Paul Baker and the Integration of Abilities

“Irritating, arrogant, nuts—and a genius.” That’s what Charles Laughton said of Paul Baker. He also said, “Paul Baker is one of the most important minds in the world theater today. He seems to have invented new ways of doing things, and I think something big will come out of it.”

Something big did come out of it. Stage productions such as Othello, Hamlet, and A Cloud of Witnesses brought critics including Henry Hewes of Saturday Review and photographers such …