Changes: The Cube

Revision as of 05:36, 3 September 2013

thumb|300px|right|A scene from The Cube

File:Thecubelogo.jpg

The Cube was an avant-garde drama written by Jerry Juhl and Jim Henson for television. It aired on NBC as part of the anthology series Experiment in Television on February 23, 1969. The program was rebroadcast two years later, on February 21, 1971.^[1]

The hour-long piece takes place within a single set: a white, cubed space composed of a series of rectangular panels, in which the nameless protagonist is trapped. A steady stream of characters enter the cube, with recurring visits by the maintenance man Arnie and Mr. Thomas the manager, but they all exit through "their own door." Some visitors seem to know the man or want to offer advice and all are generally unhelpful to the man as he tries to unravel the mystery of where he is, how he got there, and how he can leave.

Topics explored include the definitions of reality and sanity, racism, sexuality, spiritual exploration, and the nature of freedom and being trapped, as well as many metatheatrical references to the play's status as a television drama.

The Cube can currently be purchased and rented via the iTunes Store.

Trivia

Jerry Nelson appears as a monk, to provide spiritual comfort to the man. The monk tells him that "All is all. Is is." This line would be repeated almost twenty years later by Cantus the Minstrel in an episode of Fraggle Rock.

NBC's Experiment in Television had previously broadcast Jim Henson's documentary Youth '68.

During the encounter with the professor, discussing television drama, the joke credits for The Cube, displayed on a TV set within the main scene, show "Produced by: Don Sahlin" and "Directed by: Joseph Raposo."

Both The Cube and Time Piece feature brief scenes involving gorilla suits.

Excerpts from the guitarist's song, prior to the negative "you'll never get out" passage, were included in the 2005 book It's Not Easy Being Green. The audiobook version had Jerry Nelson reading the lines.

In 2007, the Glassbooth Company performed a live stage production of "The Cube" at Germany's Freies Theater entitled "Kubus".^[2]

Jerry Juhl makes an on-screen cameo in a projected party scene, and joins in on a conversation (presumably about The Cube), adding that he didn't care for the ending.

Credits

Cast

The Man in The Cube: Richard Schaal
Arnie: Hugh Webster
Manager: Rex Sevenoaks
Prisoner: Jack Van Evera
Straight Man & Sergeant: Jon Granic
Comic & Fritz: Guy Sanvido
Seductress: Eliza Creighton
Black Militant: Don Crawford
Scientist: William Osler
Monk: Jerry Nelson
Decorator: Sandra Scott
Dr. Conners: Claude Rae
Professor: Don McGill
Guitarist: Ralph Endersby
Liza 1: Trudy Young
Liza 2: Ruth Springford
Father-in-law & Dr. Bingham: Moe Margolese
Mother-in-law & Mrs. Stratton: Alice Hill
Margaret: Loro Farell
Dr. Bradowski & Old Man: Eric Clavering
Nurse: Jean Christopher

Crew

Written by: Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl
Directed by Jim Henson
Produced by Jim Henson
Casting: Pat Barney
Set Design: Jack McAdam of Design Service Associates
Electronic Music: Walter Sear
Associate Producer: David Robertson
Production Assistant: Joan Chilcott
Unit Manager: Jack Spiers
Floor Director: Gerry Bean
Make-up: Carol Davidson, Janet Nethercot
Set Dressing: David Jaquest, Gerry Holmes
Hairstyles: Max Axler
Technical Director: Jay Gellner
Lighting Director: Howard Galbraith
Audio: John Grimsditch
Video: Percy Brinkworth
Video Tape Editing: Keith Robinson, Ed Brennan
Production Facilities: Glen-Warren Productions Limited, Toronto

Sources

[1] Jim Henson's Red Book. 2/21/1971 – ‘Re-play “The Cube” – NBC.’

[2] YouTube: Kubus

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:title.cube.jpg|frame|''The Cube'' title card.]]
+[[Image:title.cube.jpg|thumb|300px|Title Card]]
+[[Video:"The Cube"|thumb|300px|right|A scene from ''The Cube'']]
-'''''The Cube''''' was an avant-garde drama written by [[Jerry Juhl]] and [[Jim Henson]] for television. It aired over [[NBC]] as part of the anthology series ''Experiments in Television'' on February 23, [[1969]]. The hour long piece takes place within a single set, a white cubed space composed of a series of rectangular panels, in which the nameless protagonist is trapped. A steady stream of characters enter the cube, with recurring visits by the maintenance man [[Arnie]] and the Manager, but they all exit through "their own door." Topics explored include the definitions of reality and sanity, racism, sexuality, spiritual exploration, and the nature of freedom and being trapped, as well as many meta references to the play's status as a television drama.
+[[Image:Thecubelogo.jpg|right|300px]]
+[[Image:the.cube.1.jpg|thumb|300px|The Man meets Arnie the maintenance man]]
+[[Image:the.cube.2.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+[[Image:the.cube.3.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+[[Image:the.cube.4.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+[[Image:the.cube.5.jpg|thumb|300px|Straight man and comic laugh at the Man]]
+[[Image:the.cube.6.jpg|thumb|300px|The guitarist and band torment the Man]]
+[[Image:the.cube.7.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+[[Image:Cameo.jerry07.jpg|thumb|300px|Jerry Nelson as the monk]]
+'''''The Cube''''' was an avant-garde drama written by [[Jerry Juhl]] and [[Jim Henson]] for television. It aired on [[NBC]] as part of the anthology series ''Experiment in Television'' on February 23, [[1969]]. The program was rebroadcast two years later, on February 21, 1971.<ref>[[Jim Henson's Red Book]]. [http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/02/21/2211971/ 2/21/1971 – ‘Re-play “The Cube” – NBC.’]</ref>
+The hour-long piece takes place within a single set: a white, cubed space composed of a series of rectangular panels, in which the nameless protagonist is trapped. A steady stream of characters enter the cube, with recurring visits by the maintenance man [[Arnie]] and [[Mr. Thomas]] the manager, but they all exit through "their own door." Some visitors seem to know the man or want to offer advice and all are generally unhelpful to the man as he tries to unravel the mystery of where he is, how he got there, and how he can leave.
+Topics explored include the definitions of reality and sanity, racism, sexuality, spiritual exploration, and the nature of freedom and being trapped, as well as many metatheatrical references to the play's status as a television drama.
+''The Cube'' can currently be purchased and rented via [[the iTunes Store]].
 ==Trivia==
+*[[Jerry Nelson]] appears as a monk, to provide spiritual comfort to the man. The monk tells him that "All is all. Is is." This line would be repeated almost twenty years later by [[Cantus the Minstrel]] in an [[Episode 207: Mokey and the Minstrels|episode]] of ''[[Fraggle Rock]]''.
-[[Image:Cameo.jerry07.jpg|frame|Jerry Nelson's cameo.]]
-*[[Jerry Nelson]] appears as a monk, to provide spiritual comfort to the man.  The monk tells him that "All is all. Is is."  This line would be repeated almost twenty years later by [[Cantus the Minstrel]] in an [[Episode 207: Mokey and the Minstrels|episode]] of ''[[Fraggle Rock]]''.
+*NBC's ''Experiment in Television'' had previously broadcast Jim Henson's documentary ''[[Youth '68]]''.
-*During the encounter with the professor, discussing television drama, the "ending" credits for ''The Cube'', displayed on a TV set within the main scene, show "Produced by: [[Don Sahlin]]" and "Directed by: [[Joe Raposo|Joseph Raposo]]."
+*During the encounter with the professor, discussing television drama, the joke credits for ''The Cube'', displayed on a TV set within the main scene, show "Produced by: [[Don Sahlin]]" and "Directed by: [[Joe Raposo|Joseph Raposo]]."
 *Both ''The Cube'' and ''[[Time Piece]]'' feature brief scenes involving [[Gorilla Suits|gorilla suits]].
+*Excerpts from the guitarist's song, prior to the negative "you'll never get out" passage, were included in the 2005 book ''[[It's Not Easy Being Green (book)|It's Not Easy Being Green]]''. The audiobook version had Jerry Nelson reading the lines.
-==Credits==
+*In 2007, the Glassbooth Company performed a live stage production of "The Cube" at Germany's Freies Theater entitled "Kubus".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY4AzszpKG0 YouTube: Kubus]</ref>
-* Featuring [[Richard Schaal]] as The Man in The Cube
-* Written by: Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl
+*[[Jerry Juhl]] makes an on-screen cameo in a projected party scene, and joins in on a conversation (presumably about ''The Cube''), adding that he didn't care for the ending.
+==Credits==
-* Arnie: [[Hugh Webster]]
+===Cast===
-* Manager: [[Rex Sevenoaks]]
+* [[The Man in The Cube]]: [[Richard Schaal]]
+* [[Arnie]]: [[Hugh Webster]]
+* [[Mr. Thomas|Manager]]: [[Rex Sevenoaks]]
 * Prisoner: [[Jack Van Evera]]
-* Straight Man & Sergeant: Jon Granic
+* Straight Man & Sergeant: [[Jon Granik|Jon Granic]]
-* Comic & Fritz: Guy Sanvido
+* Comic & Fritz: [[Guy Sanvido]]
 * Seductress: Eliza Creighton
 * Black Militant: Don Crawford
@@ Line 25: / Line 48: @@
 * Decorator: [[Sandra Scott]]
 * Dr. Conners: [[Claude Rae]]
-* Professor: Don McGill
+* Professor: [[Don McGill]]
 * Guitarist: [[Ralph Endersby]]
 * Liza 1: [[Trudy Young]]
-* Liza 2: Ruth Springford
+* Liza 2: [[Ruth Springford]]
-* Father-in-law & Dr. Birmingham: Moe Margolese
+* Father-in-law & Dr. Bingham: [[E.M. Margolese|Moe Margolese]]
-* Mother-in-law & Mrs. Stratton: Alice Hill
+* Mother-in-law & Mrs. Stratton: [[Alice Hill]]
-* Margaret: Loro Farell
+* Margaret: [[Loro Farell]]
 * Dr. Bradowski & Old Man: [[Eric Clavering]]
 * Nurse: Jean Christopher
+===Crew===
+* Written by: [[Jim Henson]], [[Jerry Juhl]]
+* Directed by Jim Henson
 * Produced by Jim Henson
 * Casting: Pat Barney
-* Set Design: Jack McAdam of Design Service Associates
+* Set Design: [[Jack McAdam]] of Design Service Associates
 * Electronic Music: [[Walter Sear]]
 * Associate Producer: David Robertson
@@ Line 52: / Line 77: @@
 * Video: Percy Brinkworth
 * Video Tape Editing: Keith Robinson, Ed Brennan
-* Production Facilities: Glen-Warren Productions Limited, Toronto
+* Production Facilities: [[Glen-Warren Productions Limited]], Toronto
-* Directed by Jim Henson
+==Sources==
+<references/>
 [[Category:Henson Films|Cube, The]]

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