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KENNEDY, John F. Typed letter signed ("John Kennedy"), as President, to Jack Landau (1924-1966), Washington, 5 October 1961. 1 page, 4to, White House stationery, matted and framed with a color photo.
"WE WERE VERY PROUD OF OUR AMERICAN THEATER LAST EVENING"
"The performance of Shakespeare last evening in the White House was a very exciting one from many points of view," JFK writes. "Mrs. Kennedy and I appreciate so much your fine efforts in directing the production, and I hope you will express my thanks to the actors, actresses, and technicians who worked so hard to make it the success it was. We were very proud of our American theater last evening, and thank you again for everything you did to make it a memorable performance."
This evening of Shakespeare was performed by actors from the American Shakespeare Theater, in the White House East Room, in conjunction with a state dinner for Sudanese president Ferik Ibrahim Abboud. It was very much in keeping with Jacqueline Kennedy's determination to make the White House a cultural center for American and international artists. Landau directed a series of excerpts from Shakespeare's works done in an American key, including a scene from Troilus and Cressida done in Civil War costumes. The American Shakespeare Theater, in Stratford, Connecticut, founded by Lincoln Kirstein, John Houseman and others, in 1955, provided crucial stage experience for a generation of American actors, until it closed in the mid-1980s.
"WE WERE VERY PROUD OF OUR AMERICAN THEATER LAST EVENING"
"The performance of Shakespeare last evening in the White House was a very exciting one from many points of view," JFK writes. "Mrs. Kennedy and I appreciate so much your fine efforts in directing the production, and I hope you will express my thanks to the actors, actresses, and technicians who worked so hard to make it the success it was. We were very proud of our American theater last evening, and thank you again for everything you did to make it a memorable performance."
This evening of Shakespeare was performed by actors from the American Shakespeare Theater, in the White House East Room, in conjunction with a state dinner for Sudanese president Ferik Ibrahim Abboud. It was very much in keeping with Jacqueline Kennedy's determination to make the White House a cultural center for American and international artists. Landau directed a series of excerpts from Shakespeare's works done in an American key, including a scene from Troilus and Cressida done in Civil War costumes. The American Shakespeare Theater, in Stratford, Connecticut, founded by Lincoln Kirstein, John Houseman and others, in 1955, provided crucial stage experience for a generation of American actors, until it closed in the mid-1980s.