One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

← Off-Broadway Cast:

William Devane - Randle McMurphy

William Burns - Chief Bromden

Janet Ward - Nurse Ratchet

Danny DeVito - Anthony Martini

William Duff Griffin - Charles Atkins Cheswick III

'Cuckoo' Story

"The first play I directed professionally was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which ran for five and a half years in San Francisco, two and a half in New York. I did eleven productions of the piece, including internationally, and I owe much of my success to it."

"He eventually brought 'Cuckoo's Nest' to New York, where such actors as Danny DeVito, William Devane and Olympia Dukakis starred in the production. The Academy Award-winning film version of the play, with Jack Nicholson as rogue inmate Randall P. McMurphy, soon followed."

"But although the book had had great success and the movie would some day, the

play was a flop when it was first done in on Broadway in New York in 1963. Kirk Douglas

played McMurphy, and some critics groused that he was too much the star to throw

himself into the role.

CRAZY TO DO 'CUCKOO'

With the bad reviews for the original production, Sankowich now acknowledges that he was crazy even to consider doing 'Cuckoo' in San Francisco. 'If I knew then what I know now, I probably never would have done the play. The reality in this business is that it is extremely difficult to buck bad reviews. But I was very young (27) and naive and innocent.'

Kirk Douglas

MOVIE MADE A FORTUNE

The movie eventually was made by Michael Douglas, Kirk's son, and went on to make a fortune. Sankowich and Golyn have been kicking themselves ever since.

But there have been consolations. Their New York production of Cuckoo was a big hit. It helped make the career of Danny DeVito, who has said so in interviews."

Sankowich has directed 8 1/2 productions of the play before this time. (The half was in Baltimore when he was called in to rescue a troubled production.) In 1995, Sankowich directed a 25th Anniversary Revival at Marin Theatre Company, 'breathing life' into it again.

The San Francisco show got a boost when Kesey (counterculture author of the original novel) showed up unexpectedly for a performance with 35 of his eccentric friends, including local character Wavy Gravy, who was in a full body cast painted like an American flag. 'In the best tradition of the day, it was a happening,' Sankowich recalls. 'Thank goodness Kesey liked the show.'

Buoyed by the success here, Sankowich and his friend and producer Rudi Golyn decided to take it to New York again, but in an off-Broadway theater this time. Before the opening in 1972, the two had a momentous meeting with Douglas, who owned the movie rights.

Ken Kensey,

As Sankowich and Golyn recall that meeting, Douglas offered to sell them the rights.

'We ate at Ernie's. Douglas strutted around Ernie's like a peacock. He was a nice enough guy, but a lot of ego,' Sankowich says. They say they were told by Douglas' agent that they could have the rights for $100,000.

'We hadn't opened in New York,' Sankowich says, explaining why they turned down the offer. 'We were two young guys in San Francisco. We would have had to raise the money. We had no film track record. We had been proven nowhere but San Francisco.'

"[Sankowich] says the Hebrew version he directed with Tel Aviv's Bimot Productions in 1972 is among his favorites. 'Of all the productions I've done, it was the most memorable. Cuckoo's Nest itself explores the meaning of sanity and personal freedom,' and Sankowich recalls that the Israeli actors 'had no problem diving right into it.'"

- Excerpt from The Jewish News

- Excerpt from SFGate

Sankowich's first production at the Little Fox was a huge success, breaking all local box office records.