Photograph - "The Magic Dolls" Performance
1938
Black and white photograph of the performance of "The Magic Dolls" in 1938. The play was written by Marilena Pignatelli and Nan Hatch and was performed as part of a festival for Fresh Air Fund in Mrs. George Wilcox's garden at Oakledge. Marilena (1928-2015) (full name Maria Elena Natalia Pignatelli) was the daughter of Princess Constance Wilcox Pignatelli diMonticalvo and Prince Guido Pignatelli diMonticalvo.The actors/actresses are identified on the back:From left to right: Dutch boy - Sally Perry; Dutch girl with cap - Frances Norton; Top hat & cane - Barbara Kucrier; Chinese - _____; Indian - Marilyn Fabricant, Russian - Marilena Pignatelli; Robin Hood - Lizabeth White; seated in right front corner in dark hat - Alice CheneyMadison was home to the country's earliest summer theater. First held outdoors in 1918 and later in a barn, the plays were popular fundraisers for charitable causes including post WW I relief, the Madison Historical Society and the preservation of the Lee Academy.
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