Lore Noto (producer) - Early Days

Early Days

Lore (Lorenzo) Noto was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 9, 1923. Losing his mother as a young child, he was raised at the Brooklyn Home for Children. It was then in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. During his teen years he helped his widowed father operate a billiard parlor in Ridgewood. Defying his father, Young Noto trained to be a commercial artist and also took an interest in acting. He began appearing on stages around the city in 1939. He studied at the New York School of Industrial Arts, the American Academy and the Theatre Studio. Although he had a career in commercial art (he was a graphic artist for publishers, including the Catholic Press, and later became an agent for artists), Mr. Noto was also an actor in such plays as Bomb Shelter (The Little Theatre, 1941) and Shake Hands With the Devil The Blackfriars' Theatre, 1949).

"In those days," he says, "Off Broadway was referred to as Little Theatre, primarily because of playhouse capacity. We performed in churches and New York City libraries doing Chekhov, Ibsen and original plays throughout the five boroughs."

When World War II began, Mr. Noto tried to enlist but was rejected because of his poor eyesight. Instead, he was able to join the merchant marine. While ashore in Antwerp, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, he was among those in a building struck by a direct hit by a German V2 rocket and was gravely wounded. Mr. Noto was among a group of ten men selected to be the first merchant seaman to be awarded the Purple Heart. He later served in New York City as an artist with a U.S. Navy publication and ended his career in the U.S. Maritime Service as a Chief Petty Officer in 1946.

Noto believed his theatrical success could not have been achieved without his wartime experience. He said, "We all know in comparison to the pain and horror of war, theatre is artifice. But the harsh disciplines I learned taught me the importance of collaboration. Theatre is a collaborative art; showboating is the primary pitfall to be avoided; 'Stroke oars together' is a life survival truth. When I was offered the opportunity to produce The Fantasticks, I was well prepared to accept the responsibility of so admirable a venture. I was able to not only recognize, but to trust, the special talents and skills of not merely its creators, but the many in all departments who have served the musical since its inception."