NET Festival; 112; My Heart's in the Highland. Reel 1
- Series
- NET Festival
- Episode Number
- 112
- Producing Organization
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Contributing Organization
- WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/15-11kh2gbk
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Composer Jack Beeson has adapted the libretto for his two-act chamber opera, "My Heart's in the Highlands," from William Saroyan's famous one-act play. The action of the opera is faithful to the play and most of the dialogue is taken directly from it. Mr. Beeson has also taken some material from Mr. Saroyan's "Time of Your Life" which appears as the "poems" Johnny's father submits to The Atlantic Monthly. Saroyan's "My Heart's in the Highlands" was first produced in 1939 (at the Guild Theatre in New York City) by the Group Theatre, the idealistic, labor-sympathizing theatrical producing company founded during the depression. Saroyan was one of the young playwrights (among the others were Clifford Odets and Irwin Shaw) the Group introduced to the American theater-going public. Johnny, aged nine but "essentially ageless," lives in an old, broken-down frame house in Fresno, California, with his father, Ben Alexander, and his Armenian grandmother. The family spirit is personified by Ben, a warm man whose faith in his ability to cope with problems is unimpeded by his failure to publish his poetry and his unwillingness to get a job. Johnny spends most of his time listening to birds and train whistles, trying to look at the world while standing on his head, and being fascinated by bicycle riders with ice cream cones. One day, while Johnny is standing on his head, he hears the "loveliest and most amazing music in the world." Someone is playing the song "My Heart's in the Highlands" on a cornet. It is Jasper MacGregor, a very old man who says he is a Shakespearean actor, but that his heart is really "in the Highlands." So Mr. MacGregor stays with Johnny and his father and grandmother. And while he is there, there is food in the house. The neighbors bring eggs and melons and sausage in return for songs from Mr. MacGregor's cornet. But eventually, a man arrives from the Old People's Home, and offering Mr. MacGregor the lead part of King Lear in their annual show, takes him back to the home. Sometime later (November 1914, to be exact), the Alexander home has been put up for rent. Things have become much worse for the poet and his family and The Atlantic Monthly has sent back Ben's poems. When a young couple with a baby agrees to rent the house, Ben gives them what there is of the furniture. He then gives his poems to Mr. Kosak, the grocer, trying to repay him for all the money he owes on their food bill. Suddenly as the poet and his small family are preparing to leave the house forever, a very tired Mr. MacGregor appears. He has run away from Home. In a last spurt of courage, Mr. MacGregor plays a solo on his cornet and recites some fragments of Shakespeare. Then he dies. The young couple with their baby return to move into the house. Johnny and his grandmother leave with Johnny's father. They have no destination, and Johnny becomes skeptical. His final words are "I 'm not mentioning any names, Pa, but something's wrong somewhere." NET Festival "My Heart's in the Highlands" is a National Educational Television production, produced by the NET Opera Theatre under the artistic and musical direction of Peter Herman Adler. Produced through the facilities of NET Boston affiliate WGBH. This 90-minute piece was shot in color. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- NET Festival is an anthology series of performing arts programming.
- Broadcast Date
- 1970-03-17
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Drama
- Topics
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Media type
- Sound
- Credits
-
-
Art Director: Adler, Peter Herman
Assistant Conductor: Smith, Martin
Assistant Conductor: Demain, John L.
Associate Producer: Griffiths, David
Audio Producer: Mohr, Richard
Composer: Beeson, Jack, 1921-2010
Conductor: Adler, Peter Herman
Costume Designer: Elder, Eldon
Director: Browning, Kirk
Lighting Designer: Davis, Robert Warren
Music Director: Adler, Peter Herman
Performer: Beeson, Jack
Performer: Smith, Ken
Performer: Malas, Spiro
Performer: Fouser, Donald
Performer: Chookasian, Lili
Performer: Wheeler, Leon
Performer: Colbin, Rod
Performer: Lion
Performer: Shiesley, Robert
Performer: Ferguson, Michael
Performer: Miller, Kellis W.
Performer: Harrington, Gerard
Performer: Rich, Monica
Performer: Crofoot, Alan
Performer: Nevile, Dhora
Producer: Adler, Peter Herman
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
Production Supervisor: Smith, Douglas
Set Designer: Elder, Eldon
Staging Associate: Levine, Rhoda
Writer: Saroyan, William, 1908-1981
Writer: Beeson, Jack, 1921-2010
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WGBH
Identifier: 00-1076-00-00-001 (WGBH Item ID)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Generation: Master
Duration: 01:28:44
-
WGBH
Identifier: 0000231313 (WGBH Barcode)
Format: 2 inch audio tape
Generation: Dub
-
WGBH
Identifier: 0000231316 (WGBH Barcode)
Format: 2 inch audio tape
Generation: Original
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- Citations
- Chicago: “NET Festival; 112; My Heart's in the Highland. Reel 1,” 1970-03-17, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed May 15, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-11kh2gbk.
- MLA: “NET Festival; 112; My Heart's in the Highland. Reel 1.” 1970-03-17. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. May 15, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-11kh2gbk>.
- APA: NET Festival; 112; My Heart's in the Highland. Reel 1. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-11kh2gbk