January 11, 2005
Contact:
Diane Reed
(212)
621-6686
dreed@mtr.org
Terry Lynn Smith
(310)
786-1042
tsmith@mtr.org
The
Museum of Television & Radio
Presents the U.S. Premiere of the Complete Farewell Performance of
Beyond the Fringe
February 11 to March 31, 2005
Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY—The Museum of Television & Radio will screen the U.S. premiere
of the complete 1964 gala farewell performance of Beyond the Fringe from February 11 to March 31, 2005. This
groundbreaking satirical revue was first mounted at the Edinburgh Festival in
1960 and subsequently played in London's West End and on
Broadway. Beyond the Fringe kicked off
the 1960s satire boom (directly influencing such television shows as That Was the Week That Was and Monty Python's Flying Circus) and
jump-started the careers of all four of its young stars: Alan Bennett, Peter
Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. This final performance was telecast in
Great Britain—in a truncated,
one-hour version on BBC2—but has never been released commercially. Sketches include "Man Bites God" (a
takeoff on Sunday morning religious programs), "Aftermyth
of War" (an anthology of British wartime clichés), "Civil War"
(a lecture by civil defense workers), "Real
Class" (a comparison of social classes), and "One Leg Too Few"
(with Dudley Moore as a one-legged man who auditions in earnest for the role of
Tarzan), plus parodies of the music of Benjamin Britten
and Kurt Weill.
Beyond the Fringe will
screen in New
York Tuesdays to
Sundays at 12:30
p.m. and Thursday evenings
at 6:00
p.m. and in Los Angeles Wednesdays to Sundays at 12:30 p.m. This program is part of the Museum's recent acquisition
of television shows produced by the late Alexander Cohen, who brought Beyond the Fringe to Broadway in 1962.
The Museum of Television & Radio,
with locations in New York and Los
Angeles, was
founded by William S. Paley to collect and preserve
television and radio programs and advertisements and to make them available to
the public. Since opening in 1976, the
Museum has organized exhibitions, screening and listening series, seminars, and
education classes to showcase its preeminent collection of over 100,000
television and radio programs and advertisements. Programs in the Museum’s collection are
selected for their artistic, cultural, and historic significance.
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The
Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in
Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. and until
8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in California,
located at 465 North Beverly Drive in
Beverly Hills is
open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to
5:00 p.m.
Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and
Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for
adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under
fourteen. Admission is free in Los
Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are
accessible to wheelchairs, and assisted listening devices are available.
Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in New
York at (212) 621-6800 or in Los
Angeles at (310) 786-1000. Visit the Museum’s website at www.mtr.org.
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