In May, 1960, Barbra joined an acting troop in New York called The
Actors Co-op. They took space in an off-Broadway theatre called The Jan
Hus Playhouse. Their production would be a satirical play called "The
Insect Comedy" and Barbra would play four parts: butterfly, second moth,
Apatura Clythia and messenger. It played three performances, closing on
May 11.
Barbra met a fellow actor
named Barry Dennen while working at the Jan Hus. A friendship developed
between Barbra and Barry and it was Barry who arranged for Barbra to
appear at some of her early club dates in The Village.
The Jan Hus Playhouse still
exists today (above) and is part of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church. Jan Hus was a
priest and martyr who lived in eastern Europe in the 1400s. He is a
national hero in what what once Czechoslovakia.
The political theme of "The
Insect Comedy" has stayed with Barbra through the years. Several decades
later, Barbra took then Secretary of State Madeline Albright to see a new
performance of the play.
Imagine being a fly on the
wall for that theatre outing...
In May, 1960, Barbra joined an acting troop in New York called The
Actors Co-op. They took space in an off-Broadway theatre called The Jan
Hus Playhouse. Their production would be a satirical play called "The
Insect Comedy" and Barbra would play four parts: butterfly, second moth,
Apatura Clythia and messenger. It played three performances, closing on
May 11.