Productions in Chronological Order
Following is a listing of plays presented by Judson Poets' Theater from 1961 to 1981. This list is based on files from the Judson archives which are now part of the The Fales Library and Special Collections at NYU.
Productions were generally (but not always) presented over three consecutive weekends. This is our first attempt (in late 2008) at presenting a complete list. We acknowledge that there may be omissions and mistakes. Please help us. If you have additional information please contact assistant@judson.org
We would like to acknowledge and thank the Village Voice for information about the Obie Awards. In many cases the Obie Award was presented to the Off-Broadway production rather than the original production presented by the Judson Poets’ Theater. They are included here to give an idea of the importance of the work being created and presented.
| First Perf. | Title | Author(s) | Director |
| Nov. 18, 1961 | "The Great American Desert" | Joel Oppenheimer | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Nov. 18, 1961 | "Breasts of Tiresias" | Guillaume Appollinaire music by Jackson MacLow | Robert Nichols |
| Jan. 11, 1962 | "The Contest" | Ursule Molinaro | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Jan. 11, 1962 | "Deep Evil" | Howard Hart, music by Don Heckman | Charles Creasap |
| Jan. 11, 1962 | "Second Shepherd's Play" | translated by Robert Nichols | Al Carmines |
| March 3, 1962 | "The In Out" | Vincent Ferrini, music by Charles Adams and Carmen Moore | Robert Nichols |
| March 3, 1962 | "The Reservation | Martin Halpern | Ellis Santone |
| March 3, 1962 | "Inroads Rebuff'd or The Disdainful Evacuation" | Dick Higgens | |
| May 8, 1962 | "The Life of Man" | ||
| "The Life of Man" was co-produced with The Reverends' Repertoire Co. | |||
| May 24, 1962 | "The Women at the Tomb" | Michel de Ghelderode | Ellis Santone |
| May 24, 1962 | "Jourmad" | Derek Walcott | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Aug. 24, 1962 | "Vaudeville Skit" | George Dennison, music by Al Carmines | Remy Charlip (?) Lawrence Kornfeld (?) |
| Aug 24, 1962 | "The Executives" | C.V.J. Anderson | Peter Feldman |
| Oct. 25, 1962 | "The Devil's Mother" | Spencer Holst | Leonard Hicks |
| Oct. 25, 1962 | "Malcauchon" | Derek Walcott | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Dec. 14, 1962 | "The Nativity Plays of the York Mysteries" | adapted by George Dennison | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Jan. 25, 1963 | "Miss Right" | Joel Oppenheimer, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Jan. 25, 1963 | "God is My Ram" | Andrew Susac | Martin Bard |
| March 21, 1963 | "Murder Cake" | Dianne Di Prima | James Waring |
| March 21, 1963 | "Service for Joseph Axminister" | George Dennison | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| April 4, 1963 | "Masks of Angels" | Notis Peryalis | John Chace |
| June 13, 1963 | "The Decapitated Taxi" | Robert Nichols | Robert Nichols |
| June 13, 1963 | "The Wax Engine" | Robert Nichols and Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| July 26, 1963 | "The Birthday" | Paul Goodman, music by Al Carmines | Al Carmines |
| July 26, 1963 | "Hagar and Ishmael" | Paul Goodman | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Sept. 19, 1963 | "What Happened" | Gertrude Stein and Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Al Carmines and Lawrence Kornfeld both won an Obie Award for "What Happened". | |||
| Sept. 19, 1963 | "Asphodel, in Hell's Despite" | John Weiners, music by John Herbert McDowell | Jerry Benjamin designed by Andy Warhol |
| Oct. 17, 1963 | "Poet's Vaudeville" | Diane Di Prima, music by John Herbert McDowell | James Waring |
| Nov. 28, 1963 | "Bust of a Lunatic" | Donald Kvares | Maralyn Chriss and Al Carmines |
| Nov. 28, 1963 | "Hurrah, It's Lewis Carroll Day" | Dan Katzman, music by John Herbert McDowell | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| The first performance of "Bust of Lunatic" and "Hurrah, It's Lewis Carroll Day" was delayed a week because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. | |||
| Jan. 10, 1964 | "Pantagleise" | Michel de Ghelderode, music by Al Carmines | Larry Loonin |
| Jan. 10, 1964 | "The Old Tune" | Robert Pinget, (translated by Samuel Becket), music by Al Carmines | Peter Feldman |
| March 20, 1964 | "Home Movies" | Rosalyn Drexler, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| March 20, 1964 | "The Bitch of Waverly Place" | Arthur Sainer, music by Paul Knoff | Stephen Aaron |
| April 22, 1964 | "Simeon and Joseph" | ||
| April 22, 1964 | "The Judgement" | ||
| July 10, 1964 | "Leonce and Lena" | Georg Buchner, music by Hector Berlioz | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| July 10, 1964 | "Patter for a Soft Shoe Dance" | George Dennison, music by Al Carmines | Al Carmines |
| "Patter for a Soft Shoe Dance was co-produced with the Pocket Theater. | |||
| Sept. 18, 1964 | "The Hundred and First" | Kenneth Cameron | Larry Loonin |
| Sept. 18, 1964 | "Three Thousand Red Ants" | Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Rilke W. Stevens (?) | Lawrence Sacharow |
| Sept. 24, 1964 | "For Madeleine Renaud" | composite of Ranier Maria Rilke, Wallace Stevens, Emily Dickenson, W.A. Mozart, Ralph Humphrey, Aileen Passloff, Lawrence Kornfeld | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Oct. 30, 1964 | "Central Park Bench #33 Flight 20" | Cecilia Prada, music by John Herbert McDowell | Peter Feldman |
| Oct. 30, 1964 | "The Sightseer" | Tom LaBar | Al Carmines |
| Dec. 19, 1964 | "Sing Ho for a Bear" | R. Sargent and Lawrence Kornfeld, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| In 1964 Rosalyn Drexler received an Obie Award for Distinguished Plays for "Home Movies". | |||
| In 1964 Lawrence Kornfeld won an Obie Award for Distinguished Direction of "What Happened". | |||
| In 1964 Judson Poets' Theater won an Obie Award for Best Production (musical) for "What Happened". | |||
| In 1964 Al Carmines won an Obie Award for Best Music for "Home Movies" and "What Happened" | |||
| In 1964 Judson Memorial Church received a Special Citation Obie Award for its sponsorship of experiment and experimenters in the performing arts, through the Judson Poets' Theater and the Judson Dance Theater. | |||
| Feb. 12, 1965 | "The String Game" | Rochelle Owens, songs by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Feb. 12, 1965 | "Lesson in Understanding" | Bertolt Brecht (translated by Gerhard Nelhaus) | George Wljtasik |
| April 9, 1965 | "Promenade" | Maria Irene Fornés, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| In 1965 Maria Irene Fornès won an Obie Award for Distinguished Plays for "Promenade" and "The Successful Life of Three" | |||
| April 9, 1965 | "Devices" | Kenneth H. Brown" | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| May 22, 1965 | "Street Plays" | ||
| June 4, 1965 | "Harmony" | George Dennison, music by Peter Lewis | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| June 4, 1965 | "Nice Place You Got Here" | Richard Falcone | Al Carmines |
| June 4, 1965 | "Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters" | Gertrude Stein, music by John Herbert McDowell | Michael Smith |
| Summer 1965 | "The Sheep and the Cheapskate" | ||
| Summer 1965 | "Remember the Thirties" | ||
| The program during the summer of 1965 was co-produced with the El-Dorado Players | |||
| Sept. 17, 1965 | "Istanboul" | Rochelle Owens, music by Teiji Ito | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Sept. 17, 1965 | "The Monster" | Richard Falcone, music by Al Carmines | Al Carmines |
| Oct. 29, 1965 | "Private Potato Patch of Greta Garbo" | J. Roy Sullivan, music by Al Carmines | Peter Feldman |
| Oct. 29, 1965 | "You're as Old as Your Arteries" | Alex Kemeny, music by Joe Raposo | Jacques Levy |
| Dec. 10, 1965 | "Play I, Play II, Play III" | Gertrude Stein | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Dec. 10, 1965 | "A Beautiful Day" (seven poem plays) | Ruth Krauss, music by Al Carmines | Remy Charlip |
| Jan. 21, 1966 | "Red Cross" | Sam Shepard | Jacque Levy |
| In 1966 Sam Shepard won an Obie for Distinguished Plays for" Chicago," "Icarus's Mother," and "Red Cross" | |||
| In 1966 Florence Tarlow won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performances in "Istanboul," "Red Cross," and "A Beautiful Day" | |||
| Jan. 21, 1966 | "Antigone" | Sophocles (translation and adaptation by Theodore Stinchecum), music by Alan Stout | Theodore Stinchecum |
| March 4, 1966 | "Pomegranada" | H.M. Koutoukas, music by Al Carmines | Al Carmines |
| March 4, 1966 | "After Closing" | Roy Martz, music by John Herbert McDowell | Lawrence Sacharow |
| April 22, 1966 | "The Pelican" | August Strindberg, (translated by Evert Springhorn) | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| April 22, 1966 | "Hector the Heroic!" | Mark Zalk, music by Robert Cosmos Savage | Jacques Levy |
| "Hector the Heroic!" was presented in cooperation with The Open Theatre | |||
| "Judson Revivals" (listed below) were presented as a benefit for Judson Memorial Church. | |||
| May 22, 1966 | "Patter for a Soft-Shoe Dance" | George Dennison, music by Al Carmines | Choreographed by Remy Charlip |
| May 22, 1966 | "The Mind is a Muscle" | Choreographed by Yvonne Rainer | |
| May 22, 1966 | "March & Tambourine Dance" | Choreographed & danced by James Waring | |
| May 22, 1966 | "Home Movies" | Rosalyn Drexler, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| May 26, 1966 | "Promenade" | Maria Irene Fornès, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| May 26, 1966 | "Morning Raga with Yell Chair to Joyce" | Choreographed & danced by Arlene Rothlein | |
| May 26, 1966 | "April and December" | Choreographed by Remy Charlip, danced by Aileen Passloff | |
| May 26, 1966 | "What Happened" | Gertrude Stein, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| June 3, 1966 | "Pomegranada" | H.M. Koutoukas, music by Al Carmines | Al Carmines |
| June 3, 1966 | "Manu and the Fish" | Choreographed by Sabina Nordof, danced by Aileen Passloff and Remy Charlip | |
| June 3, 1966 | "What's the Big Idea 123" | Choreographed & danced by Katherine Litz | |
| June 3, 1966 | "A Beautiful Day" | Ruth Krauss, music by Al Carmines | Remy Charlip |
| June 24, 1966 | "An Audio-Visual" | Roberts Blossom | Roberts Blossom |
| June 24, 1966 | "Revenge on Little Orphan Annie" | Howard Haut, music by John Herbert McDowell and Robert Cosmos Savage | Crystal Field |
| June 24, 1966 | "Black Traveler" | choreographed and danced by Beverly Schmidt | |
| June 24, 1966 | "La Luz" | Roberts Blossom | Roberts Blossom |
| Oct. 7. 1966 | "The Lion" | Amos Kenan (translated by Rosette Lamont) | Peter Feldman |
| Oct. 7. 1966 | "Scene from Street Play" | Robert Nichols | Al Carmines |
| Nov. 11, 1966 | "The Love Cure" | Molière, (translated by John Wood), music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Nov. 11, 1966 | "Tightrope Walker" | Maryat Lee | Foulkes Taylor |
| In 1966 H.M. Koutoukas received a special Obie Award for the style and energy of his assaults on the theatre in both playwrighting and production. | |||
| Jan. 1, 1967 | "San Francisco's Burning" | Helen Adams (with Pat Adams), music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| Feb. 24, 1967 | "What Happened" | Gertrude Stein and Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld (?) |
| Feb. 24, 1967 | "Dances" | ||
| March 12, 1967 | "Gorilla Queen" | Ronald Tavel, music by Robert Cosmos Savage | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| April 21, 1967 | "An Assessment at the Present Time as it Appears to Informed Sources in Manhattan" | Marc Kaminsky, music by John Herbert McDowell | Paul Zimet |
| April 21, 1967 | "Five Dances" | ||
| April 21, 1967 | "Song of Songs" | adaptation and music by Al Carmines | Choreography by Remy Charlip |
| June 2, 1967 | "Successful Life of Three" | Maria Irene Fornés, music by Al Carmines | Lawrence Kornfeld |
| June 2, 1967 | "Celebrations" ("Annunciations" and "Aunt Mary") | Maria Irene Fornés and Arlene Rothlein, music by Al Carmines | Maria Irene Fornés |
| Aug. 3, 1967 | "Mask Dance" | Phoebe Neville | Judson Dance Theater |
| Aug. 3, 1967 | "Recipe" | Elizabeth Keen | Judson Dance Theater |
| Aug. 3, 1967 | "Leg Ballad" | Jim Hardy | Judson Dance Theater |
| Aug. 3, 1967 | "Folie-a-deux" | Edward Portnoy | Al Carmines |
The rich aspects of Judson Church’s history appeared in many books and articles – far too many to cite here. But we provide some significant works by Judson “insiders” for your pleasure here:
A Voice in the Village by Howard Moody (Xlibris 2009) is Howard’s own recounting of his 35-year career as Judson’s minister, 1956-90. [Read more.]
Remembering Judson House, edited by Judson members Ellie and Jerry G. Dickason (Judson Church, 2000), published just before this iconic “parish house” was demolished, collects personal recollections from residents in its diverse 100-plus years, when it housed at various times hotel staff, a children’s medical clinic, students, artists, runaways, church staff and more. [Read more.]
Abortion Counseling and Social Change by Arlene Carmen and Howard Moody (Judson Press 1973) tells the story of the national network they founded in 1967, the “Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion,” which helped desperate women find safe and compassionate abortions before Roe v. Wade. Arlene Carmen was program associate at Judson, 1967-94. [Read more.]
Ministers of a Higher Law by Joshua Wolff (1998) is a study of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion from an observer’s perspective 25 years after its founding. Josh Wolff is a Judson Sunday School alumnus (now with a PhD in history from Columbia University); this study grew from his college senior thesis. [Read more.]