion that motivated his reticent client to execute such barbarism. Never melodramatic but always theatrical.The playwright described EQUUS not as a "whodunnit" but rather as a "whydunnit". Whatever, EQUUS is a masterful must-see for anyone who loves the theatre. Cast members who signed this one-of-a-kind Playbill are, in no particular order: ROBERTA MAXWELL, MICHAEL HIGGINS, PETER FIRTH, EVERETT MCGILL, FRANCES STERNHAGEN, ANTHONY HOPKINS, MARIAN SELDES and one indecipherable which might be Gabriel Oshen. Playbill is in very good condition. A double page ad has detached from the stapled binding but both pages are present. There are two places of scribbling on the back cover which is an advertisement for Pall Mall. Date of the performance is written in the bottom margin of the last page. And four words about Gabriel Oshen (?) have been written in the bottom margin of p.1. EQUUS Playbills signed by the original cast have become scarce.