Robert Loraine’s Man and Superman

Abstract

Robert Loraine (1876–1935) was the first non-American actor to introduce a Shaw play to American audiences. That Shaw should entrust the American premiere of such a major work as Man and Superman to a British actor who, while not completely unknown to American audiences, was far from being an established star in either London or New York, surprised many. There was nothing in Loraine’s previous work, said the Morning Telegraph critic in his review (6 September 1905) of the play’s premiere at New York’s Hudson Theatre on 5 September 1905, that had “inspired the confidence” that he was up to such a task as both directing the play and performing the demanding role of John Tanner, while the Evening Post critic (6 September 1905) conceded that Loraine had “proved himself a much more capable actor than has been heretofore suspected.” Loraine, then, was a risky choice for Shaw. “Who is Arnold Daly?” Shaw had asked after granting him American rights to Candida in 1903. He knew a little bit more about Loraine in 1905 than he had known about Daly in 1903, but not nearly enough to be confident of his success with Man and Superman—as the unusual contractual conditions he imposed on Loraine would demonstrate (this chapter, p. 000).