Broadway Follies

George S. Kaufman, (1889-1961) playwright, wit and critic.

Though critics hailed him as a genius he modestly considered his gift as merely a knack. He used to debunk talk about ‘art’ in the theatre. Ruth Gordon an actress once raved to him about a script. “There is no scenery at all,” she explained, “the audience has to imagine, I’m eating a dinner in a crowded restaurant. Then in scene two the audience imagines, I’m home in my bedroom.”
“And the second night,” said George, “you have to imagine there’s an audience.”
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