Joseph Anthony - Stage Work

Stage Work

Joseph Anthony, then appearing under his given name of Joseph Deuster, made his professional acting debut in 1935 playing the role of Rizzio in a production of Mary of Scotland In 1937 he appeared in the touring production of "Dead End". He went on to make his first New York City appearance two years later with the Federal Theatre Project Company playing the title role in a production of Professor Mamlock at Daly's 63rd Street Theatre. After returning from service in World War II, Anthony reappeared on Broadway under the name Joseph Adams at the Belasco Theatre as the Second Man in a 1946 production of Truckline Cafe. He first performed under the name Joseph Anthony in January 1948 at the Maxine Elliott Theatre in a production of Skipper Next to God. He continued to perform under this name through the 1950s, appearing in such original Broadway theatre productions as "The Country Girl", 1951, at the Lyceum Theatre, NYC, Flight into Egypt in 1952, Camino Real in 1953, and Anastasia in 1954.

Joseph Anthony made his New York City directorial debut in April 1948 directing a production of Celebration at the Maxine Elliott Theatre. In 1954, Anthony directed the original production of The Rainmaker, a play of which he would later direct the film adaptation. From March 1960 through March 1961, Anthony successfully opened the original Broadway productions of four shows which ran simultaneously: The Best Man at the Morosco Theatre, Under the Yum Yum Tree at Henry Miller's Theatre, Rhinoceros at the Longacre Theatre, and Mary, Mary at the Helen Hayes Theatre. Mary, Mary was Anthony's longest-running production, lasting nearly four years and more than 1500 performances. Anthony also directed several other original Broadway productions, including Romulus in 1962, Slow Dance on the Killing Ground in 1964, and the notoriously unsuccessful Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1966.