The Washington Square Players (WSP) was a theatre troupe and production company that existed from 1915 to 1918 in Manhattan, New York City. It started as a semi-amateur Little Theatre then matured into a Repertory theatre with its own touring company and drama school. It received national newspaper coverage and sparked like-minded companies across the country. After it ceased operating, three of its members founded the Theatre Guild.
At the "Washington Square Bookshop" owned by the Boni brothers and the adjacent building housing the Liberal Club, an eclectic group of locals used to gather and criticize the state of American theatre.[1] Sometime in late 1914 or early 1915 this group of creative types decided to join forces and produce their own plays. The company was formally organized in 1915,[2] with playwright Edward Goodman as its director and Lawrence Langner as business manager.[3] The New York Tribune referred to the troupe members as both professionals and semi-professionals.[4] An article on the finances of the WSP from 1917 clarified its nature:[5]
The Washington Square Players are a corporation, but they pay no dividends. That is, their stockholders are stockholders in name only, and there is a general understanding that all profits must be turned back into future productions.
According to a "manifesto" that was given out to the press,[fn 1] the company's goal was to present works of artistic merit, regardless of provenance though giving weight to American dramatists, that might not otherwise be performed in commercial theatres. New works by American playwrights were encouraged to be submitted, and new ideas for staging and setting would be considered.[6]
Their original venue was to be a barn in an alley off Washington Square.[7] Unable to afford anywhere closer to Greenwich Village, the company took a sub-lease on the Bandbox Theatre, which seated less than 300.[8] It stood at East 57th Street just east of Third Avenue in Manhattan. Originally Adolph Phillips' Theater, where German plays were presented,[8] it was renamed by new owners who leased it to the "New York Play Actors" corporation, headed by Douglas J. Wood.[9] They had the same idea as the WSP but charged $2 a seat and could not make it work, so they sublet to the WSP.[9]
The WSP plan was for performances to be given on Fridays and Saturdays only, for four weekends running. After these eight performances finished, a new program would be offered for the next four weeks. All seats were only 50 cents, a considerable discount over commercial theatres of the time. The troupe preferred tickets to be purchased on a subscriber basis rather than at performance time. One reviewer noted that Edna Ferber and Fola La Follette were subscribers.[10] There were no salaried performers among the WSP that first season. All money raised went to the rent of the theatre, lighting, and other production expenses.[11] The membership was described as composed of dramatic, musical, and literary people who lived in the "art colony" around Washington Square.[12][13]
First season: Feb 1915-Jun 1915
The debut production was given on February 19, 1915,[fn 2] consisting of some one-act playlets and a pantomime, three of which had been written for the event. The program was preceded by a little charade between Edward Goodman and two shills in the audience, whose complaints about the tardy curtain raising allowed for exposition on what the WSP were trying to accomplish.[14] Reviewers from major newspapers covered the opening night; all praised the performances and lauded the experiment it represented.[13][4][14] One mentioned that the pantomime was performed by "young mimes gathered from the Italian quarter near the square".[13] Another listed all twenty-seven performers by name, though without ascribing playlets or roles for most.[14]
The Bandbox was filled completely for every subsequent performance of that first program. On one weekend, nearly 150 people were turned away from the box office, so that the first bill was extended for another week, with matinees and weekday performances added.[11] For amateur performers, many who had other careers to pursue, this unexpected success was proving very demanding. The news about the debut of the WSP was also spread around the country in the drama columns of newspapers in other states.
The second bill presented by WSP was again a series of one-act playlets and a pantomime. Because of the first bill's extension its opening night was on March 26, 1915. There were three original works by WSP members, a classic by Leonid Andreyev, and a little-known playlet by John Reed.[fn 3] One of the previously announced playlets was not performed opening night due to the illness of its leading actress; its unknown whether it was ever performed.
The third program started on May 7, 1915, with four one-act playlets. Most successful according to reviewers was a Maurice Maeterlinck satire, in which St. Anthony appears at a modern funeral and resurrects the deceased to the dismay of the hopeful heirs.[15] A social drama about self-sacrifice in the tenements by Rose Pastor Stokes was also praised.[15] A previously announced pantomime failed to be presented. Once again extra performances had to be scheduled on weekdays to meet the demand.[16]
The fourth and final bill of the season was presented starting May 25, 1915. It consisted of a one-act farce by Anton Chekov, plus repeats of three popular playlets from earlier bills. This program was for one week only, ending with two performances on May 31, 1915, for the Irish Theater of America was due to mount plays at the Bandbox starting June 1. However, the WSP was invited to perform their fourth program at the Little Theater in Philadelphia.[17] They gave two performances there on June 5, 1915, dropping the Chekov farce of the fourth bill in favor of a Philip Moeller playlet from their second program.[18]
Lectures and bookshop
During the first season, the WSP sponsored monthly lectures by Clayton Hamilton on Sunday afternoons at the Bandbox Theatre. Only the third and final topic is known: The Little Theater - How Can It Grow Up?.[19]
An interesting feature of the tenancy of the WSP at the Bandbox (and later at the Comedy Theatre) was a small "bookshop" off the main lobby where copies of the plays presented could be purchased.[20]
Second season: Oct 1915-May 1916
At the end of their first season, the WSP announced they had leased the Bandbox theatre for the coming season.[18] The company would have full control of the theater instead of sub-letting it. They also announced some policy changes: the better seats would now cost $1 in order to provide some compensation for the artistic and production staff (just $20 per week to begin with, regardless of position, which rose considerably in later seasons),[5] and performances would now be every evening plus a Saturday matinee. Boston drama critic Hiram Kelly Moderwell wrote an essay called Art and Buttered Bread which explained why the policy changes were beneficial.[21] There would be a special subscriber list at $2 a performance which would subsidize keeping some seats at 50 cents, with all others going for a dollar.
The second season opened on October 4, 1915 at the Bandbox Theatre with four one-act plays, only one of which, Helena's Husband, was original and written by an WSP member.[26] The New York Times reviewer thought it the best piece in an uneven bill, but savaged Ralph Roeder for his work in Roberto Bracco's A Night of Snow.[26] Cleveland Rodgers, critic for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, agreed and noted the program ran overly long with unexplained delays and poor settings.[27] However, Hiram Kelly Moderwell was familiar with the Italian verismo style of Bracco, recognized that Roeder did an excellent job portraying a pretentious and disagreeable character, but acknowledged that American audiences were not yet ready for this sort of drama.[28]Heywood Broun writing for the New York Tribune provided a complete cast list while heaping praise on Lydia Lopokova in The Antick.[fn 5][29] Finally, Aleck Woollcott in his column Second Thoughts on First Nights pronounced three of the playlets a success and expressed hope that the WSP would stick to one-act plays.[30] Two weeks into the first bill, A Night of Snow was replaced by a popular first season revival, Interior.[31]
For their second bill of the season the WSP presented four one-act comedies starting on November 8, 1915. Two of them, Whims by Alfred de Musset and The Honorable Lover by Roberto Bracco, were original translations from French and Italian by Ralph Roeder.[32]Literature by Arthur Schnitzler and Overtones, written in 1913 by American Alice Gerstenberg, completed the quartet.[32] The new program was presented Monday thru Thursday evenings, while the first bill of the season continued running on Friday and Saturday evenings and Saturday matinee for a few weeks.[33] Heywood Broun found the comedies imaginative but felt they merged one into another, though he ranked Overtones as best.[34] Aleck Woollcott felt Overtones was a clever idea whose execution could have been better; he ranked it and Literature as the two best performances.[35] He also deflected protest at so much attention being given to the WSP by proclaiming "theirs is the only experimental theatre in New York".[35]
The third program for this season didn't appear until January 10, 1916. It consisted of three one-act plays and a pantomime in five scenes.[25] Lydia Lopokova left the WSP before the third bill's premiere to resume dancing. The whimsical playlet The Roadhouse of Arden by Philip Moeller and the pantomime The Red Cloak by Josephine A. Meyer and Lawrence Langner were both original works, and proved the most successful for this bill.[36][37] A dissenting view came from Heywood Broun, who thought Andre Tridon's translation of The Tenor by Frank Wedekind the best work, but noted the audience responded most to The Clod by Lewis Beach.[38] Nearly all reviewers praised the sets by Lee Simonson and Robert Lawson.
Players in 1916
The fourth program of the second season didn't start until March 20, 1916 but then ran for two months. It consisted of three American playlets and a 15th Century French farce.[39] It also featured a new actress, Mary Morris, who graduated from apprentice to leading lady with this bill. The general consensus among reviewers was that this program was the strongest yet presented in terms of material, acting, and sets, and would have wide appeal. A plaintive note was sounded by Heywood Broun, when he questioned whether Children by Guy Bolton and Tom Carlton, or The Age of Reason by Cecil Dorrian (whom he referred to erroneously as "Mr. Dorrian") really belonged at the Bandbox as any more commercial theater would have been happy to stage them.[40]Children according to critic Cleveland Rodgers, was "unmotivated melodrama, where you see people getting into the way of Fate's locomotive in order that they may be run over for your entertainment".[39] Another reviewer was impressed with the urban tragedy of The Magical City by Zoe Akins, but thought the rhythm of the free verse meter in which it was written could hardly be detected.[41]Pierre Patelin, an anonymous medieval work translated and adapted by Maurice Relonde, was judged an excellent presentation for its historicity as well for the sets by Lee Simonson.[40]
During April 1916 the WSP announced they had leased the larger Comedy Theatre for their next season, and would start giving longer plays.[42] Their fifth and final bill for the second season began May 22, 1916, but only ran nine days, as the lease on the Bandbox Theatre expired June 1st.[43] For the first time they performed a full length play, Chekhov'sThe Sea Gull. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle praised the production, particularly the acting of the leads, Roland Young (Constantine Treplieff) and Helen Westley (Irina Arkadina), but also mentioned Mary Morris, Ralph Roeder, and Florence Enright favorably.[44]
Lectures
The WSP again sponsored occasional lectures at the Bandbox on Sunday afternoons. First up was Walter Prichard Eaton who spoke on The American Theatre: How the Land Lies.[31] Second was Beverly Sitgreaves, who talked about Comparative Standards of Acting Here and Abroad.[45] Third was Stuart Walker, who spoke about the Portmanteau Theatre repertory company he founded.[46] Fourth came Josephine Clement from the Bijou in Boston to give A Theatre Workshop.[47] Lastly, Mrs. Robert Seymour spoke about Synge and His Islands.[48]
Summer season 1916
Upon taking possession of the Comedy Theatre, the WSP presented an encore selection of its most popular one-act playlets, starting June 5, 1916. Playing at a real Broadway theatre for the first time[fn 6] before a full house that included Diamond Jim Brady, the Washington Square Players proved their productions could please an audience more than twice the size of the Bandbox.[49] The bill consisted of The Honorable Lover, Pierre Patelin, The Clod, and Helena's Husband, with much the same casting as their original performances.[fn 7][49] Though the audiences were pleased, critic Charles Darnton liked only Mary Morris in The Clod, dismissing the other works as negligible and amateurly acted.[50]The New York Times was more generous, praising the "freshness and vitality" of the bill and conceding the WSP had gained by the move, since they now had an orchestra to play between acts.[51]
The WSP ended the first half of its summer season in June. Three of their best actors, Frank Conroy, Margaret Mower, and Harold Meltzer left the company during the following hiatus.[52][53] The WSP resumed performances August 30, 1916 with another quartet of one-act plays from their past productions. These were Literature, The Miracle of St. Anthony, Eugenically Speaking, and The Bear.[fn 8] The Brooklyn Daily News considered Literature the best offering, with the other three as interesting failures,[54] the Standard Union preferred The Miracle of St. Anthony,[52] while the Times Union thought Eugenically Speaking received the most applause.[55]
Third season: Oct 1916-May 1917
As was becoming a common occurrence with the WSP, promising actor Roland Young left for another production company.[56] In fact, of the known leads for this season's first bill, only two[fn 9] had previously performed with the WSP. Professional actors now filled most leading roles at the Comedy, which led one reviewer to praise their "professional finish" and "ensemble excellence".[57] An anonymous newspaperman, noting how many little theater companies had sprung up since the WSP started, suggested unused names for those yet to begin.[53]
Touring company
During October the WSP formed a touring company, to play the existing repertoire of the company in other cities.[58] The company presented two separate bills of playlets, on alternate days. The first bill had The Roadhouse of Arden, Eugenically Speaking, Literature, In April, and Helena's Husband, while the second consisted of A Bear, The Roadhouse of Arden, Interior, and Pierre Patelin.[59] With such a varied program, the touring company had twenty members; a few were previous WSP players such as Ralph Roeder and Marjorie Deen, but most were newcomers.[59]
The touring company opened in Newark at the Broad Street Theatre on October 23, 1916 for a week.[60] It went to Washington DC for a week, then opened in Philadelphia at the Little Theater for a week on November 6, 1916.[61] The company then returned to New York, giving one and two night performances on the way in Wilmington, Delaware, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Trenton, New Jersey, and Scranton.
The tour took a short break, then played the Lyceum Theatre at Ithaca, New York for two nights.[62] The bill was altered slightly to substitute John Reed's Moondown for one of the two Roadhouse performances. Among the many performers listed was a WSP newcomer, Sam Jaffe. It moved on to the Lyceum in Rochester, New York a week later for three performances, where actor Charles Meredith was praised.[63] It opened in Chicago's Playhouse on December 18, 1916 for a seven week engagement.[64] While there, the Drama League enlisted the WSP to take the tour onto cities where it had local groups. The company rode the rails in February 1917, playing one night stands at St. Louis, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Louisville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and many other cities. It returned to Manhattan in time for some of its members to join the casts of the third season's fourth bill.
Washington Square Players ballet class
Drama school
Reviving the short-lived drama workshop idea from the second season, the WSP sponsored Clare Tree Major in setting up the "School for Players" in the building across the street from the Comedy Theatre.[65] The school opened October 2, 1916, drawing upon members of the WSP for general instruction, but also employing expert teachers for fencing, dancing, physical training, diction, and make up.[65] The apprentices put on their first public performance at the Comedy Theatre on the afternoon of December 19, 1916.[66] The bill included four one-act plays and a pantomime.
Scenic studio and costume shop
Within the same building as the School for Players the WSP, drawing on its artistic membership, set up a soon thriving business in creating stage scenery for other professional productions. This is where Lee Simonson, Robert E. Jones, Rollo Peters and others designed and created sets for both WSP productions and other shows. Raymond Hitchcock'sHitchy-Koo Revue of 1917 had fourteen sets created in this studio.[5] By the end of the third season, both the Scenic studio and the Drama school had shown a profit, helping to cancel out some of the expense of the touring company.[5]
That same six-story building also housed the costume shop for the WSP, where the costumers did their design work and sewing, and the wardrobes of costumes from prior productions. It is not known whether this shop served production companies other than the WSP.
Productions
The third season for the Washington Square Players opened at the Comedy Theatre on October 2, 1916. The first bill consisted of four one-act plays: A Merry Death by Nikolai Evreinov, translated from the Russian by C.E. Rechofer; Lover's Luck by Georges de Porto-Riche, translated from the French by Ralph Roeder; The Sugar House by Alice Brown; and Sisters of Susanna by Philip Moeller. Mary Coates, playing her first professional part in Sisters of Susanna, received an embarrassing gush of praise.[67] Critic Charles Darnton was cutting about A Merry Death and Sisters of Susanna, but praised Lover's Luck.[68]
November 1916
The second bill opened on November 13, 1916 at the Comedy. It was again four one-act plays, two of which were recent American works. They were: Bushido by Takeda Isumo, an extract[fn 10] from an early 18th Century Japanese play, translated by Wolfgang von Gersdorf and Arthur Hohl, and produced with the aid of Michio Itō; Trifles by Susan Glaspell; Another Way Out by Lawrence Langner; and Altruism by Karl Ettlinger, translated from German by Benjamin F. Glazer.[69] Both The New York Times and the New York Herald thought Bushido the best of the program, with the satire of premarital habitation in Another Way Out second best.[70][69] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle appreciated the subtle power of the tragic Trifles and rated it first.[71] Heywood Broun was honest enough to admit that like the other critics he left the theatre before Altruism had started, as Bushido ran so long.[72] Broun gave the complete casts for the first three playlets. At the very bottom of the seventeen credited performers for Bushido is listed a newcomer to the WSP, Katharine Cornell.[72] This was likely her first professional stage performance; thanks to newspaper deadlines, whether she also appeared in Altruism is unknown. This bill was the most successful of all WSP productions, a fact celebrated with a gala evening on February 6, 1917 for its 100th performance.[73]
The third program of the season opened February 12, 1917, with four one-act plays.[74] The New York Herald thought all four playlets good, with French actor José Ruben in A Private Account being called "the greatest find the Washington Square Players have made this season".[74] (There was no mention made of the young actress playing the Third Servant in The Death of Tintagiles). The Brooklyn Daily Eagle was less charitable, dismissing The Last Straw and The Hero of Santa Maria as obvious, The Death of Tintagiles as of appeal only to morbid adolescents, while noting A Private Account had already been performed at another theatre that year.[75]
On March 12, 1917 the Comedy Theatre was dedicated to a week-long benefit for the Women's Suffrage Party.[76] Two plays from the third bill were retained, The Hero of Santa Maria and The Death of Tintagiles, while two encore presentations, Trifles and Lover's Luck were added for the fund raising drive.[76]
The fourth bill of the season opened on March 21, 1917, with three plays: Sganarelle by Molière and The Poor Fool by Hermann Bahr were both one-act works, Plots and Playwrights was an original two-act play by Edward Massey.[77] Massey's work, a satire on how commercial theater warps real stories, drew the most attention from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reviewer, who also thought Philip Moeller's translation of Sganarelle into rhyming couplets was "mostly foolish".[77] The Sun's reviewer said The Poor Fool couldn't be heard clearly and what did come through baffled the audience, and that only Plots and Playwrights was worth viewing.[78]The New York Times agreed with the other newspaper reviewers, and suggested the order of plays on the bill be reversed, which was duly done three weeks later.[79][80]
For their fifth and final bill of the third season the WSP went with a single full-length play, Ibsen's Ghosts. It opened on May 7, 1917 at the Comedy Theatre for what was supposed to be a one week run but due to demand turned into three weeks.[81]Mary Shaw was brought in to play "Mrs. Alving", a role she had first performed eighteen years prior.[82] Aleck Woollcott had unstinted praise for José Ruben as "Oswald Alving", slightly less for Mary Shaw, and hardly any for the other three players.[83] Heywood Broun concurred about Ruben's acting, but felt T.W. Gibson was far better than Shaw, whose gestures seemed stilted or old-fashioned.[84] Like Woollcott, Broun felt Arthur Hohl didn't seem to know his lines, and Margaret Mower was merely "adequate".[84]
Summer season 1917
The summer season opened on May 28, 1917 with two works from the WSP repertoire and a revival of Strindberg's one-act Pariah.[85]Another Way Out and Plots and Playwrights completed the bill, with much the same casts as their prior performances at the Comedy, save for José Ruben, who had departed the WSP. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reviewer liked all three and said the large audience did too.[86] This first bill of the summer closed June 30, 1917 after which the WSP took its annual vacation.
Instead of a program of one-act plays for the second part of the summer, the WSP co-produced a play with Edward L. George, presented at the Comedy Theatre on September 19, 1917. This three-act satire, The Family Exit by Lawrence Langner, featured actors from outside the WSP.
Fourth season: Oct 1917-June 1918
The WSP had problems mounting another subscription season, delaying the opening several times. Wartime requisitioning of strategic materials raised prices and impacted both the theaters and the newspapers that covered them. Newspaper coverage of the WSP and other theater groups grew sparse as war news crowded them for space. During October 1917 the WSP sublet the Comedy Theatre to another production company, which presented a melodrama, The Barton Mystery, again with outside actors.[87] For this month, the WSP temporarily become what it originally set out to counter, a commercial enterprise mounting a popular low-brow work purely for revenue to keep going.
Productions
The program of four one-act plays which finally opened on October 31, 1917, had Eugene O'Neill'sIn the Zone, The Avenue by Fenimore Merrill, Blind Alleys by Grace Latimer Wright, and His Widow's Husband by Jacinto Benavente.[88] All four plays had sets designed by Rollo Peters.[89]The New York Times especially liked the O'Neill play, and its lead actor Frederick Roland, who had parts in two other plays as well.[89]The Evening World critic also liked In the Zone and spent his entire column on it, saying at the end only that the three other works "are plays of no importance".[90]The Brooklyn Citizen and The Sun liked The Avenue, which displayed a fifth avenue dress shop window while the proprietor, shop girls, and customers carried on their cruelties and intrigues, ending with the three "mannequins" in the window coming to life, glad they are not human.[91]Blind Alleys, Katherine Cornell's first leading role, concerned a romantic tragedy between husband and wife and the failure to heed intuition. The Sun felt it was too obscure, but The New York Times praised Cornell's performance.[91][89] Only reviewer Ralph Block described and liked His Widow's Husband, though he too singled out Cornell and Westley in Blind Alleys.[92]
The second bill of the season opened on December 3, 1917. There were three one-act plays: Neighbors by Zona Gale, The Girl in the Coffin by Theodore Dreiser, and The Critic's Comedy by Samuel Kaplan. Also on the bill was a pantomime, a retelling of a Mayan folk legend called Yum Chapab, by J. Garcia Pimental and Beatrice de Holtoir. The Sun liked Gale's gentle rural tragedy, while The New York Times felt it had tempo issues.[93][94] Both reviewers liked the Kaplan play, especially for Helen Westley's performance as the disillusioned drama critic. Critics Charles Darnton and Cleveland Rodgers and The Times reviewer all singled out the Dreiser play, with its subtext of death from a botched abortion[fn 11] as the best work on the program.[95][96] During this bill the WSP reduced the price of all tickets by half and announced they would pay the "war tax" (evidently a surcharge on entertainment) themselves.[97]
Players in 1918
The third program of the WSP season opened on January 21, 1918, without the services of Katherine Cornell, who had gone to the Bonstelle company in her hometown of Buffalo, New York.[98] As a replacement, the WSP drew on the head of their drama school, Clare Tree Major, to make her first performances in America.[99] Where the previous program had been billed as "All-American" for its authors, the new bill was labelled "All New York".[99] The four playlets were: Suppressed Desires by husband and wife George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell; Habit by Frank Dare; The Sandbar Queen by George Cronyn; and Pokey by the WSP's own Philip Moeller.[99] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reviewer thought the bill weaker than usual for having no dramas to leaven the four comedies, but thought Suppressed Desires the best work and Pokey the weakest.[100] The Times Union reviewer thought the bill the best ever presented by the WSP, and Pokey the highpoint.[101]
A three-act play formed the fourth bill for the WSP subscription season. Youth by Miles Malleson had its US debut at the Comedy Theatre on February 20, 1918. Florence Enright had been lent out to the Schubert Organization for Petticoats,[102] so the two female roles were handled by Marjorie Vonnegut and Helen Westley.[103] The main character would be played by newcomer Saxon Kling, with Arthur Hohl, Robert Strange, and Edward Balzerit supporting.[103] The setting is the backstage of a theatre, where amidst the usual chaos of mounting a new play, the young playwright decries marriage and espouses free love with the young actress, who agrees until a complication sets in. The critic for the New York Herald was favorable to the presentation, but thought the playwright must already have outgrown the social ideals argued for in the play.[104] Heywood Broun, while admiring the acting, pointed out the awkward mixed genre of the play, a light-hearted farce in the first act suddenly turns into a serious dialectical in the following two.[105] After the opening week, Suppressed Desires from the third bill was added on to the end of Youth.[106]
The WSP announced its fifth bill of the season as opening March 11, 1918 for a two week run only.[107] This time Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession would be the only play on the program, with Mary Shaw again as the visiting lead.[107] The play was a revival in New York, though its previous productions there had been brief, as recounted by the Times Union reviewer:[108]
In 1905 the police put an end to what might have been a long run the day after the premiere. Two years later another attempt was made to give the play. This time it is presented as the fifth subscription bill of the Washington Square Players. Policemen were present, but said nothing and did nothing.
The New York Tribune critic was pleased with the acting, particularly that of Mary Shaw and Diantha Pattison, and reminded readers the latter's character ("Vivian Warren") had been termed a "female Bernard Shaw" by William Archer.[109] Every performance was sold out, and the run was repeatedly extended.
An unprecedented sixth program of the WSP season opened on April 22, 1918. This consisted of three one-act plays: Salome by Oscar Wilde, The Home of the Free by Elmer Reizenstein , and Lonesome Like by Harold Brighouse, using many guest actors.[110] Heywood Broun thought the acting in Lonesome Like the best on the bill, but gave a devastating review of Salome and its lead, Madame Yorska, whom he likened to the little sister Jane in Seventeen.[110] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, equally critical of the supporting acting in Salome, gave some mild praise to Madame Yorska then nuanced her to death.[111] The same reviewer thought the Reizenstein work amusing, liked the fine acting of Lonesome Lake, but questioned whether such an often performed work should be mounted by the WSP. Charles Darnton also praised Lonesome Lake, dismissed The Home of the Free as "cheap and vulgar, without being funny", and was nearly as tough as Broun with the acting of Salome.[112] Broun's savagely funny take on Mme. Yorska provoked a response from the WSP that he obligingly printed in a column.[113] The WSP would have done better to ignore his review; a week later Salome was dropped from the bill and replaced by two new one-act plays.[114]
While Lonesome Like and The Home of the Free continued running, Close the Book by Susan Glaspell and The Rope by Eugene O'Neill were added on May 13, 1918, both from the repertory of the Provincetown Players.[115] Heywood Broun thought both plays were good, but that The Rope had been better acted by the amateurs of the Provincetown Players than the semi-professionals of the WSP.[115]
Dissolution
On May 18, 1918, the Washington Square Players closed the last bill of their last season.[116] Twelve of their members were already in military service, and more were going soon.[115] When the Comedy Theatre was ordered shut, rumors of financial issues circulated.[117] These were denied at first by company officials, who pointed to a planned summer season in San Francisco.[117] However, within a few days Edward Goodman announced that the WSP had made a "voluntary assignment" with its creditors.[2]
An unsigned article in the New York Tribune summed up the failure of their experiment: "The Washington Square Players sold their amateur birthright for the chance of Broadway".[118] However, three of the WSP original founding members, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley, and Lawrence Langner would join with Theresa Helburn to carry forward the experiment with the foundation of the Theatre Guild later in 1918.
Revival of name
The name "Washington Square Players" was revived in the 1920's in association with New York University (NYU) Drama School productions.[119] It was not a formal organization, but a label used by NYU students, the theatre community, and the press.
Stage performances
First season: Feb 1915 - Jun 1915 (Bandbox Theatre), listed by bill, credits incomplete
Original social comedy has a pregnant bride, her mother, a newly deceased groom on the couch, and a tardy minister. Cast:Ida Rauh (Bride), Josephine A. Meyer (Mother),[fn 13] Otto Liveright (Deceased Groom)[fn 14]
Eugenically Speaking
Edward Goodman
Edward Goodman
Original satire has daughter of streetcar magnate bring home a conductor to marry. Cast: Florence Enright[fn 15]
Cast: Walter Frankl, Ralph Roeder, Josephine A. Meyer, Florence Enright, Edwina Behre, Beatrice Savelli, Agnes McCarthy, Remo Bufano, James Terbell
Eugenically Speaking
Edward Goodman
Edward Goodman
Cast: Florence Enright
A Shepherd in the Distance
Holland Hudson
Holland Hudson
Pantomime in black and white. Cast: Robert Edwards, Frances Paine, Harry Day, Arvid Paulson, John Alan Haughton
Second season: Oct 1915-May 1916 (Bandbox Theatre), listed by bill, credits incomplete for bills 3 & 4
Bill
Play(s)
Playwright
Director
Notes
1
Fire and Water
Harvey White
Edward Goodman
Ironic comic story of a truce during WWI. Cast: Edward J. Ballantine (Pierre), Frank Conroy (Lt Schiff), Harold Meltzer (Hans), Walter Frankl (Capt. Drouet)[29]
Bleak tragedy translated from the Italian by Roeder was dropped after two weeks Cast: Ralph Roeder (Salvatore), Agnes McCarthy (Graziella), Alice Harrington (Francesca)[29][31]
A "Yankee Fantasy" with a romantic ending Cast: Lydia Lopokova (Julie Bonheur), Robert Strange (Rev Jonas Boutwell), Holland Hudson (John Hale), Josephine A. Meyer (Cassandra White), Florence Enright (Myrtle White), Malcolm MacKinnon (Drum Major), Josephine Nivesson (A Boy)[29]
Helena's Husband
Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller
Original farce on how Sparta and Troy really went to war. Cast: Frank Conroy (Meneleus), Noël Hadden[fn 18] (Helena), Helen Westley (Tsumu), Walter Frankl (Analytikos), Harold Meltzer (Paris)[29]
Interior
Maurice Maeterlinck
Edward Goodman
Revival of first season hit replaced A Night of Snow. Cast: Walter Frankl, Ralph Roeder, Josephine A. Meyer, Florence Enright, Edwina Behre, Beatrice Savelli, Agnes McCarthy, Remo Bufano, James Terbell[31]
Cast: Ralph Roeder (Comte de Chavigny), Walter Frankl (Francois), Lydia Lopokova (Comtesse de Chavigny), Helen Westley (Mme. de Lery)[34]
3
The Clod
Lewis Beach
Edward Goodman
A bit of American gothic set during the Civil War. Cast: Josephine A. Meyer (Mary Trask), John King (Trask), Glenn Hunter (Union Soldier), Robert Strange (Rebel Sergeant)[38]
The Roadhouse of Arden
Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller
Original whimsical takeoff on Shakespeare's plays with scenes by Robert Lawson. Cast: Frank Conroy (Shakespeare), Walter Frankl (Sir Francis Bacon), Noël Hadden (Miss Immortality)[38]
A satire of "modern" children and divorce. Cast: Florence Enright (Eleanor Graham), Elinor M. Cox (Beatrice), Helen Westley, Jean Strange, C. Hooper Trask, Marjorie Dean, Harold Meltzer[40][39][41]
Tragedy done in free verse. Cast: Margaret Mower (Petronelle), Edward J. Ballantine (David Brooks), Frank Conroy (Rudolph Phillips), Helen Westley (A Maid), Ralph Roeder, Robert Strange, Glenn Hunter, Dudley G. Tucker[40][39][41]
15th Century French farce translated and adapted by Maurice Relonde. Cast: Roland Young, Walter Frankl, Josephine A. Meyer, Glenn Hunter, W.A. Richardson, Spalding Hall, James Tarbell, Mary Morris, Helen Westley, Suzette Stuart, Otto K. Liveright, Lillian Hudson, Harold Hudson, Ralph Roeder, C. Hooper Trask, Samuel A. Eliot, Jr.[40][39][41]
Translation by Marian Fell, sets by Lee Simonson. Cast: Roland Young (Constantine), Helen Westley (Irina), Mary Morris (Nina), Florence Enright (Masha), Ralph Roeder (Boris), Walter Frankl, Robert Strange, Frank Conroy, Josephine A. Meyer, Edward J. Ballantine[44]
Summer season: Jun 1916-Sep 1916 (Comedy Theatre), listed by bill, credits incomplete
Bill
Play(s)
Playwright
Director
Notes
1
The Honorable Lover
Roberto Bracco
Philip Moeller
Cast: Florence Enright (Manina), Edward J. Ballantine (Federico), Frank Conroy (Alberto), Elinor M. Cox (Rosetta), James Terbell (Servant)[49]
Pierre Patelin
(Unknown)
15th Century French farce translated and adapted by Maurice Relonde. Cast: Roland Young (Patelin), Walter Frankl (The Draper), Marjorie Deen (Guillemette), Ralph Roeder (Tibald Lambkin)[49]
The Clod
Lewis Beach
Edward Goodman
Farm woman kills man for breaking her only china cup. Cast: Mary Morris (Mary Trask), John King (Trask), Glenn Hunter (Union Soldier), Robert Strange (Rebel Sergeant)[49][50]
Helena's Husband
Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller
Menelaus connives at getting Paris to steal an annoying Helena. Cast: Frank Conroy (Menelaus), Margaret Mower (Helena), Helen Westley (Tsumu), Walter Frankl (Analytikos), Harold Meltzer (Paris)[49]
2
Literature
Arthur Schnitzler
Edward Goodman
Satire of writers both drawing on their past love for novels. Cast: Helen Westley (Margaret), Ralph Roeder (Clement), Roland Young (Gilbert), Jean Strange (Maid)[54]
Eugenically Speaking
Edward Goodman
Edward Goodman
Tycoon's daughter proposes to marry lowly employee. Cast: Florence Enright
The Miracle of St. Anthony
Maurice Maeterlinck
Philip Moeller
An unwanted miracle alarms not-so-bereaved heirs. Cast: Ralph Roeder, Florence Enright, Helen Westley, Walter Frankl
The Bear
Anton Chekov
Edward Goodman
Cast:
Third season: Oct 1916-May 1917 (Comedy Theatre), listed by bill, credits incomplete for bills 1 and 2
Sets by John King; Woman pacifies mob Cast: Marjorie Vonnegut[fn 21] (Wife), Arthur Hohl (Husband), Miriam Kiper, later replaced by Elinor M. Cox (Grandmother Berry), Gwladys Wynne (The Other Woman)[57][122]
Sets by Robert E. Jones; Death as a joke played by everyone. Cast: Edward Balzerit (Harlequin), Philip Tonge (Pierrot), Florence Enright (Columbine), Helen Westley (Death), Erskine Sanford (Doctor)[57]
Sisters of Susanna
Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller
Sets by Lee Simonson; The "sisters" hope to attract peeping elders too. Cast: Erskine Sanford (Job), Mary Coates (Zillah), Helen Westley (Myrnah), Arthur Hohl[57][67][68]
Feminist tragedy. Cast: T.W. Gibson (Mr. Henderson), Arthur Hohl (Mr. Peters), John King (Mr. Hale), Marjorie Vonnegut (Mrs. Peters), Elinor M. Cox (Mrs. Hale)[72]
Another Way Out
Lawrence Langner
Edward Goodman
Satire of bohemian life in Greenwich Village. Cast: Gwladys Wynne (Margaret Marshall), Jean Robb[fn 22] (Mrs. Abbey), José Ruben (Gerard Larue), Helen Westley (Baroness de Moaurille), Robert Strange (Charles P. K. Fenton)[72]
Sets by Michio Itō and Sam C. Evans. Cast: José Ruben (Masuo), Marjorie Vonnegut (Mistress Chiyo), Florence Enright (Mistress Tonami), T.W. Gibson (Genzo), Evelyn Chard (Choma), Spalding Hall (Iwama), Annette Centerno (Tokuzan), Richard Gray (Shusai), Edward Balzerit (Sansukee/Father of Choma), Frank Longacre (Kotaro), Charles E. Swarts (A Soldier), Ralph Murphy (Another Soldier), Glenn Hunter (Gemba), Elinor M. Cox (Mother of Iwama), Eugene Lincoln (Father of Iwama), Jean Robb (Mother of Tokuzan), Katherine Cornell (Shusai's Mother)[72]
Altruism
Karl Ettlinger
Edward Goodman
13 characters seek altruism but have none to spare themselves. Cast: José Ruben, Marjorie Vonnegut, Elinor M. Cox, Gwladys Wynne, Helen Westley, and eight others[123]
Sets by Rollo Peters. Cast: José Ruben (Man), Marjorie Vonnegut (Man's Wife), Arthur Hohl (Some One in Grey Called "He"), Helen Westley (Old Attendent)[124][125][126]
3
The Last Straw
Bosworth Crocker
Cast: Marjorie Vonnegut (Mrs. Bauer), Glenn Hunter (Lane), Arthur Hohl (Mr. Bauer), Frank Longacre (Fritzl), Nicholas Long (Karl), Emily Planter (Mrs. Moehler), Johanna Snow (Mrs. McAllister)[74]
Sets by M. Rienecke. Cast: Robert Strange (Martin Fisher), T.W. Gibson (Edward M. Fisher), Helen Westley (Almira Fisher), Alfred E. Hohl (Nathan Fisher), Holland Hudson (Samuel M. Hines), Jean Robb (Mrs. Hines), Betty Flammer (Mrs. Foss), Edward F. Flammer (Edward P. Foss), Edward Balzerit (Theodore Q. Wilkinson)[74]
Translated by Philip Moeller, sets by Rollo Peters. Cast: Gwladys Wynne (Ygraine), Frank Longacre (Tintagiles), Margaret Mower (Bellangere), Edward Balzerit (Aglovale), Helen Westley (First Servant), Noël Hadden (Second Servant), Katherine Cornell (Third Servant)[74]
4
Plots and Playwrights
Edward Massey
Edward Flammer
Interplay between a short story writer and a playwright. Cast: Ralph Bunker (Caspar Gay), Jean Robb (Maggie), Ralph Roeder (Joseph Hastings), Helen Westley (Mrs. Hammond), Charles Meredith (Tom Burch), Florence Enright (Molly Hammond), Arthur Hohl (Frank Devoy), Katherine Cornell (Alice Merriam), Ruby Craven (Bessie Dodge), Alice Radier (Edme Jackes), Philip Tonge (Dick Griffiths), Edward Balzerit (William Lloyd), Robert Strange (Sidney Griffiths), T.W. Gibson (Bob Douglas), Ole Stadstad (Old Clothes Man/A Waiter), Phyllis Critcherson (Organ Grinder's Wife), A.E. Gillette (Police Sergeant), C.N. Hare (A Patrolman)[78]
Obscure comparison of three brothers' lives in their declining years. Cast: T.W. Gibson (Regel), Frederick Rider (Huster), Arthur Hohl (Vinzenz Haist), Marjorie Vonnegut (Sophie), Ralph Roeder (Edward Haist), Edward Balzerit (Dr. Halma), José Ruben (Hugo Haist)[78]
Translated by Philip Moeller into rhyming couplets, sets by Lee Simonson. Cast: Margaret Mower (Celle), T.W. Gibson (Gorgibus), Elinor M. Cox (Celle's Maid), Arthur Hohl (Sganarelle), Gwladys Wynne (Sganarelle's Wife), Phyllis Critcherson (A Servant), Edward Balzerit (Lelle),[fn 24] James Terbell (Gros-Rene), Helen Westley (A Relative), Frank Longacre (A Page), Ralph Roeder (Villebrequin)[78]
Cast: Mary Shaw (Mrs. Alving), José Ruben (Oswald Alving), Arthur Hohl (Pastor Manders), T.W. Gibson (Jacob Engstrand), Margaret Mower (Regina Engstrand)[83]
Summer season: May 1917-Sep 1917 (Comedy Theatre), listed by bill, credits incomplete
Bill
Play(s)
Playwright
Director
Notes
1
Another Way Out
Lawrence Langner
Edward Goodman
Satire of bohemian life in Greenwich Village. Cast: Gwladys Wynne (Margaret Marshall), Jean Robb (Mrs. Abbey), Ralph Bunker (Gerard Larue), Helen Westley (Baroness de Moaurille), Robert Strange (Charles P. K. Fenton)[86]
Cast: Ralph Bunker (Caspar Gay), Jean Robb (Maggie), Ralph Roeder (Joseph Hastings), Helen Westley (Mrs. Hammond), Charles Meredith (Tom Burch), Florence Enright (Molly Hammond), Arthur Hohl (Frank Devoy), Katherine Cornell (Alice Merriam), Ruby Craven (Bessie Dodge), Alice Radier (Edme Jackes), Philip Tonge (Dick Griffiths), Edward Balzerit (William Lloyd), Robert Strange (Sidney Griffiths), T.W. Gibson (Bob Douglas), Ole Stadstad (Old Clothes Man/A Waiter), Loretta Howe (Organ Grinder's Wife), A.E. Gillette (Police Sergeant), C.N. Hare (A Patrolman)[86]
Fourth season: Oct 1917-May 1918 (Comedy Theatre), listed by bill, credits incomplete
Bill
Play(s)
Playwright
Director
Notes
1
Blind Alleys
Grace Latimer Wright
Cast: Frederick Roland (Husband), Katherine Cornell (Sister), Helen Westley (Mother)[92]
The Avenue
Fenimore Merrill
Arthur Hohl
Set by Rollo Peters. Cast: Helen Westley (Mme. Grady), Madeline Snyder (Rosy), Marjorie Vonnegut (Lily), James Terbell (Pat), Elizabeth Patterson (Mrs. Fitch), Jay Strong (Van Vliet), Rienzi de Cordova (Barlow), Florence Enright (Elsie Price), Robert Strange (Mr. Fitch), Adele Vaughn (The Blonde), Marjorie McClintock (The Brunette), Frances Ross (The Titian)[92]
Set by Rollo Peters. Cast: Frederick Roland (Smitty), Eugene Lincoln (Scotty), Arthur Hohl (Driscoll), Robert Strange (Davis), William Gillette (Olson), Edward Balzerit (Ivan), Jay Strong (Yank), Rienzi de Cordova (Cocky)[92]
Midwest character-driven comedy with a slightly tragic subplot. Cast: Kate Morgan (Grandma), Helen Westley (Mis' Diantha Abel), Marjorie McClintock (Mis' Elmira Moran), Florence Enright (Mis' Trot), Alfred E. Hohl (Peter), Marjorie Vonnegut (Inez), Katherine Cornell, Robert Strange[93][94][96][95][127]
The Critic's Comedy
Samuel Kaplan
Middle-aged female critic yields to wastrel husband when found with famous actor. Cast: Helen Westley (Adele Newman), Jay Strong (Young Husband), Frederick Roland (Actor), Florence Enright (Stenographer)[93][94][96][95][127]
Set by Rollo Peters. Father rages at unknown lover of daughter, dead from botched abortion. Cast: Frederick Roland (William Magnet), Arthur Hohl (John Ferguson), Kate Morgan (Hannah), Marjorie Vonnegut (Mrs. Margaret Pickert)[93][94][96][95][127]
Yum Chapab
J. Garcia Pimental and Beatrice de Holtoir
Philip Moeller
Set by L. de Palacio. Pantomime on Mayan folk tale of Yucatán. Cast: Helen Westley (A Childless Woman), Frances Ross (Princess), Katherine Cornell (Player of Instruments)[93][94][96][95][127]
A satire on over analyzing life in terms of Freud. Cast: Clare Tree Major (Henrietta Brewster), Robert Strange (Stephen Brewster), Marjorie Vonnegut (Mabel Brewster)[100]
Misogynist is done in by one drink and a scarlet lady. Cast: Arthur Hohl (Flatboat Slim), Edward Balzerit (Wingy), Abram Gillette (Blacky), Jay Strong (Shotgun Smith), Hugh Gillespie (Shorty Gerety), Eugene Lincoln (The Inspector), Helen Westley (The Sandbar Queen)[100]
Habit
Frank Dare
Death confronts two couples and finds a welcome from one woman. Cast: Clare Tree Major (Antoinette Baxter), Frederick Roland (Frederick Baxter), Marjorie Vonnegut (Frances Moorman), Robert Strange (Burley Moorman), Jay Strong (A Visitor)[100]
Pokey
Philip Moeller
Moeller goes to the Shavian historical comedy well once too often. Cast: Florence Enright (Pocahantas), Frederick Roland (John Rolfe), Robert Strange (Capt. John Smith), Abram Gillette (Powhatan), Helen Westley (Powhatan's Wife), Kate Morgan (Powhatan's Mother), Jay Strong (Storm-in-the-Eye), Eugene Lincoln (Hall-in-the-Nose), Victor Ioucelli (Wind-in-the-Ear)[100]
Trials of a young playwright's love life set on theatre backstage. Cast: Majorie Vonnegut (Nina Geoffreys), Saxon Kling (Douglas Hetherly), John King (Joe), Robert Strange (Frank Denton), Edward Balzerit (Ferris), Arthur Hohl (Coell Wainwright), Jay Strong (May), Edward Flammer (Antony Gunn), James Terbell (Tom), Samuel Jaffe (Rev. John Hetherly), Helen Westley (Estelle)[105]
Suppressed Desires
George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell
Added to this bill after the opening week.[106] Cast: Helen Westley (Henrietta Brewster), Robert Strange (Stephen Brewster), Marjorie Vonnegut (Mabel Brewster)[128]
Cast: Diantha Pattison (Vivian Warren), Arthur Hohl (Mr. Praed), Mary Shaw (Mrs. Warren), Robert Strange (Sir George Crofts), Saxon Kling (Frank Gardner), Samuel Jaffe (Rev. Samuel Gardner)[109]
Salome's dance arranged by Adolph Bolm, set by Rollo Peters. Cast: Rollo Peters (Syrian Youth), Gareth Hughes (Page), Eugene Lincoln (A Soldier), R.E. McDonald (2nd Soldier), Harold Winston (A Cappodocian), James Skinner (Naaman the Executioner), Mme. Yorska (Salome, dau of Herodias), Edward Balzerit (Slave), Walter Hampden (The Prophet Iokaanan), Louis Calvert (Herod), Helen Westley (Herodias), Fenimore Merrill (Young Roman), John King (A Jew), John Gibbs (Another Jew), Ian Kieth (A Third Jew), J. Luray Butler (A Nazerene), Walter Street (Another Nazarene), (Slaves): Emily Bolleau, Laura Howe, Mary Claytes, Joan MacKyle, Olga Hammerslaugh, Gertrude Phillips[110]
Lovelorn young man from Lancashire rescues an elderly woman from the poor house. Cast: Kate Morgan (Sarah Ormerod), Majorie Vonnegut (Emma Brierly), Whitford Kane (Sam Horrocks), Saxon Kling (Rev. Frank Alleyne)[110]
Semi-crazed family lives on hate. Cast: Kate Morgan (Mary Sweeney), Whitford Kane (Abraham Bentley), Josephine A. Meyer (Annie Sweeney), Robert Strange (Pat Sweeney), Effingham Pinto (Luke Bentley)[129]
Notes
↑ Their "press agent" was Lucy Huffaker, a writer who volunteered her services and was later married to Edward Goodman
↑ The date which thereafter the WSP would celebrate as its "birthday".
↑ Reed wasn't a member of the WSP but knew many of them from Greenwich Village. When in New York, he would join them after performances in late suppers at the restaurant next to the Bandbox.
↑ Lawrence Langner, in his memoir Magic Curtain (1951) says she was unhappy with the parts offered to her.
↑ Broun was romantically involved with Lopokova at the time
↑ In those years the term "Broadway" referred solely to location rather than seating capacity. Nowadays the Bandbox would be considered Off-Broadway.
↑ One significant difference was the absence of Josephine A. Meyer, who had to take two years off due to illness. She was replaced by three younger actresses in the different roles she had originated.
↑ Holland Hudson and Dudley Tucker, who had succeeded Lawrence Langner as business managers for the WSP, told the New York Times in July 1916 that they were having trouble finding new one-act plays worth mounting.
↑ Helen Westley and Florence Enright, both with WSP from the start
↑ Tasked to just lie still under a white sheet on the couch, he was caught sitting upright when the curtain opened on the second night of performance. He flopped down and covered himself with the sheet while the audience laughed. Ida Ruah balked at this and refused to go on while Edward Goodman argued and pleaded with her in the wings. After twenty minutes she finally relented, but left the troupe at the end of the first bill.
↑ From Santa Barbara, California, she had a long stage career on Broadway after the WSP
↑ Special one-time showing in May 1916 as a reward for subscribers only
↑ Born Marjorie Potts, she was married to actor Walter Vonnegut
↑ Jean Strange, wife of WSP member Robert Strange, began using her maiden name for stage credits from this point on.
↑ This special one-time performance on Jan 14, 1917, was an annual reward for WSP subscribers
↑ José Ruben was listed in the theater program for this role, but was recovering from illness and so yielded it to Balzerit, according to The Sun reviewer.
Daniel Frohman was an American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer.
Heywood Campbell Broun Jr. was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, later known as The Newspaper Guild and now as The NewsGuild-CWA. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he is best remembered for his writing on social issues and his championing of the underdog. He believed that journalists could help right wrongs, especially social ills.
Edith Taliaferro was an American stage and film actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was active on the stage until 1935 and had roles in three silent films. She is best known for portraying the role of Rebecca in the 1910 stage production of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
Madge Kennedy was a stage, film and television actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the best farce actress in New York".
Charles Meredith was an American stage, film, and television actor, who also directed plays and taught in college drama departments. His screen career came in two widely separated phases: as a leading man for silent films in the early 1920s, and as a character actor for films and television from 1947 through 1964. He was a series regular on television shows Rocky Jones, Space Ranger and The Court of Last Resort.
Elmer John Smith was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators (1916–17), Boston Red Sox (1922), New York Yankees (1922–23), and Cincinnati Reds (1925).
Fay Tincher was an American comic actress in motion pictures of the silent film era.
Philip Moeller was an American stage producer and director, playwright and screenwriter, born in New York where he helped found the short-lived Washington Square Players and then with Lawrence Langner and Helen Westley founded the Theatre Guild.
Harold Robertson Heaton was a newspaper artist whose work focused on cartoons. His prodigious body of work contributed to the development of political cartoons. He also illustrated books and produced sketches and paintings. He left newspaper work in 1899 to begin acting on the stage, and later wrote plays as well. He returned to cartooning for six years beginning in 1908, but continued acting while doing so. He appeared in many Broadway productions through 1932. A brief retrospective on his employment with the Chicago Tribune, from October 1942, mentioned his obituary had been printed "a few years ago".
Christopher Peter Schlachter was an American football player.
Boyd Marshall was an American actor of the stage and screen during the early decades of the 20th century. Born in Ohio in 1884, he moved to New York to pursue a career in acting. He began on the stage and in vaudeville, before entering the film industry in 1913. He had a brief film career, lasting until 1917, before he returned to the stage.
Mary Garrett Hay was an American suffragist and community organizer. She served as president of the Women's City Club of New York, the Woman Suffrage Party and the New York Equal Suffrage League. Hay was known for creating woman's suffrage groups across the country. She was also close to the notable suffragist, Carrie Chapman Catt, with one contemporary, Rachel Foster Avery, stating that Hay "really loves" Catt.
Sara Biala was a Polish-born American actress active on Broadway.
Khyva St. Albans, also known as Zara Alexeyewa, Ayenara Alexeyeva, was an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She was a longtime resident of Ajijic, on Lake Chapala in Mexico.
Aimée Dalmores, née Aimée Cerruti, was an Italian-born American actress in musical theatre and silent films.
Ada May Weeks Potter Castegnaro, sometimes billed as Ada May or Ada Mae Weeks, or referred to as the Countess Castegnaro, was an American actress and dancer, on stage, film, and radio.
José Ruben was a French-born actor whose career from 1910 on was in the United States. He first rose to prominence in 1916-1917 with the Washington Square Players, and for the next ten years was a highly regarded lead player. He acted in over twenty silent films and was a fixture on Broadway stages, as both performer and director, for over forty years. He also taught drama at Barnard College and was a stage director for the New York City Opera.
Madame Sand is a 1917 play written by Philip Moeller, who subtitled it "a biographical comedy". It consists of three acts, with a medium-sized cast and moderate pacing. Most of the play's characters are historical, figures from the Romantic literary and musical world of the 1830s. Each act has only one scene and one setting. The subject is an episodic treatment of three love affairs conducted by George Sand, with Alfred de Musset, Pietro Pagello, and Frédéric Chopin.
Molière is a 1919 play written by Philip Moeller, who subtitled it "A Romantic Play in Three Acts". It has a medium-sized cast, moderate pacing, and two sets; Acts I and III share the same set. Some of the play's characters are historical, figures from the French court of the 1670s. The first two acts have a single scene, while the third has a curtain drop to signal the passage of two hours time. The play shows a few scenes from the twilight of Molière, as he loses the favor of Louis XIV but retains his independence.
Marjorie Bentley was an American dancer who appeared on Broadway in Oh, My Dear! (1918) and La La Lucille (1919).
References
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre, Ed. Phyllis Hartnoll and Peter Found, Oxford University Press, (1996).
↑ "Regarding Helen Westley". New York Times. New York, New York. December 16, 1917. p.53 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Washington Square Players Assign". New York Tribune. New York, New York. May 22, 1918. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
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1 2 3 4 "The Year at the Comedy". New York Tribune. New York, New York. May 27, 1917. p.33 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Out of Washington Square". Boston Evening Transcript. Boston, Massachusetts. February 8, 1915. p.13 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Fyles, Vanderheyden (May 16, 1915). "At The New York Theaters". Kansa City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p.40 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Bregg, Charles M. (May 12, 1915). "Little Theaters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p.4 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Nunan, Thomas (November 21, 1915). "Of Interest to Playgoers". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p.49 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ MacGowan, Kenneth (March 2, 1915). "Amateur Theatricals as Pleasure". Evening Public Legder. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p.8 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "That Dramatic "Bang" Came From the Bandbox". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. March 14, 1915. p.46 – via Newspapers.com.
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↑ "Comedy Served with Music and Beauty on the Side". New York Sun. New York, New York. May 16, 1915. p.28 – via Newspapers.com.
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↑ "Theatrical Topics". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 14, 1915. p.3 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "What News on the Rialto?". New York Times. New York, New York. January 21, 1917. p.24 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Moderwell, Hiram Kelly (September 26, 1915). "Art and Buttered Bread". New York Times. New York, New York – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Director of Little Theater Prepares to Take Up Duties". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 12, 1915. p.18 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "The Bandbox Opens Oct. 4". New York Times. New York, New York. September 18, 1915. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
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↑ "Washington Actors in an Uneven Bill". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. October 5, 1915. p.8 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Moderwell, Hiram Kelly (October 6, 1915). "The Bandbox Reopened". Boston Evening Transcript. Boston, Massachusetts. p.19 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 Broun, Heywood (October 6, 1915). "Two triumphs in Bill at Bandbox". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Woollcott, Aleck (October 10, 1915). "The Delusion of Repertory". New York Times. New York, New York. p.98 – via Newspapers.com.
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↑ ""The Roadhouse of Arden", a Rare Delight, One of the Good Things at Bandbox". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. January 11, 1916. p.2 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "A Playlet Gem at the Bandbox". New York Times. New York, New York. January 11, 1916. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
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↑ "Amateurs Rent Comedy". The Sun. New York, New York. April 21, 1916. p.13 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "MacKaye's "Caliban", Two New Plays, Tree Revival, Features in Manhattan". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 21, 1916. p.36 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 ""Sea Gull" Scores at Dainty Bandbox". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, New York. May 23, 1916. p.22 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Miss Sitgreaves to Speak". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. December 19, 1915. p.46 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Theater Topics". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. January 12, 1916. p.16 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Stage and Screen". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. February 14, 1916. p.12 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Theatrical Notes". New York Times. New York, New York. March 25, 1916. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Broadway Samples "High-Brow" Drama". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. June 6, 1916. p.28 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Darnton, Charles (June 6, 1916). "The New Plays". Evening World. New York, New York. p.12 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Little Plays at Comedy". New York Times. New York, New York. June 6, 1916. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 ""Players" Open Season with One-Act Dramas". The Standard Union. New York, New York. August 31, 1916. p.5 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "News of Plays and Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. November 16, 1916. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Season Is Opened at Comedy Theatre". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. August 31, 1916. p.6 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Washington Square Players". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. August 31, 1916. p.4 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Whats News on the Rialto?". New York Times. New York, New York. September 24, 1916. p.25 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 "Washington Square Players Begin New Season Auspiciously". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. October 3, 1916. p.8 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "To Have Road Company". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. October 22, 1916. p.24 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Washington Square Players". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 29, 1916. p.62 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "(Advertisement)". The Montclair Times. Montclair, New Jersey. October 21, 1916. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "One-Act Plays at Little Theatre". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 7, 1916 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "At the Theaters". Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. December 4, 1916. p.6 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "In the Theaters". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. December 13, 1916. p.15 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "News and Gossip of the Theatres". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. December 17, 1916. p.49 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "School for the Stage". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. October 1, 1916. p.52 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Manhattan Attractions". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. December 17, 1916. p.24 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Four Playlets Put on at the Comedy". New York Herald. New York, New York. October 3, 1916. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 Darnton, Charles (October 12, 1916). ""Lover's Luck" Worth Playing at the Comedy". The Evening World. New York, New York. p.10 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Four New Plays Seen at Comedy". New York Herald. New York, New York. November 14, 1916. p.4 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Japanese Tragedy Admirably Staged". New York Times. New York, New York. November 14, 1916. p.8 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ ""Trifles" Features Players' New Bill". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. November 14, 1916. p.8 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 Broun, Heywood (November 14, 1916). "Washington Square Players Set New Mark in Skill". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "(Advertisement)". New York Herald. New York, New York. February 4, 1917. p.31 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Four One Act Plays Given at Comedy". New York Herald. New York, New York. February 13, 1917. p.6 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Washington Square Players New Bill". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. February 14, 1917. p.5 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "The Washington Square Players". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. March 10, 1917. p.3 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Another Satire on Modern Drama". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. March 22, 1917. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 "Three Plays Given at the Comedy". The Sun. New York, New York. March 22, 1917. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Comedy's New Bill Most Uneven Fare". The New York Times. New York, New York. March 22, 1917. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "What News on the Rialto?". The New York Times. New York, New York. April 15, 1917. p.114 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Plays and Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. May 18, 1917. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ ""Ghosts" at the Comedy". The Brooklyn Citizen. Brooklyn, New York. May 8, 1917. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Satisfying Revival of Ibsen's 'Ghosts'". New York Times. New York, New York. May 8, 1917. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Broun, Heywood (May 8, 1917). ""Ghosts" Is Not Played Well By Washington Square Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Murder Is Seen in a New Light". The Sun. New York, New York. May 29, 1917. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 "Stimulating Bill at Comedy Theater". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 29, 1917. p.2 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "'Barton Mystery' Opens at Comedy". The Sun. New York, New York. October 15, 1917. p.5 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Plays and Players". Brooklyn Life. Brooklyn, New York. October 27, 1917. p.16 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 "New Play Bill From Washington Square". New York Times. New York, New York. November 1, 1917. p.13 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ ""In the Zone" at the Comedy". The Evening World. New York, New York. November 1, 1917. p.19 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Play Season Opens for Washington Sq". The Sun. New York, New York. November 1, 1917. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 Block, Ralph (November 1, 1917). "The Washington Square Players in Four One-Act Plays". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 "Three New Plays at Comedy". The Sun. New York, New York. December 4, 1917. p.5 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 "Four New Plays at the Comedy". New York Times. New York, New York. December 4, 1917. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 Darnton, Charles (December 7, 1917). "The New Plays". Evening World. New York, New York. p.25 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 "An All-American Bill at Comedy". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. December 5, 1917. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Another Cut in Prices". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. December 18, 1917. p.13 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Star Theater". The Buffalo Times. Buffalo, New York. January 20, 1918. p.48 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 "The Plays This Week". The Sun. New York, New York. January 20, 1918. p.46 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 "Present Fine Bill at Comedy Theater". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. January 24, 1918. p.10 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Theatrical Notes". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. January 24, 1918. p.4 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Theatrical Notes". Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. February 15, 1918. p.6 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Wash. Sq. Players in a Long Play". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. February 17, 1918. p.32 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "'Youth', Polished, Put on at Comedy". New York Herald. New York, New York. February 21, 1918. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Broun, Heywood (February 21, 1918). "The Drama". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Plays and Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. February 26, 1918. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Bernard Shaw Play Soon by Washington Square Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. March 3, 1918. p.32 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ ""Mrs. Warren" Revived". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. March 12, 1918. p.6 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 ""Mrs. Warren's Profession" Capably Handled by Mary Shaw". New York Tribune. New York, New York. March 12, 1918. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 Broun, Harold (April 23, 1918). "Drama". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Yorska Shows Poise in Role of "Salome"". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. April 22, 1918. p.2 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Darnton, Charles (April 24, 1918). "The New Plays". Evening World. New York, New York. p.17 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Broun, Heywood (May 5, 1918). "Yesterday and Today". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.34 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "New Plays This Week". New York Tribune. New York, New York. May 12, 1918. p.34 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 Broun, Heywood (May 14, 1918). "Drama". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p.19 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Theatrical Notes". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. May 16, 1918. p.6 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Players Get $1700 for Next Season". The Sun. New York, New York. May 17, 1918. p.9 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "The Professional Amateur". New York Tribune. New York, New York. May 22, 1918. p.10 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Shaw and Barrie Summer Plans of Square Players". The Standard Union. New York, New York. July 6, 1928. p.14 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "News of Plays and Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. April 21, 1916. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "The First-Night Calendar". New York Times. New York, New York. May 7, 1916. p.30 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ ""Anabelle" at Republic". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. November 1, 1916. p.11 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Plays and Players". Brooklyn Life. New York, New York. December 2, 1916. p.22 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "To Give "The Life of Man"". New York Sun. New York, New York. December 28, 1916. p.5 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ ""Life of a Man" Given at Comedy". New York Herald. New York, New York. January 15, 1917. p.4 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "'The Life of Man' Well Presented". New York Times. New York, New York. January 15, 1917. p.7 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 "Plays and Players". Brooklyn Life. Brooklyn, New York. December 29, 1917. p.16 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Plays and Players". Brooklyn Life. Brooklyn, New York. March 2, 1918. p.22 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Two New Playlets on Bill at Comedy". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 14, 1918. p.19 – via Newspapers.com.
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