“Grin and Bare It,” Broadway’s first nudist play, opened in New York City’s Belasco Theatre on 44th Street on Monday, March 9th… just as the Bulletin went to press. But though its fate at the hands of the critics and, more important, at the boxoffice were unknown, the play had received considerable advance publicity.
It grew from the production of “Barely Proper” at Circle H Ranch, Glen Gardner, N.J., to which the public was invited. Called the “unplayable” play when written by Tom Cushing in 1928, it deals with the experiences of a circumspect young man in discovering that his fiancé and her family are nudists.
Barry Plaxen, a New York stage manager, participated in the Circle H productions. He hit upon the idea of revising and updating the old script for Broadway, then raised about $100,000 to produce it. As “Grin and Bare It,” the play is considerably shorter and faster-paced than in its 1928 version. It is being presented as the second of two short plays on the same program at the Belasco. The other play is “Postcards,” advertised as a “clothed” comedy in contrast with the “nudist” comedy.
As much as for the publicity as anything else, the entire cast of “Grin and Bare It” visited Circle H one weekend for the announced purpose of discovering first hand what nudism is all about. They obtained both the sought-for publicity and the experience.
It grew from the production of “Barely Proper” at Circle H Ranch, Glen Gardner, N.J., to which the public was invited. Called the “unplayable” play when written by Tom Cushing in 1928, it deals with the experiences of a circumspect young man in discovering that his fiancé and her family are nudists.
Barry Plaxen, a New York stage manager, participated in the Circle H productions. He hit upon the idea of revising and updating the old script for Broadway, then raised about $100,000 to produce it. As “Grin and Bare It,” the play is considerably shorter and faster-paced than in its 1928 version. It is being presented as the second of two short plays on the same program at the Belasco. The other play is “Postcards,” advertised as a “clothed” comedy in contrast with the “nudist” comedy.
As much as for the publicity as anything else, the entire cast of “Grin and Bare It” visited Circle H one weekend for the announced purpose of discovering first hand what nudism is all about. They obtained both the sought-for publicity and the experience.
(Source: The Bulletin, Volume 19 No. 4, April 1970)
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