From the Archive: Eva LeGallienne

By: Katie Birenboim (She/Her/Hers)

 

Devoted fans of BTG may gasp to discover that until doing a first round of research in the amazing BTG archives, I had never heard the name “Eva Le Gallienne.”  I knew that the Playhouse “opened” officially on June 4, 1928, and that the illustrious opening night, besides being an event attended by the who’s who of the American theatre at the time, marked the first phase of BTG’s artistic history, one colored by figures like Tallulah Bankhead, Thornton Wilder, James Cagney, Montgomery Clift, and Claude Rains and the apprenticeship of then-unknown actress Katherine Hepburn.  But unlike many devoted BTG fans, or even just historians of the theatre who are likely shaking their heads in disbelief as they read, I was not familiar with Eva Le Gallienne’s work or the significance of her performance of The Cradle Song all those years ago.  As something of an actress/director/producer/writer myself, however, I’ve come to be fascinated with all things Eva Le Gallienne, and, after reading Helen Sheehy’s fantastic biography (courtesy of Kate Maguire) and doing some research of my own, I’ve found there’s so much more to her than even a casual BTG fan may know.  I’ve also come to believe that her connection with BTG and its history is one the theater should loudly proclaim and cultivate.  

Eva Le Gallienne in The Cradle Song, 1928.

Eva Le Gallienne, born in 1899, was the daughter of famed English poet Richard Le Gallienne and ahead-of-her-time Danish journalist Julie Nørregard.  By the time she was twenty-two, Eva had established herself as a veritable Broadway star, garnering universal praise for roles in Arthur Richman’s Not So Long Ago and Ferenc Molnar’s Liliom; more may know her for her roles as the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, Peter in Peter Pan, Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Stuart, or for her Oscar-nominated work in the 1980 film Resurrection.  It’s virtually impossible to cover all of the highlights of Eva Le Gallienne’s life and career because she worked in so many different genres: she wrote several books, including two autobiographies, definitive translations of the work of Henrik Ibsen and Hans Christian Anderson, as well as a children’s book about country hens; she was an out-and-proud lesbian before virtually anybody was talking about gender or sexuality, a sexual assault survivor, an avid fan of gardening and animals, and a voracious reader.  But the quality of Eva Le Gallienne by which I’m most fascinated, and which most connects to Berkshire Theatre Group and its history, nay, the history of the American theatre in general, is her failed theater company, the Civic Repertory, with which she opened Cradle Song and the Berkshire Playhouse on that fateful night in 1928.

Fed up with the Broadway system, Eva wrote in the 1920s that “here in America…the theatre is a business like any other business. Its sole reason for existing [is] to make money.”  Beyond that, she wondered why opera houses, symphony houses, and art museums were funded by the federal and state governments, but theatre “was an outcast.”  Why was there no National Theatre, Moscow Art Theater, or Comedie-Francaise equivalent in America?  From these questions Eva built a company with a simple mission: “To have a People’s Repertory Theatre, presenting the best plays – with fine acting and productions – at the lowest possible prices.”  “Don’t speak of this to anyone,” Eva admonished her mother in a 1926 letter.  It must be “correctly handled.”

Despite her secrecy and sense of insecurity on the subject – indeed, Eva had only directed one play prior to forming the Civic, and had never managed money in her life – by October 25, 1926 the was born, complete with a large, storied space on Fourteenth Street and Sixth Avenue and a company of some fifteen-odd actors who would rehearse and perform plays in true repertory fashion (rehearsing one during the day, while performing the one you learned the week before at night).  Ticket prices were capped at $1.50 (adjusted for inflation, that’s well below even the best 30-under-30 deals on Broadway today), and because the Civic was located “far too downtown for Broadway audiences,” it attracted a truly diverse group of patrons, many of whom were blue collar workers who traveled into the heart of the city on the IRT, the BMT, the Hudson Tubes, or the Sixth Avenue Elevated.  In its heyday, the Civic enjoyed great success – critics “raved” about the quality of the plays presented, the directing, and the “brilliance of the ensemble” structure; the house was almost always selling at 95% capacity; and subsequent tours after the twenty-week New York City season (most often consisting of SEVEN plays performed in rep) gave the Civic notoriety far and wide.  Brooks Atkinson called it the most “interesting theater in New York.”  

In 1932, however, the Civic fell victim to the Great Depression: Eva refused to compromise on the price issue, and the fortunes of backers like Otto Kahn and Mary Bok began to dwindle.  Indeed, while the Civic was one of the first American theaters to be subsidized – the blueprint for the nonprofit model we have today, Eva was never able to garner the public funding she craved, and truly create a “National Theatre.”  In fact, while FDR offered her the job of heading up the Federal Theater Project in 1933, Le Gallienne refused.  Eva reportedly felt that an initiative predicated solely on giving out-of-work artists jobs would “encourage [artistic] mediocrity…”  To cultivate a “theatre-mindedness in the American public comparable to that in European countries,” Eva wrote, “it was mandatory to bring them only the highest possible standard of performance.” And indeed, when the Federal Theatre Project itself failed after just four years, its dynamic leader Hallie Flanagan said that its “double identity as a relief organization and artistic enterprise” was the cause.  

The Civic failed too – but it had, as Helen Sheehy writes, successfully “united a young American theatre tradition with a rich European heritage,” introducing the United States to the works of Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and in many ways to the “repertory” approach.  What’s more, as Sheehy explains, Eva and the Civic “formed the philosophical bedrock for Off-Broadway and nonprofit institutional theatres…”  In that way, almost every nonprofit theater in the country, from the smallest Off-Broadway blackbox to the biggest LORT house, owes a major debt to Eva Le Gallienne.  Helen Sheehy goes on to write that Eva and the Civic “flung out a challenge yet to be answered,” a thesis I believe points to Eva’s ambitions at establishing not only a subsidized, “people’s theatre,” but a NATIONAL theatre of the United States.  And perhaps through its connection to Eva Le Gallienne and the Civic Repertory company, as well as its history of producing and cultivating some of the greatest works and talent of American theatre since that first production of Cradle Song in June 1928, the Berkshire Theatre Group can attempt to meet that “challenge” in its new century.

 

Sources:

Sheehy, Helen.  Eva Le Gallienne: A Biography.  Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Krienik, Barrie.  “Not Only For Amusement: Eva Le Gallienne and the Civic Repertory Theatre.”  Medium.  https://theaterhound1.medium.com/not-only-for-amusement-eva-le-gallienne-and-the-civic-repertory-theatre-fa8a7e4e331e.

The Berkshire theatre Group Archives

 

Plan Your Visit

Read our suggestions on where to dine, and where to hang your hat.

Get Started
Did You Know?
Just like NPR, Berkshire Theatre Group depends on the generous giving of its members!
Join Today!
We believe the performing arts can transform a community.
Learn More
Of the 16,000 Berkshire County school children, we serve 13,000 through our BTG PLAYS! Year-Round Educational Programs.
Learn More
Theatre is the place where we go to understand what lies in the human heart.
About Us
BTG's buildings, on two campuses in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, are historic treasures.
Theatre Info
Berkshire Theatre Group believes that the creative arts encourage freedom of speech and debate.
Get Involved
"Out of need will come the way. Once the pandemic ebbs, whenever that is, there will be an incredible need to gather again." - Artistic Director, Kate Maguire
Join Today!
The theatre has existed from the time of the Greeks. We will go on.
Learn More
Join Our Mailing List

Receive the latest BTG News, Updates, Special Offers, and more right to your inbox.

Subscribe

News & Articles

From the Archive: Eva LeGallienne

By: Katie Birenboim (She/Her/Hers)   Devoted fans of BTG may gasp to discover that until doing a first round of research in the amazing BTG archives, I had never heard … Read On

Bah humbug! BTG's timeless holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol, is returning to The Unicorn Theatre! ❄ Fit for the whole family, explore the wonderment of the season with this classic story, running tomorrow, December 5 through Sunday, December 22.

Performances are beginning to sell out, so purchase your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org before it's too late!
There is still time to give today on Giving Tuesday. Until midnight tonight, all donations made will be matched 2:1 by a generous donor, TRIPLING your impact!

Each year, BTG helps enrich thousands of students’ lives through arts in education programs and continues to produce high quality performing arts for the Berkshire County community and beyond. You make it all possible.

To donate, please visit berkshiretheatregroup.org/support. Thank you! ❤
For Giving Tuesday, your donation will have even more impact! For today only, every gift you make will be matched 2:1 by a generous donor. Your $100 gift will provide $300 in support to our theatre, TRIPLING your impact!

Because of you, BTG has been propelled to new heights in providing quality performing arts, education and culture to Berkshire County and beyond. You make the difference. ❤️
Did you hear? Patrons who purchase a ticket to any regular season performance of A Christmas Carol at The Unicorn Theatre will receive exclusive access to purchase tickets for Winterlights at Naumkeag for 5pm entry on the same day as the performance. ❄🎄

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit berkshiretheatre.org today.
This Small Business Saturday, Berkshire Theatre Group is participating in Downtown Pittsfield's Pittsfield Passport promotion! Collect one sticker from The Colonial Theatre, along with other participating locations where you make a purchase, where, the more stickers you collect, the greater your chance of winning one of the three Downtown Pittsfield Prize Packages!

For more information, visit https://downtownpittsfield.com/2024/11/downtown-pittsfield-passport-nov-29-dec-24/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGy19BleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRaCnK7LGNw2VWpr2oc-fbRH_cbUrl3HmLiksa89EbmksZKn1JgRvceK0w_aem_zOEAMn0oRfRzQVCZ7vAemQ
The holiday season is here, and all of us at BTG are feeling energized from Thanksgiving as we gear up for Giving Tuesday!

You make the difference in helping us continue producing quality performing arts and theatre for our community, so we hope you keep us in your thoughts among the many businesses in Berkshire County this year. 🤲❤️
Looking for gift ideas for the theatre lovers in your life? Now through Cyber Monday, receive a $10 gift certificate for every $50 spent on gift certificates! 🎁✨

To purchase gift certificates, please visit the link in our bio.
All of us at BTG wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! 🍂
We are just one week away from Giving Tuesday! 🤲❤️ 

At BTG, every story told, every beat of music, every laugh shared and every emotion stirred on our stages is because of donors like you. So, this Giving Tuesday, we are asking for your support as we continue to produce exceptional theatre for nearly 100 years for the Berkshire County community and beyond. Plus, your donation will be matched by a generous donor, doubling your impact!

BTG is grateful to you, because you make the difference. ❤️
Two new holiday shows, An Evening of Holiday Jazz with Tim Jones (@timhasglasses) and A Special Holiday Reading of Santaland Diaries, have been JUST ANNOUNCED! ❄🎄

For tickets and to learn more, visit berkshiretheatre.org.
Tomorrow, November 23, Wandering Dance Festival comes to a close with their showcase performance at The Colonial Theatre. Featuring a variety of professional and local dance artists, this event promises to be an unforgettable experience for the entire community.

Wandering Dance Festival is a program produced and presented by Mill Town Foundation. Tickets are available at berkshiretheatre.org, and are also offered at various price points and further financial assistance is available upon request. Email info@milltownfoundation.org for more information.
December is National Giving Month, and BTG is gearing up for Giving Tuesday, coming up on December 3! ❤️

Save the date and join us for a day of gratitude and reflection!
Time is running out! This week is your last chance to purchase 2025 Season 3-Show Passes for $150, so visit berkshiretheatregroup.org/passes to get your passes today! 🎫
Voting is now open for the 2024 BroadwayWorld Berkshires Awards, and BTG is on the ballot!

Be sure to vote for your favorite local performers, artists and productions before December 31st by clicking the link below, and thank you in advance!
https://www.broadwayworld.com/berkshires/voteregion.cfm
Double the shows, double the fun! Due to popular demand, an additional 5pm show has been added for Mutts Gone Nuts: Santa Paws on December 15 at the Colonial!

Join us at The Colonial Theatre for an unforgettable, dog comedy show filled with laughter and joy for the holidays by getting your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org.
Today on Veterans Day, BTG would like to celebrate and salute all veterans past and present for all you have sacrificed for our country. Thank you all for your service.
BTG is excited to be supporting Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.'s 3rd Annual Thankful Food Drive this November! 

Until November 30, a donation box can be found in the lobby at The Colonial Theatre for donations of non perishable food items that will go to South Community Food Pantry and St. Joseph’s Church Food Pantry. Donations can be dropped off Monday through Saturday between 12pm-5pm or when you come to the Colonial for any of our upcoming concerts!

For more information, visit the Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. website: https://downtownpittsfield.com/2024/10/downtown-pittsfield-inc-thankful-food-drive-3/
It's almost the most wonderful time of the year! The cast of A Christmas Carol have officially begun rehearsals Tuesday night this past week, and we are all beyond excited to once again bring this classic holiday tale to The Unicorn Theatre this December. 🎄☃

(Photos by Caelan Carlough)
Misty Blues, the band that has captivated audiences for a quarter of a century, is celebrating their silver anniversary at The Colonial Theatre TOMORROW (11/9). This powerful concert will feature over 25 special guest artists who have supported the band over the past 25 years, making it a night to remember.

Get your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org and don’t miss this incredible opportunity to witness a historic celebration of blues music!
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: Access Token is not valid or has expired. Feed will not update.
Follow Us