A HISTORY OF DRAMATIC PRODUCTION IN PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

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Sponsoring Committee: Associate Professor Fred C« Blanchard, Assistant toofessor Harry G. Cayley, and Professor William P. Bears

A HISTORY OF DRAMATIC PRODUCTION IN PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

EDWARD WILLIAM BORGERS

Submitted In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Sehool of Education of New York University 1950

[Thesis accepibu

m i i i9§o

n

The student hereby guarantees that no a part of the dissertation or document which he has submitted for publication has been heretofore published and (or) oopyrighted in the United States of America, except in the case of passages quoted from other published sources; that he is the sole author and proprietor of said dissertation or document; that the dissertation or document contains no matter which, if published, will be libelous or otherwise injurious, or infringe in any way the copyright of any other party; and that he will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless New York University against all claims which may be made against New York University by reason of the publication of said dissettation or document*

i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS' The author wishes to express his moat grateful appreciation to Professors Fred C. Blanchard, Harry Greer Cayley, and W i l l i a m Paul Sears of New York University, for guidance in this study; to Pamela Walker Borgers for critical and editorial assistance; to Professors G. E. Bentley, D. A. Stauffer, Willard Thorp, W. Samuel Howell, Edward L, Hubler, B, F. Huppe, Lawrence Thompson, and Alan S. Downer of Princeton University for information and suggestions; to Professor Thomas J. Wertenbaker of Williamsburg, Virginia, and Professor Robert H, Ball of Queens College, New York City, for information and suggestions; to Mrs. Marguerite McAneny, Librarian of the William Seymour Theatre Collection at Princeton University, for assistance many times repeated, and for the loan of the Community players Scrapbooks; to Dr. Louis E. Laflin, Jr., of Lake Forest College, Illinois, for many pages of information in letters, and for the loan of his manuscripts; to Robert Nail for the loan of his manuscripts; to the Office of the Secretary of Princeton University for aid in finding material; to Mr, Boris Kaplan of Paramount Pictures for the use of his scrapbook oh professional actors; and to the many men and w o m e n of the scholarly world and professional theatre field who have written letters of information as indicated in the Bibliography.

ii

CONTENTS I. II. III.

THE PROBLEM

1

THE QUAKERS IN PRINCETON (1695-1756)

8

COMMENCEMENT PROGRAMS OP THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY (1756-1780)

17

IV.

COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY THEATRICALS (1772-1882)

41

V.

PROFESSIONAL THEATRE IN PRINCETON (1783-1882)

58

VI.

THE TRIANGLE CLUB (1883-1948)

77

VII.

THE THEATRE INTIME (1892-1948)

174

THE COMMUNITY PLAYERS (1893-1948)

283

PROFESSIONAL THEATRE IN PRINCETON (1883-1948)

315

PRINCETON THEATRE ARTISTS

367

PRINCETON PLAYWRIGHTS

392

PRINCETON IN THE AMERICAN THEATREfS ALLIED ARTS

418

CONCLUSIONS

438

VIII. IX. X. XI. XII.

mi.

APPENDIX

446

BIBLIOGRAPHY

477

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM The Purpose of the Study In 1959 the critic Albert McCleery was quoted as having called Prlnoeton University's Theatre Intlme "the prime source of professional talent” in the American theatre#

"It is ironical,

he observed, "but perhaps not altogether accidental that the one major university that gives no credit whatsoever for participation in dramatics has been the university to give us James Stewart, Joshua Logan, Bretalgne Wlndust, Jose Ferrer, Lemuel Ayres, and many o t h e r s T h e statement is provocative, for McCleery seems to suggest that there has existed at Princeton University a unique experiment among collegiate programs of dramatlo art, and that there Is a oause and effeot relationship between this unique experiment and the eventual achievements of an impressive group of American theatre artists#

If these im­

plications can be proved, they are of obvious importance to all who are concerned with the place of dramatic art in college education#

What are the facts?

Can the Princeton dramatic art

program be demonstrated to have contained unique features, and if so, can such a causal relationship as McCleery suggests be

1.

Quoted In J. Kevins, "Theatre Intlme," p# 18

2 established? There are other intriguing features among the theatri­ cal events which have taken place within the limits of the town of Princeton.

With performances recorded as early as 1772, there

is a strong possibility that through the many decades a number of events have occurred of significance in the general development of the American theatre.

Such figures as Ben Greet, Charles

Coburn, and Harley Granville-Barker have conducted here some of their more interesting and spectacular experiments.

Princeton

has been the setting for world premieres of plays by S. N. Behrman., George Kaufman and Moss Hart, Clifford Goldsmith, Philip Barry, James Thurber, Robinson Jeffers, and Thornton Wilder.

An

examination then of the circumstances which brought about so much significant activity into a town still less than 8,000 in popula­ tion promises to be of interest to those who are concerned with the problem of decentralizing the American theatre from its New York confines. These observations suggest that an investigation of the history of dramatic production in the total of Princeton may be of interest not only to those who lived there and participated in that history, but to the general reader in the fields of theatre art and liberal education. Previous Studies -

Professor Thomas J. Wertenbaker in his book, Princeton.

1746-1896. makes a few scattered references to play production in the College of New Jersey,

An article by Herbert McAneny,

"Princeton Amusements, Civil War to 1887," contains valuable Information for the perlod it covers.

Professor Varnum L.

Collins and Professor Robert H. Ball have gathered a number or interesting data In articles appearing in the Princeton Alumni Weekly, the Prinoetonian. and the local press.

But to date

there has been no systematic study of the history of dramatic production in Princeton* General Statement The purpose then of this investigation is to record the history of dramatic production in Princeton* New Jersey* and to determine the relationship of that history to the larger history of the American theatre.

Hare specifically* it will make the

following inquiries: Specific Problems I. To what extent does the history of dramatic production in the olty of Princeton parallel that of the country as a whole In terms of Am time and conditions of origin?

B. characteristics of the productions? C. reflection of the influence of such factors as geo­ graphical position, religious beliefs, political and social attitudes* end economic status? II. To what extent has dramatic production in Princeton A. differed from* or presented unique phenomena in* the history of the American theatre? B. contributed to or influenced the history of the Amer­ ican theatre? TWifin it ions and Delimitations Geographically this study will be bounded by the limits* past or present* of the toWp of Princeton.

Its time extent will

be from the earliest white settlement to the present.

By "drama­

tic production" will be meant the stage performances of formally written plays* though activities In related fields such as vaud-

4 evllle, dialogues, and pageants, will be considered as they affect the stream of regular drama*

"Production" will include

the work of the author, the director, the actor, the technical staff, and the business staff.

"Professional productions" will

be those in which at least the major performers receive pay. "Academic" performances will be those given under the supervision of an educational institution; "community" performances will be those given by actors who are neither professional nor appearing under the supervision of an academic organization*

In the use

of the term "dramatic art" to describe the University's program of theatricals, no implications are intended regarding the level of artistic achievement by that program at any one time* Procedures Though there is a good deal of overlapping, the findings in this study come from generally differentiated sources*

Know­

ledge of what happened is derived largely from newspaper notices, other periodicals, letters, diaries, and scrapbooks.

Why it

happened (involving primarily the influence of the cultural fac­ tors mentioned above) is indicated largely in the general histories of the town and university of Princeton, general histories of the American theatre, and general works on the development of American culture*

These same books also reveal

the basis for comparisons between developments in Princeton theatre history and theatre history for the country as a whole* In determining which features of Princeton's theatre his­ tory have differed from, or presented unique phenomena in, the

history of the American theatre, the same sources, supplemented by appropriate encyclopedias, have been consulted.

In comparing

developments on the Princeton University campus with those of other American colleges and universities, two additional sources have been particularly helpful: the surveys of the off-Broadway American theatre presented by Kenneth Macgowan in Footlights acros s America (1929) and Norris Houghton in Advance from Broadway (1941). The measurement of the contribution and influence of Princeton theatre history upon the general history of the Ameri­ can theatre has presented a number of special problems discussed in the body of the dissertation (particularly in Chapters VI, VII, X, XI, and XII), but the process may be summarized thus: 1) the names of the Princeton men who have entered the larger American theatre field have been obtained, from the records already men­ tioned, and most particularly from a list in the Office of the

Secretary of Princeton University. of these men,

2) A report of the activities

and of the Impact of their achievements, was secured

from several sources, but primarily from the New York Theatre Critics Reviews and from the files of the Theatre Collection, New York Public Library, New York City.

3) The total impact as

measured by the critical reviews of each man's work has been sum­ marized according to a technique discussed in Chapter X.

4) These

summarizations are taken as the total of the objectively measurable contribution of Princeton men to the American theatre. Assuming that it can be shown that the Princeton dramatic art program contained certain unique features, and that graduates of this program made a measurable impact on the American theatre, there will remain still the problem of establishing a causal relation ship between the two events.

This problem is much more

forbidding, for the available evldanoe Is confined to two type 8 * testimony of graduates from that program, and certain statistical studies offered In Chapter X*

Both of these sources present ser­

ious difficulties: Since Princeton alumni were exposed to the Princeton system alone, one cannot tell what they would have testified had they also been exposed to some other system*

Sec­

ond, the statistical studies Involve so few cases that they can not refclly be called a serious statistical study*

Moreover,

even though the figures Indicate the simultaneous appearance of several pairs of Interesting phenomena, history does not furnish sufficient control factors to generalise with any certainty regarding cause and effect relationship*

For Instance, Princeton

may simply have received an unusually promising group of young students during certain key years*

The record might have been

still more Impressive during those years had a more traditional program of dramatic art been In existence*

Or a different unique

factor might have been still more effective than the unique factors which actually existed* ▲ comparison over a number of years of the records of alumni of the Princeton system with the records of alumni of a system where the dramatic art program was similar except for the unique features In question, where the sooial and economic status of the students was similar, where the educational exper­ iences otherwise were generally similar, where proximity to t he nation* s theatre capital was roughly the same, might reveal significant results*

Unfortunately, with the history of dramatic

production In American colleges and universities In Its present almost totally unexplored status, the data for such a comparison are simply non-existent*

7 On the score of establishing objectively a cause and effect relationship therefore, this study Is foredoomed to disappointment.

Yet the situations and philosophies which

gave rise to these unique features, the vigor of the sentiments expressed concerning these features, and the available data (inadequate though they are), may still be of some value in articulating an issue provocative both to the educator and the theatre enthusiast of the country, and in furnishing a background for later experimental studies under control situations which may offer proof of a finality now out of the question. Princeton graduates have been active not only in the field of dramatic production on the American theatre scene but also in the fields of playwrightlng, and in such allied fields as British theatre, and American radio, television, and cinema. The data available concerning alumni activities in the fields have been recorded by a technique similar to that used In Chapter X, but (as Indicated in Chapters XI and XII) in these fields there is even less objective basis for an attempt to correlate post-graduate achievements with features unique to the dramatic art program at the University, and the data are used only to give a fuller picture of Princeton's theatre history. Chapters II through IX of this dissertation describe the historical development of dramatic production in the city and University at Princeton*

Chapter XIII summarizes the data thus

obtained in terms of the questions which were the starting point of the study.

CHAPTER II THE QUAKERS IN PRINCETON (1695-1756) The First White Settlers In Princeton The story of Princeton's theatre begins in the seventeenth century*

In 1675 William Edmund son, a travelling minister of the

Soolety of Friends, made a journey through New Jersey*

"We hired

an Indian to guide us," he writes* "But he took us wrong and left us In the woods* • • We were at a great loss concerning the way, being all strangers In the wilderness* • *We rode back and In sane time found the landing-place and the little path; there the two friends committed us to the lord's guidance and went back* We travelled that day and saw no tame creatures* At night we kindled a fire in the wilderness and lay by It as we used to do in such journeys* Next day about nine in the morning by the good hand of Cod we came to the falls."! The landing place is now Few Brunswick; the falls were those of Trenton*

The path was all that then existed of the city of 2 Princeton* fart of it later became Nassau Street* A region of swamps, thickets, and barrens, made almost inaccessible by nature, neglected both by the courtly plantation owners to the south, and by the s t e m Congregational colonies to the north, the territory of the Jerseys captured the imagination of the wily and pious William Penn*

A trustee of the grant

purchased by two Quaker soldiers (for not all Quakers are paci­ fists), he found himself at last, in 1664, able to make his first attempt at the realisation of a dream of many years: the

1* Quoted in John R* Williams, The Handbook of Princeton, pp* 95-4a 2* XiQC* clt*

founding of an American colony of refuge from the savage perse­ cutions of the English king.'*'

It was a handful of Quakers,

therefore, who finally trickled through to the inmost part of this wild retreat, exactly half way between New York and Philadelphia.

2

A map of Princeton, made in 1685, shows here the planta­ tion of a Dr. Greenland.

At this time, too, a Dr. John Gordon

owned a tract of land between Nassau Street and Stony Brook. But it was another ten years before as many as half a dozen families had made this site their home.

By the turn of the

century, however, a modest but thriving community had sprung up.1' The Nature of Princeton Quakers Most extreme of the various Protestant sects reacting against what they considered the empty pomp of the Established Church of England, the Quakers were "filled to quaking with fear of G o d ’s wrath."

Their lives stripped of all ornament

and any suggestion of frivolity, they found even the majesty of Bach and Handel too trivial for their services of worship. Thundering against all rival religions, they disrupted other church services, and occasionally appeared naked in the streets, apparently as a warning that thus God saw all humanity.

Their

Puritan colleagues In America were no less ready to hang them as disturbers of the peace than were the officers of the King of 4 England. Yet those Quakers were humane In politics and generally progressive.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Penn’s New Jersey constitution established rellg-

Sydney G. Fisher, The Quaker Colonies, p. 125 E. M. Woodward and John F. Hageman, History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, p. 598 Loo, olt. Fisher, op. c i t ., pp. 3-4

ious liberty, universal suffrage, voting by ballot, and the 1 abolition of Imprisonment for debt* The Quaker relations with 2 their Indian neighbors have been the model for the world* Thrifty and industrious, they were as a group equally outstanding in success, both as farmers and as men of commeree#

Their prosperity

was remarkable for its suddenness and its extent* The Theatre in Quaker Princeton During the Quaker era there is no record of any theatre activity In Princeton*

But this statematiit calls for a number of

Important qualifications*

In the first place, in their early

stages, not only were all American colonies too busy to give much attention to such a complex enterprise as the theatre, but there was in every American colony a marked antagonism to the stage* The Cavalier south and particularly Virginia were earlier and more generally receptive to dramatic art, but even here, when the first recorded American theatrical performance took place in 1665, its amateur performers were haled into court for their trouble* In the Puritan north opposition was much more violent*

Aa

the alleged home of depravity, the showhouse was prosecuted on all sides*

The State of Massachussetts in 1750 forbade stage plays

and theatrical entertainments of any kind*

Ten years later an

aot of Pennsylvania prohibited the acting of £ays under a penalty of 500 pounds*

Rhide Island in 1761 passed an act n to prevent

stage plays

other theatrical performances within this colony*B

Hew Hampshire forbade a troupe of actors to enter the colony

4* Oral S* ooaa ana Edmin Mims, Jr*, The American Stage, p* 11

11 because stage plays have a npecullar Influence on the moraJs of young people and greatly endanger their morals by giving them a taate for Intriguing amusement and pleasure."

President Dwight

of Tale College in 1824 wrote in his Essay on the Stage that "to Indulge a taste for playgoing means nothing more nor less than the loss of that most valuable treasure, the immortal soul."^ Hor was the New Englander*a hatred of the theatre without reason.

His ancestors were those English Puritans on whom the

seventeenth century dramatists had heaped their coarsest taunts and ridicules.

The plays of Farquhar, Mrs. Centllvre, and

Vanbrugh were crammed with a vulgarity and license which even today* s emancipated era finds hard going.

Moreover, according

to Puritan testimony, the arrived of actors in a town was a signal for complete demoralisation of the community.

As one protesting

petition declared: "It is well known that on the nights of performances the theatre is surrounded by a large concourse of people, who resort there not to see the performance within, but to talcs part in the performance without • Riots, drunkenness, and obscenity are among the least of the evils practiced nightly. While the audience within are strengthening their morals, adding to the stock of their religious principles by listening to the precepts of the stage, the rabble without are drenching themselves in rum, wallowing in open and public prostitution."2 As a result of this opposition, as well as of the general scarcity of newspapers anywhere in the oountry, reports of the­ atrical activity, even where such activity may have occurred, are not likely to appear in print.

Notice of a performance would

be an enoouragement to it, and few newspaper editors would risk

1. Mary C. Crawford, The Romance of the American Theatre, p. 24 2. Quoted in Arthur riornblow. A HTaterv of tke Theatre fn America. Volume I, pp. 29-SO.

12 thus bringing upon themselves the wrath of the authorities.

For

this reason in turn, few companies depended on the press for their publicity but rather distributed handbills of their own.

It is more

than possible therefore that performances existed in a given community many years before we find any newspaper accounts of them.'*' Still it is probable that during the Quaker period (1695-1746) there was no theatre in Princeton.

First of all, before 1746 there

is little record of theatre anywhere in the United States.

Anthony

Aston at New York City in 1702 Is the first professional actor to mention finding employment in America.

The first known theatre in

America, the Williamsburg, was not constructed until 1716, and there 'Z. is no record of dramatic performance in it until 1734. The first play presented In New York of which a specific record remains is George Farquhar*s comedy, The Recruiting, Officer, at the "New" Theatre on December 6, 1732, the first playhouse in New York so far as is known.

4

There Is no word of a performance in Philadelphia until that

of the Murray-Kean company In 1749.^ The Orphan was not until 1750.6

The Boston production of Otway's

The Hallams, the first company

really to thrive in America in the theatrical profession, did not 7 open in New York until 1753, nor in Philadelphia until 1754. Its second manager, Douglas,

erected a theatre at Eaton's point, Newport,

Rhode Island, and here on September 7, 1761, gave a performance of Vanbrugh's comedy, The Provoked Husband, for the benefit of the poor. "This," says Blake, "was the first dramatic performance given in

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Loo, clt., and page 109. Co ad and Mims, op.cit., p. 10 Ibid., p. 12 Ibid., p. 15 Hornblow, op. cit., vol. I, p. 20 Ibid., p. So ibid., pp. 88 and 95

13 New England by a regular company of professional actors."'*' v Of course i-t—l-s— important not-to confuse ma.iorlty opinion with total opinion.

Prom the first migration there was a body

of pleasure seekers who strained at the leash of Puritan austerity, and it was this group which eventually grew into dominance, and triumphed over Puritan opposition to the theatre.

But by the same

token that the softening of this austerity grows first in the large cities where there is wealth and will to indulge that wealth, 2 so conversely it is last occurring away from these centers, and, as has been pointed out already, Princeton was in the remotest recesses of a remote colony.

It should therefore be

expected to be behind rather than ahead of the country at large in its theatrical-development. And the Quaker opinion, even in Philadelphia, was for many years sternly anti-theatrical.

Though at the beginning of

the nineteenth century Philadelphia was the leading city on the American continent, and its most important theatrical center, though its citizens were outstandingly wealthy, enterprising,

and

ambitious, though its very reason for being was as a center of liberty of conscience, the Quaker hatred of license and fri­ volity made the theatre its special target, and for decades the city invoked old laws, passed new ones, and organized meetings of protest to drive out its entertainers. The scientific eminence of Benjamin Franklin and his fellow Quakers was a further barrier to their encouragement of the drama. As Seilhamer observes, "The golden youth of the metropolis

1. 2. 3.

Ibid., p. 112 Ibid., p. 26 ibid., p. 52

14 affected to regard practical experiments at the Academy as more instructive and entertaining than the exhibition of* stage plays by a company of strolling players." Yet while it is probable that the Princeton Quakers indulged in no theatrical performances, just as it is a mistake to confuse majority opinion with total opinion, so it is a mistake to con­ fuse Quaker abstention from the drama with a life of grim ascet­ icism.

A basic tenet of Penn's was that godliness was entirely

consistent with material prosperity and happiness.

Severe though

the Quaker code of conduct and peaceful contemplation was, it contained no strictures on good eating and drinking.

John Adams

of Boston, visiting Quaker Stephen Collins, was amazed at the succession of "sinful feasts" set before him.

Nevertheless, the

pious Bostonian recorded* "Drank Madeira at a great rate, and 2 took no harm from it." And this atmosphere of wealth and enjoyment of worldly pleasures is an important part of the matrix from which emerged eventually a demand for the theatre.

"It is worthy of note,"

observes Fiske, "that among the strait-laced persons who deemed it scandalous to look on Hamlet or Othello there were not a few who took delight in cock-fighting and bull-baiting." The Decline of the Quakers in Princeton Prom the year of the founding of the College of New Jersey in Princeton, the Quaker element in the community began to diminish, until now it has practically disappeared. perhaps two major reasons for this decline.

There were

In the first place,

1. Ibid.. p. 53 2. Fisher, o p » cit.. p. 56 3* John Piske, The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, p. 324

although Penn in his Pennsylvania colony was able to derive from the King a highly specific statement of his political as well as his economic authority, In his earlier Jersey experiment he had not been able to do so*

James II, in spite of his grant

to Sir George Carteret, was Inclined to reassume jurisdiction and extend the power of the governor of New York over East Jersey* As a result of his plottings, East Jersey suffered continual encroachment by New York, and for years the two colonies were involved in a minor civil war, with East Jersey forever on the verge of becoming a vassal to Its powerful neighbor*

Indeed, the

King's scheming terminated only with the Revolution which deposed him and put William of Orange on the throne*

Princeton's main

street is named in honor of the Prince of Nassau whose reign brought the hope of peace to the embattled colony*

But the hopes

were vain; encroachments continued, and stability was reached only when East and West Jersey were united under a single govern­ ment In which the rule of the Quakers was doomed*

Thereupon the

Quakers migrated In droves to the younger colony of Pennsylvania, where "government was entirely In the hands of Quakers and where plain and serious ways gave promise of enduring and unmolested prosperity."-1 On the other hand within a few years after Pennsylvania was founded - 1682 to be exact - persecution of the Quakers 2 ceased In England and the major cause of their migration ended* The Quaker constituenoy in Princeton then declined, first

16 because unstable conditions In New Jersey made Pennsylvania a more desirable goal for Quaker settlers, and second because more peaceful conditions at home made further migration to America no longer urgent.

But, as Hageman concludes, "These

families were highly respectable, intelligent, and religious, and. • .the Influence and high position of Princeton may be traced In no small degree to the sterling character of these early settlers." Summary ThA history of Princeton during the Quaker period then may be assumed to have paralleled that of rural America at large *in its virulent resistance to the theatre, and it is unlikely that the era saw any productions of plays.

1. Woodward and Hageman, o p . cit., p. 598

CHAPTER III COMMENCEMENT PROGRAMS OF THE COLLEGE OF NEW JBRSET (1756-1780) The PresbyterIana Come to Jersey Even before the reign of James II, the English persecution of Scotch Presbyterian Covenanters had become one of the horras of history.

Many were slaughtered; hundreds of others were

jammed into dungeonB.

In these dungeons they came in contact

with their Quaker co-prisoners, thus reaching the attention of William Penn* It was a part of Penn's broad vision that all persecuted peoples should be given a haven, particularly those who were the victims of the British prison system.

When therefore in 1675

to the Quaker purchase of East Jersey was added that of West Jersey, Penn and his fellow-trustees determined to convert the latter into a refuge for Presbyterians. few of that sect actually came.

For ten years however,

As Fisher remarks, "It is

another proof of the sturdiness and devotion which has filled so many pages of history and romance with their praise that as a class the Covenanters remained at home to establish their

. ,,1

faith with martyrdom, torture, and death*"

But with the ascendancy of the fanatic James II, so bloody became the torment heaped upon the Covenanters that

1.

Sydney G# Fisher, The Quaker Colonies, p. 125

18 a sizable number of them responded to the attractions of Penn’s pamphlet, The Model of the Government of the Province a of East Jersey in America,

Princeton, being at almost the exact mid­

point between East and West Jersey, became settled presently by both Quakers and Presbyterians,

However, the number of

Covenanters was still too small to Justify building a Presby­ terian church in town.

But a new factor was to appear on the

scene, to assure the city’s permanency for generations to come, and to secure it for many decades as a Presbyterian stronghold. The "New Light" and Princeton A few of the tenets of the Presbyterian "New Light" creed here become relevant to the study of Princeton’s theatre. Reacting like the Quakers against the "idolatrous" Stuarts and their religion, all Puritans declared that man and (God dealt with each other directly, that the priesthood was not only unnecessary, but wicked, and that the basis for m a n ’s conduct was God's will as revealed to all men in Scripture,

The code

which they thus derived was rigorous and incumbent upon the godly and the ungodly alike.

If the divine authority of the

priesthood was renounced, even more so was the divine authority of kings.

Large numbers of the Scotch Presbyterians banded into

a Covenant to make good this renunciation.

In the struggle with

royalty which resulted from that challenge, the King who opposed the Puritans was beheaded.

It is small surprise then that when

the sons of Charles I were restored to the throne, the cult of the Covenanters should receive especially vicious hounding. The Presbyterians differed from their Congregational

19 cousins In their conception of the Ideal Church organization, the former holding for an oligarchial rule by a council of the elect over all the churches In a given territory; the latter Insisting upon the self-rule of each indlvidua.1 Church,

And

shortly after their arrival in Jersey, a split occurred among the Presbyterians themselves, A considerable body of American Presbyterians, acting under the influence of a German evangelical religious movement called Pietism, began to scorn their Intellectual bretheren as hollow formalists, and to insist upon good works as the only valid manifestation of spiritual regeneration.

Thus they became

badly out of sympathy with the orthodox element in their sect, notably as entrenched at Harvard and Yale.

This dissenting

group, perpetrators of "the Great Schism," set about to establish a theological school where a new generation of ministers could be trained to spread "the New Light."

As a result, on October 22,

1746, Governor John Hamilton granted to its trustees a charter for the College of New Jersey,1 the fourth oldest college In the United States.

2

The Reverend Jonathan Dickinson was selected as the first President.

In May, 1747, eight or ten students gathered for

instruction at the pastor's residence In Elizabeth.

Four and a

half (months after the opening, Dickinson died, and the students moved from Elizabeth to Newark, where their new teacher was another Presbyterian minister, Aaron Burr.

1. 2.

Under Burr's

Official Register of Princeton University, The Undergraduate College Issue. 1948-9, p. 87. H aT»va.r3,J William and Mary, 1693; Yale, 1701. E. M. Woodward and John F. Hajgeman, History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, p. 598

20 direction, the new college so prospered that it soon became obvious it must have a large building and a permanent home. New Brunswick was at one time proposed as a site, but the award was finally given to Princeton, partly because Princeton offered a better financial deal to the proprietors, partly because its remote situation reduced to a minimum the "dissipation and temptation of towns* Work on the new building, now known as Nassau Hall, was begun in 1754*

It was ready in the autumn for the use

of the institution, and President Burr, with about seventy students, moved en masse to their new home* The college building was originally 175 feet in length, and 54 feet wide, with projections in the middle, front, and rear. A cupola surmounted the center of the roof. There were 49 rooms designed for 147 students. There were other rooms for library, recitations, refectory, dining room. The whole number of rooms, besides the chapel, was 60. The chapel was nearly forty feet square, with a gallery, rostrum, and organ. This was used for preaching and public meetings.8 Attitudes in Princeton, 1756 What sort of attitudes could one expect to find in this community with its new seot and new college?

First of all, in

an unstrategic location for either commerce or manufacture, but with a genuine beauty of landscape isolated from the turmoil of either Philadelphia or New York, and with an Increasingly important center of culture in its midst, it attracted to both

1. 2.

Ibid.. p. 189 Ibid.. p. 625

21 college and town a wealthy clientele, which has been character­ istic of It ever since*

And while that group at this period

manifested little good will toward the theatre directly, It did, in the Interest of more luxtirlafc living, encourage a number of other aotivities In whleh were hidden the seeds of the theatre* There seems little doubt too that popular thought has painted the Puritan as considerably more dour than he actually was*

That Puritanism has never implied poverty, one need only

walk past the old mansions of Princeton to see*

Many great

noblemen and statesmen, as well as most of the wealthy merchants, were Puritans*

They were not opposed to art, and destroyed its

products only when those products were likely to be worshipped*•*• Princeton for many years was famous as a center of production for a species of applejack known as "Jersey lightning*"2 As a result of their persecutions at home, the early Princetonians had developed a militant sense of political free­ dom, which however, showed little tendency to overlap Into the field of personal conduct*

And apparently Princeton was the first

American college to conceive of a duty beyond that of professional training of ministers*

"We hope it will be a means of raising

up men that will be useful in the other learned professions ornaments of the State as well as of the Church," declared one of the founders*

"Therefore we propose to make the plan of _3 education as extensive as our circumstances will admit •" Prince­ ton moreover was the first college to guarantee religious free­ dom to its students*

No person, it announced, shall be "debarred

any of the privileges of the said college on account of any

1* Enoylcopedla Britannioa. 1944* vol. XVIII, p* 780 2* Edwin Norris, 'iJne flf Princeton* p* 2 3* Ibid** p* 14

22 speculative differences of religion; but those of every religious profession having equal privileges arid advantages of education in the said college,"1 On the other hand, petitioners, Incorporators, faculty and administration were exclusively Presbyterian for many years. Of the first class of six, all but Richard Stockton became clergy­ men; in the first ten years more than half of the 114 graduates became preachers of the gospel.

To this day, every president

of Princeton has been either a Presbyterian minister or the son of a Presbyterian minister.

Its third president, Jonathan Ed­

wards, was one of the grimmest of all Puritans,

Historians

describe Puritans and Presbyterians in general with such terms as "Narrow and doctrinaire,"2 with "strict discipline and un­ compromising thrift," "narrow and harsh."3

To these generalities

must be added the intense emotionalism of the New Light move­ ment, heightened by a sense of persecution not only from without, but also within its own sect, an asceticism pushing further than that of the average Puritan, and a conservatism increased by remote rural location. The flavor of Princeton In this period may be caught In some of the rules framed by Aaron Burrs 1) Attendance at prayer meeting was required each morning and each evening, for absence was twopence; for tardiness one penny. on Sunday,

2) Fine Fine doubled

3) A student convicted of drunkenness, lying, theft,

"or any other scandalous crime," was to be admonished, and there—

1, 2, 3.

IiOC* clt, Fisher, op. clt.. p, 176

1944, Volume VI, p. 615.

23 upon was to make public confession or be expelled.

4) A student

caught twice at frequenting taverns or places of public enter­ tainment, or at keeping company With those known to lead "scandalous” lives, was similarly dismissed.

5) ”None of the

students shall play at Cards or Dice or at any other unlawful game under a penalty of a fine not exceeding 5s. proc. for the first offense, for the second, public admonition, for the third, expulsion."

6) Students were to stay in their rooms, attending

"close to their studies" constantly except for half an hour after morning prayers and recitations, an hour and a half after dinner, and from evening prayer until the retiring bell rang at nine o’clock.

To these mandates President Green added that

"no student should resort to any house or shop where confectionary, or other articles of diet or drink are sold," and that any student would be thrown out if an indecent picture or any "las­ civious, Impious, or irreligious book" was discovered in his possession.* On the seventeenth of May, 1776, Dr. John Witherspoon, sixth president of the College of New Jersey, preached a sermon in the newly-built Presbyterian church on "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men."

This sermon at once made

its author a prominent advocate of independence, and hurled the town of Princeton into the center of the Revolutionary War, establishing it as a key point in the early history of the 6ountry.

1* Norris, o p * clt*. pp. 49-64. It would of course be a mistake to assumethat such rules were characteristic of Princeton alone. For example the devout David Brainerd was arbitrarily expelled from Harvard for a chance and quite unimportant remark in private conversation, which reflected on the sincer­ ity of a tutor. - Ibid*, p* 7 2* Woodward and Hageman, o p * clt.* p* 606

It is interesting to read what this president, Prince­ ton’s leading spokesman, thought of the stage.

While he Was

still a pastor in his native Scotland, one of his colleagues, Dr. John Home, wrote a play called The Tragedy of Douglas which was produced in London and which subsequently became one of the more important works in the English theatre of the eighteenth century.

And perhaps worst of all, Dr. Home attended the theatre

to watoh the performance of his opus.

In scorching indignation,

Dr. Witherspoon wrote a tract called A Serious Enquiry into the Mature and Effects of the St age» A few quotations from it will show the status of the theatre under Dr. Witherspoon and for many years to come.

nI am convinced by the most mature de­

liberation, " he declared, that the reason why there never was a well regulated stage in fact, is because it cannot be, the nature of the thing not admitting it. I will endeavor to show that Public Theatrical Representations, either tragedy or comedy are, In their general nature, or in their best possible state, unlawful, contrary to . the purity of our religion, and that writing, acting, or attending them, is inconsistent with the character of a Christian. • • .The stage after the greatest improvement' of which it is capable, is still in­ consistent with the purity of the Christian pro­ fession. It is a strong presumptive evidence in favor of this assertion that, after so many years trial, such Improvement has never actually taken place. « .' . If theatre be considered as amusement, it is im­ proper, and not such as any Christian may lawfully use. • .We glorify God by cultivating holy dis­ positions, and doing pious and useful actions. Re­ creation is an intermission of duty, and it is only necessary 1»ecause of our weakness. • • .Social con­ verse and bodily exercise will answer the purpose much better. . .The stage is improper, that is to ssLy an unlawful recreation to all without exception, because it consumes too much time. • .Dramatic re­ presentations fix the attention so very deeply, and Interest the affections so very strongly, that in a little time they fatigue the mind themselves. . . .

It is costly and expensive and this cost is alto­ gether unnecessary. . . .There are two general characters of the disciples of Christ, which will appear, if we consult the Scripture, to he essential to them, and which will seem altogether inconsistent with theatrical amusements. • '.self-denial and mortification,-and spirituality and heavenliness of mind. . • • When a public theatre is defended as a means of instruction I cannot help thinking that it is of importance to observe, that it is a method alto­ gether uncommanded and unauthorised in the word of Cod. • .Sinful amusement is not to be Indulged 6n any pretence whatsoever, for we must not do evil that good may come. • .Attending dramatic represent­ ations is not only seeing a great plurality of bad characters without necessity, and seeing them with patience, but it is seeing them with pleasure. . . . No person can contribute to the encouragement of the stage, without being a partaker of the sins of others. • . .The life of players is not only idle and vain, it is more directly and grossly criminal. • .We hope to abolish the theatre just as much as other vices.* Incidentally, lest Dr. Witherspoon's position be thought more severe than that of the other rulers of the college, it should be noted that when Witherspoon purchased Boyden's Collect­ ion of Prints, the trustees announced that college was not the proper place for the study of art, and refused to reimburse their g

president. In such an atmosphere, the conclusion would appear in­ evitable that no theatrical activity could exist.

Yet the

evidence indicates that the dramatic stream, though thin, is steady, from the establishment of the College of New Jersey in Princeton in 1756 to what might be called the official close of the Presbyterian era, when the Dramatic Association of the Col­ lege of New Jersey was founded in 1883.

1. 2.

And as has already been

John Witherspoon, A Serious Enquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Stage, pp. l-5l. Thomas j. Wettenbaker, Princeton 1746-1896. p. 55.

26 noted, the probability ie that a number of performances have gone unrecorded. The Commencement Programs It is of course an over-simplification to say that the rise of the theatre In Princeton is in direct ratio to the decline of Presbyterianism.

In the first place, under certain conditions

and on their own terms, the Presbyterians themselves not only permitted but even encouraged dramatic activity.

In the second

place, other factors besides Puritan antagonism kept the develop*ment of dramatic art in Princeton behind that of the country at large.

The town's relatively remote location has already been

pointed out.

Herbert McAneny suggests in addition the lack of

adequate stage accomodations, and the probability that the size of the community made it too small to be worth the while of travelling theatrical companies.'1' Yet the major elements for making vigorous theatre were present from the moment of the establishment of the College of New Jersey at Princeton. resolutely earthly group.

The majority of the students were a Such diaries as John Buhler's and the

savage and obscene attacks on both faculty and fellow students which appeared In surreptitiously-published Rakes and WhangDoodle a are testimony to the wide-spread student contempt for the brand of godliness which characterized the administration and which that administration attempted to force on its students.

1.

Herbert McAneny, "Some Notes on Princeton Amusements, Civil War to 1887,” p. 15

27 Nor was the resistance merely verbal*

Early in the

nineteenth century an Infernal machine, hollowed out from a huge log of wood and loaded with over two pounds of gunpotifder, was exploded In the main entrance of Nassau Hall*

"So great

was the force of the exfCLosion that the walls of the venerable building were cracked from top to bottom*

broken glass fell In

showers, and a flying chunk of the torpedo was driven through the door of the prayer hall*"

On another occasion in 1817 "the

students proceeded to wreak their vengeance on the building* The furniture in the prayer hall, their pet aversion, was smashed beyond recognition* • .Pistols were fired from the windows, and 1 cutlasses were brandished at the retreating faculty*" And that a considerable portion of the general public were similarly free from pious inhibitions is apparent from the descriptions of a Princeton Commencement day*

Coming directly

after harvest time, Commencement was a sort of rural New Tear's day for the whole countryside*

Throngs of people who would not

be caught Inside the chapel turned the whole town into a country fair at its worst*

Booths and vehicles lined Nassau Street,

selling refreshments and liquor*

Stockton Street was turned

into a race track down which the gayer blsdes "whooped and bellowed and guffawed as their horses showed their speed." Often the din nearly broke up the Commencement exercises at the old First Church.

On all sides the crowds matched pennies,

ate, drank, fiddled, and danced.

1* Norris, o p * clt*. pp* 133-7

President John MacLean

28 remembered as a boy watching a bull-baiting on the college grounds while the exercises were going on In the church** As early as 1801 the profane segment of the population was large enough that there arose among leading citizens a serious (though unsuccessful) attempt to build a theatre In town*

This profane segment never disappeared from the community,

and it kept alive a feeble dramatic fire through the decades until 1883* All things considered, it is no mere accident that the beginnings of a thriving continuous program of dramatic activity (1S8S) coincides so closely with the University's final break with Presbyterlanlsm (1897),

When this break occurred, the

other obstructions to an active theatre life In the community were soon removed*

Neither the rdfctively small size of the

town nor its remote location checked a varied program of both professional and amateur activities and money was found to create suitable stage accomodations*

It will, therefore, be

no mistake to consider the decline of Presbyterlanlsm in the college as a significant factor in preparing the ground for the rise of the theatre*

And finally, it will not be inappro­

priate to point out several interesting analogies between the era of Presbyterlanlsm in Princeton and the period in the early Middle Ages when the theatre was under the extreme dis­ pleasure of the Catholic Church* One of these parallels is the importance in both eras,

1. Ibid.* p. 170 2* wertenbaker, o p * clt** p* 197

29 of certain quasi-theatrical activities in keeping alive the dramatic spark.

Of these activities, the Commencement exercis­

es of the College of New Jersey take first place. itself was a pageant type.

The ceremony

Crowds of friends, relatives, and

dignitaries poured into town.

Stagecoaches were jammed; many

people came in private carriages or on horseback.

Noisy men,

women, children, and vendors milled about Nassau Street. On the Church rostrum sat trustees, faculty and distin­ guished guests.

The building itself was packed to the galleries

with gaily dressed women, alumni, and townspeople.

After the

President's opening prayer, the Latin salutatory was followed by the English salutatory.

Interspersed with selections by a

Philadelphia band, came a long succession of "eloquent harangues on moral science, belles-lettres, military characters, the character of statesmen, etc. . . .The exercises concluded with the conferring of the degrees, the valedictory oration, prayer, and benediction.II’L The whole atmosphere of pomp and elegance may be gleaned by a quotation from a contemporary newspaper: The exercises were introduced by 1) an elegant salutatory oration In Latin, pronounced by Mr. James Manning. 2) The young gentlemen gave an agreeable specimen of their skill in Disputation, which was carried on alternately in the syllogis­ tic and forensic way. . .To relax the attention of the audience, an English oration on politeness was pronounced by Mr. Joseph Perlam, which gave universal satisfaction for the justness of its sentiments, the elegance of the composition;**, and the propriety with which it was delivered. . The whole concluded with a Poetical Entertainment given by the candidates for Bachelor's degree,

1.

Ibid.. pp. 212-213

30 Interspersed with choruses of Music, which, with the whole performance of the day, afforded univer-. sal satisfaction to a polite and crowded auditory.1 And a second quotation perhaps even heightens the effect (Penn­ sylvania Journal, no* 983, October 8^ 1761): The Reverend Mr. President Finley, having been initiated into his Office since the last Commence­ ment, thought proper to answer the expectations of the Publick, by an oration from himself. . . With this the Entertainments of the afternoon began; and the composition was made up with such Purity of Diction; flowing and harmonious periods; the pro­ nunciation so exact and elegant, that no one but so great a Master of the Roman language as this gentle­ man evidently is, could have effected it. . .with pleasure the Patrons of the seat of the Muses once more behold the Presidents Chair honorably filled. • * .Mr. Kerr concluded the whole with a Handsome Latin Oration on the Misapplication of Genius.2 On the stage were to be found not only glamour and spectacle, but also that Indispensable seed to a flowering theatre, humor. Reports the Pennsylvania Gazette for October 9, 1760:

,

Then followed a Latin Syllogistic Dispute, wherein the Respondent held, that Sermo prlmltus ab Inspira­ tions dlvlna Origenem duxifci which was weTT maintained and opposed* when this was concluded, Mr. Benjamin Rush arose, and in a very sprightly enter­ taining Manner, delivered an ingenious English Harrangue in Praise of Oratory* • .The singing of an Ode on Science, composed by the President of the College, concluded the Forenoon Exercise.3

The Mew Jersey Gazette of October 4, 1784, reports a double header

1*

2* 3.

John R* Williams, Sources for Commencement Notices. pages unnumbered* Perhaps, before taking too great a flight in romantic fancy, the reader should consider the description of Commencement given by the then editor of the Prlncetonlan. Woodrow Wilson, in 1879, as quoted by McAneny, op. clt.. p. 22: *The Commencement exercises. • .are about as ’flat, stale, and unprofitable* as the most ardent admirers of mediocrity could wish* They drag along from ten o ’clock until two with a drowsy stream of so-called oratory. • .Relatives, when anyone but their own peculiar pet is speaking, drift off into a promiscuous whispering* • .The sun beats down on the roof of the church until the interior is as hot as an oven.” Etc. Williams, op. clt*. pages unnumbered. Ibid* w pages unnumbered*

31 in humor: “a humorous description of a machine for making panegyricks, by Mr, Gondict," and "a humorous and satirical essay on the abuses that take place in a variety of characters, by

1

Mr, Spencer,’1

On October 2, 1786, the same paper records "an

ironical essay on the absurdity of the mathematicks and the science of demonstration, by Mr. william Gordon Foreman," and the New York Journal and Political Intelligence for October 10, 1787, tells of "an oration consisting of ironical comparison of the ancients and the moderns, pretending to Illustrate the 2 superiority of the latter, by Mr, Gibson." As early as 1837 the Princeton Whig reports In connection with Commencement ceremonies and the Fourth of Jul^ a real folk3 theatre ritual in the parades of the Fantasticals, The exercises end about four o'clock and then the streets present the appearance of a carnival, especially about five o'clock when the Fantasticals appear, careering up and down the streets at break­ neck speed, and affording inrinite mirth and amuse­ ment to the spectators. This society, amounting to about thirty or forty, is reorganized every year under the appellation of the Chevaliers Fantastiques, They procure superb dresses of every kind from the fancy ball costumes of wew York and Philadelphia, and Impersonate a great variety of characters: Turks, Cavaliers, Bloomers, Officers, clowns, Indians, Monks, etc • The Dialogue Form at Princeton In 1759 the pageantry of ’-’oramennement added another feature which brought It closer Mercury of

to the theatre.

The New York

October 1 Introduces it thus: Yesterday the annual Commencement was held here.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Ibid., pages IbTd.T pages Ibid.. pages C. H. Scharf

unnumbered unnumbered unnumbered and J. B. Henry, Collegian's Manual. p. 236

. •

32 The Reverend Ur* Samuel Davies, lately elected President of the College of New Jersey, delivered a Latin oration to the universal applause of all his learned and numerous listeners* The young gentlemen (about twenty five In number) who were admitted to the usual degrees in the Arts, performed the accustomed exercises with uncommon Facility and Correctness* The whole ceremony was concluded with the following Ode* set tp music by Mr. James Lyon, one of the students*1 The ode is a remarkable document* To understand It, one must « realize that the French and Indian War was in progress, but that that war had made almost no Impact on the State of Hew Jersey* The fighting was being done somewhere else by somebody else, a condition which evidently met with the complete approval of the author* ^ Cheearful, fearless, and at ease. On the downy Lap of Peace, In the gentle Muses Seat, TJnmov'd at War's tremendous Roar. * • Peaceful Nassau In thee we sing, We sing great George upon the throne, And Amherst brave in Arms* • • Happy, happy still Safe from the Alarms of ill, While George, the Friend of Man, adorns the Throne, And Aimerst shines in Arms* • .3 Music, group singing, and a martial subject (even if a somewhat complacent spirit) all come closer to dramatic fare* A second ode in the same tradition was The Military Glory of Ore at Britain, presented in 1762.

Here the performance comes

even closer to the formal play, for after the opening chorus: Triumphant Fame, ascend the skies, Ever glorying in our isle, Loud proclaim o*er distant Realms, How British Power and Glory rise appear the following directions: "Enter the first speaker,

1* Williams, on. clt*. pages unnumbered 2. Fisher, op* clt.. p. 190 3. Williams, o p . clta *_ pages unnumbered

33 proclaiming Brlttanla's conquest by way of introduction to the next speech*

Enter second speaker, who enumerates several of

the important conquests of Great Britain, with Encomiums on some 1 of the principal generals*n These speeches were apparently extemporaneous, or written after the rest of the ode, for they are not printed in the text*

Here, although it is doubtful that

the dialogue was either brilliant or fascinating,

’

is a chorus-

and-speakers kind of performance which must have presented interesting likenesses to primitive Greek drama* The following year appeared A Dialogue on Peace, its author, as in the work above, unknown*

It attacks the problem

of War and Peace, and concludes that both are part of the plans of God In His infinite and inscrutable wisdom*

Its philosohpy is

expressed in the following concluding passage: You've seen when from the West a blackening Storm, Implete with all the Magazine of Heaven Has wrapped in baleful darkness half the Globe; Down rushed the loosened Oceans of the Sky, And swept amain the Labors of the Tear, A hundred thunders bellow*d round the Pole Incens'd with livid lightnings: Nature groans, And universal ruin rends the world* But what a joyful scene succeedsl where first The tempest rav'd, the skies begin to smile* The sun once more salutes the Plains; and soon The whole Horizon wears a brighter Face* The grassy fields in gayer verdue shine, And ev'ry Hill and Vale confess their Joy; Such are the pleasures of returning Peace* • • Glory, Joy, triumphant Praise For ever tune our grateful Lays,

1.

Candidates for the Bachelor's Degree, The Military Glory of Great Britain, pages unnumbered* Robert Ball suggests this may be the first produced completely original American play* Giistavus Vasa was written by Benjamin Coleman of Harvard in 1896,' TSut evidence that it was actually produced he considers doubtful* The "pastoral colloquy" presented in 1702 at William and Mary may have been merely a recitation* The Military Glory, though exceedingly primitive, could be called a play since it has dialogue and entrances, and records show it was really performed. - See Robert H. Ball, The First Triangle Club Show, pp* 424-7*

Sound abroad The Wondrous God, ^ Who rules by such mysterious ways* A third dialogue appeared in 1765 with the title Liberty* It is perhaps chiefly significant In revealing how early the idea of Independence took root at Princeton*

Another in 1772

entertained its listerners by discoursing on The Proper Employment 2 of the Time of Youth* The dialogue of 1780 bore the crisp title: The present state of the college and the prospect of its restora­ tion and of the revival of letters throughout America, along with the return of peace and the establishment of our Independence * It was performed by Abraham Venable and James Rosevelt* The ode delivered on October 7, 1771, Is of special interest because of its position in American literature*

Of its two

authors, H* H. Braokenrldge and Philip Freneau, the latter was destined to become "the first nationalist poet of America,11 "the poet of the R e v o l u t i o n , " o n e of the very earliest American writers to gain recognition across the Atlantic*"5

Structurally

The Rising Olory of America closely resembles The Military Glory of Great Britain, being a dialogue between Leander and Acasto, recounting the discovery of America, the French and Indian Wars, the rising glory of the colonies, and a prospect of its future

1* 2* 3*

4* 5*

Quoted by Robert Ball in The Prlncetonlan. February 7, 1930 Williams, o p * clt*. pages unnumbered Great-greaTT-grandFather of Franklin D* Roosevelt; great-greatgrandson of Claes Rosenvelt, founder of the clan from which both Franklin and Theodore descended* - Earl Schriftgelsser, The ftmazinfi Roosevelt Family. 1615-1942* New York: Wilfred Funk, inc.7 1942. pp. ix-xli The Encyclopedia Brltannloa, 1944, volume XII, p* 86 TEe Princeton Book, p. life

35 glory, notably In "science, in liberty, and in the gospel*" The ode, though not distinguished poetry itself, is full of the spirit which was to make the work of Preneau important*

It

begins: LEANDER No more of Athens, where she flourished, And saw her sons of mighty genius rise* * * No more of Britain, and her kings renown*d. • • A theme more new, tho' not less noble, claims Our ev'ry thought on this auspicious day; The rising glory of this western world. • • The ode proceeds, with each bard urging the other on to further accounts of the history of America in similarly lengthy speeches and flowery style*

Toward the end appears the following

threatening notes LEANDER And here fair freedom shall forever reign* I see a train, a glorious train appear, Of patriots plac'd in equal fame with those Who nobly fell for Athens or for Rome* The sons of Boston, resolute and Brave, The firm supporters of our injur'd rights, Shall lose their splendors in the brighter beams Of patriots fam'd and heroes yet unborn* Considered as drama, this poem Is devoid of action*

Yet

it most nearly follows the theatre form of any ode spoken from the Princeton Commencement stage, and Its spirit of rebellion and assertion of the will are the most nearly dramatic* A few years after his graduation from the College of New Jersey, Hugh H* Brackenridge, co-author of The Rising Glory, became an Instructor at Somerset Acddemy in Maryland*

1*

For his

Hugh H* Brackenridge and Philip Freneau, The Rising Glory of America* pp. 1-26

students here he wrote two more speaking exercises*!

Because

Brackenridge was a Princeton graduate, because he was obviously following the line of thought which started while he was in college (The Battle of Bunkers Hill is dedicated to Richard Stockton, at that time a member of the Continental Congress, in gratitude for Stockton's many kindnesses to him at Princeton), and because these exercises still more resembled the form of the theatre, they must be considered in the study of the Dialogue Form at Princeton* The first of these exercises, The Battle of Bunkers Hill, written in 1776, nwas first drawn up for an exercise in Oratory, to a number of young Gentlemen in a southern Academy, but now being published, may serve the same purpose in other American seminaries•"

The author's note to the public in The

Death of General Montgomery, might well serve as a preface to both works*

4

1.

It is my request that the following Dramatic Composition may be considered only as a school piece* For though it is written with strictest attention to the unities of time, place, and action, yet it differs materially from the greater part of those modern dramatic performances which have obtained the name of Tragedy* It is Intended for the private entertainment of gentlemen of taste and mart1*1 enterprise, but by no means for exhibition on the stage* 1 meddle not with any of the effeminating passions, but consecrate my muse to the great themes of patriotic virtue,

Oral S. Ooad and Edwin Mims, Jr., The American Stage, p. 23

37 bravery, and heroism*1 The note bristles with antagonism to the stage and all thdt pertains thereto*

Yet It Is Indeed written "with strictest

attention to the unities*"

It has five formal acts, and a

speaking cast of ten. A few lines from the first speech In The Battle of Bunkers Hill will give the general tone of the dialogue In both compositions! This mighty Aera, big with dread Alarms, Aloud calls each AMERICAN to arms* Let ev'ry Breast with martial ardor glow, Nor dread to meet the proud usurper foe. • • TJnfadlng laurels deck the Martyr’s tomb: A sure reward awaits his soul on high* Hardly pithy, or smacking of the street, but withal a good deal of spirit behind Its fustian*

And It has a clear-cut plot*

In Act I the heroic Americans, Warren and Putnam, vaunt their Indignation at the treachery of the vllldhous Gage, who promised kind treatment to the Americans who surrendered to him, and then brutally treated them*

The American- generals

plan a sneak approaoh to Bunkers Hill, which they will then fortify, and from It harass the British navy*

In Act II,

Gage, Howe, and Burgoyne plan in turn to attack the Americans* In Act III, the Americans fortify the hill*

In Act VI, the

British discover the Americans on Bunkers Hill, and launch an attack*

In Act V the battle rages*

Unfortunately the action

1. Hugh H* Brackenridge, The Death of General Montgomery In the Storming of the City of Quebec* p* 5

38 consists entirely of messengers rushing In with with news and out with orders.

Bat Warren falls, mortally wounded, andhhasi.

a stage direction to.' hold his hand over his heart and clasp his musket.

Dying, he urges his men to greater efforts.

Even­

tually, the Americans are overpowered by numbers and retreat, but not until they have Inflicted fearful havoc on the enemy. In the final scene, Burgoyne muses sadly that this has been A scene like which, perhaps, no time shall know Till Heaven with final ruin fires the ball, Burns up the cities, and works of men, . And wraps the mountains in one gen'ral blaze. The Death of General Montgomery in the Storming of the City of Quebec, composed the following year, records the dis­ aster of the American expedition in Canada.

It begins with an

account (through conversation) of how the fiendish Britons shared a meal of a roasted Bostonian with their Indian allies. The ghost of Wolfe appears, bemoans and disowns the degenerate contemporary Englishmen whom he finds swarming the city.

The

Americans make their magnifleant assault (again conversation­ ally), the future traitor, Benedict Arnold, fights gloriously for his countrymen and is wounded. icans'are defeated.

But all is vain.

The Amer­

Carleton offers them generous terms if

they surrender, but when they do so, true to form, he revels in his vicious abuse of them. 9

Neither work has the action without which any dialogue is a dead husk, the dialogue in each is stilted, and the char­ acters are stock black-and-white creations.

Yet the story in

* each is genuinely dramatic and well-cnnstructed, and the whole

1. Hugh H. Brackenridge, The Battle of Bunkers Hill, passim

39 has an heroic, even If bombastic sweep* It would seem then that Princeton owes a debt to the college dialogue for helping to nourish, the theatre1s seed until such days as the winter of Puritan disapproval were to thaw, and the plant could grow and keep alive by Its own power. Nor was this all*

On one page of his essay on the stage,

John Witherspoon makes a surprising statement: I believe It Is very possible to write a treatise in the form of a Dialogue, in which the general rules of the Drama are observed, which shall be as holy and serious, as any sermon that was ever preached or printed* Neither Is there any apparent Impossibility in getting different persons to assume different characters and rehearse It in society* But it may be safely affirmed that If all plays were of that kind, and human nature continue In Its present state, the doors of the playhouse would shut of., their own accord, because nobody would demand access* The performances just reviewed are obvious examples of such "holy and serious" enterprise.

That they were also an important If

little recognized link in the network of subterfuges by which enterprising producers In the eighteenth century overcame Puritan opposition to their trade, is apparent from an old New England hand bill, which advertises Othello as "A Moral Dialogue in Five Parts."** Although such a handbill Is amusing, It must seem Incredible that a population could really be deceived by it, until one realizes that the "Moral Dialogue" was not only a current theological conception, blessed by even the stern antitheatrlcalist Dr. Witherspoon, but that It hdd an actual existence

1* Witherspoon, op* clt*, p* 11 2. William W. Clapp."TTRecord of the Boston Stage, pp. 8-10

40 on such places as the oratorical platforms of the Puritan seats of learning*

From such a background, the gap to Othello as a

moral dialogue Is smaller than It seems today* Summary Presbyterian Princeton followed the lead of Quaker Princeton and paralleled the history of rural America In opposing the professional theatre, essentially for religious reasons*

As

elsewhere In America, this opposition was tinder pressure from the profane elements in the community - elements In the complexion of even Its most Godly citizens*

A College of

New Jersey Commencement Dialogue, The Military Glory of Great Britain Is possibly the first produced entirely original American play.

CHAPTER IV COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY THEATRICALS (1772-1882) The First Recorded Play In Princeton The first recorded formal dramatic production within the city limits of Princeton is also part of a Commencement program* The Pennsylvania Gazette for October 14, 1772, reportss On Monday, the 28th, the Grammar School at Nassau Hall was examined, and the scholars acquitted them­ selves greatly to the Satisfaction of the gentlemen who were pleased, to attend. The Senior Class, ten In number, were admitted Into the Freshman Class in the College. In the evening, this class performed a dramatic piece in Latin, before a numerous and learned audience •x This announcement obviously brings up the question, ttHow is it possible for a dramatic performance to be sponsored by the very people who have been the foremost opponents of theatre art?"

For a plausible answer It is necessary to look back into

barller stages of English history. JWlth the introduction of the Quern Quaeritis trope into the Easter Mass of the Catholic Church in the ninth century, there began a serious and optimistic attempt to utilize the theatre for pious purposes.2

This same serious purpose and

optimism continued.at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. As Puritan opposition to the stage rose and mounted, both unl­

it. 2.

John R. Williams, Sources for Commencement Notices, pages unnumbered. John Q. Adams, Chief Pre-Shakespearean Dramas. passim.

versities eventually presented a united Puritan front against professional actors*

"They come vpon the stage," writes Will&am

Gager in 1592, "of a lewd, vast, dissolute, wicked, impudent, prodigall, monstrous humor, whereof no dowte ensued greate cor­ ruption of manners in them selves, to say nothing heere of the behowlders."'*'

But on the other hand, each university was split

within itself regarding the propriety of amateur performances by its own members*

The Chancellor of Oxford lent his name in

July 1584 to a ; t cute against "common stage players," but he pointed out expressly that this act was not to mean "that the Tragedies, Comedies," and the "shews. • • set forth by Universitye men should be forbedden," but "as commendable and great furderances to Learning" they should "be continued at set times and increased."

This statement was typical of the attitude of

university administrators at that time.

But as the Puritan tide

swelled, in each oollege arose a group eager to push this bah upon professional acting to performances of any kind, and to forbid even the soul-uplifting dramas that had been sanctioned by saintly Martin Bucer. This new point of view was ably set forth in 1592 by a Puritan leader named John Rainolds, whose arguments are essential ly those of Dr. Witherspoon, applied to all stage representations To Rainolds* position however, William Gager took exception. Speaking of academic performances in contrast to those of pro­ fessionals, he decliares, "We contrarywise doe it to recreate owre

IV

Frederick S. Boas, University Drama in the Tudor Age, p. 235.

43 selves, owre House, and the better part of the Vniversitye, with some' learned Pee f o r e x a m p l e I b i d . . N o v e m b e r Ibid., N o v e m b e r 9, 1 9 3 9 . i b i d . , J a n u a r y 14, 19 2 4 . Ibid.-, J u n e 18, 1 9 2 4 . . : I b i d . , F e b r u a r y 14, 1929. i b i d ., F e b r u a r y 10, 193 0.

13,

1923.

But

147 then It seemed Indeed a dream well worth a twenty-year wait for fulfillment.

It would house 1,080 people.

There are only three hundred balcony seats although boxes have been eliminated. Comfortable chairs equipped with plush backs and leather seats have been especially selected. Because the orchestra pit Is so deep, seated musicians will not be seen by the audience and their lights will not detract from the stage effects. The Interior of the theatre Is Georgian in design with heavy, beamed ceilings. In the foyer back of the balcony the windows are fitted with stained glass depicting the history of drama. Greek, Egyptian, Japanese, Chinese, and American Indian forerunners of the present stage are represented In the figures as well as characters of the medieval, Elizabethan, and eighteenth century schools. Devoting the greatest care to constructing a stage modern In every respect, the builders have provided one that is ninety by forty-four feet with a pro­ scenium of forty-two feet. There are ninety feet of clearance beneath the roof to permit the handling of scenery and curtains. Not only are spotlights and footlights located In the projection room at the rear of the balcony, but spotlights have also been installed in the beams above the auditorium. Further light will be thrown upon the stage from a movable bridge above It. Beneath the stage is a , large scenery construction room and smoking lounge. The building* s first play performance took place February 30, 1930, with The Golden Dog.

The most notable moment of the

evening was shared between Logan and a later professional col­ league, Ai'.N. Dalrymple.

In the second act a stairway broke down,

and the two actors momentarily disappeared from view.

As they

emerged, Logan remarked, "That1 s the way things go, Limollu." Few people knew this really was his next line.

2

The next night the capacity-filled theatre was formally dedicated.

Unable to be present himself, Mr. McCarter wired

oongratulations to his namesake building.

Architect D. K. Este

Fisher handed the keys of the building over to President Hibben

1. 2.

Loc. cit. Program of Once Over Lightly

148 who In turn presented the Playhouse to the Triangle Club In the person of Dr* Stuart*

"After one has waited thirty years

for such a moment," replied the Professor, "one hardly knows what to say*

One thing Is true, and that Is that I have stage

fright* " 1 The Triangle Club to the Close of the Stuart Era Vlth his new theatre, Stuart set out at once on another non-musical drama, S. N. Behrman's The Second Man.

In the

review which followed, the actors themselves received merely a listing of their names*

Most of the column was given to

comments on the setting by designer Norris Houghton 1931* It clearly surpasses any scenery presented before by a Princeton amateur organization and rivals the best that the professional field can produce* Its first appearance last night was the signal for a spontaneous burst of applause* Brilliant In its perfection of detail and in harmony of color, the stage presents the perfect set as a background for the play itself*2 Far less spectacular is the first mention of the next future celebrity, a young accordian player named James Stewart* :"u

'

The Prlncetonlan describes the occasion: Last night in Alexander Hall another large gathering of Freshmen assembled to hear a highly amusing speeoh by J* A* Logan 1931, President of the Triangle Club, and join In Princeton songs and cheers* The meeting, which was conducted by the Uhdergraduate Council, was over In an hour, but during that hour, between songs and yells, was Interspersed a high grade of

1. Ibid., February 22, 1930 2* fbld*. May 2, 1930

149 entertainment* Logan's speech drew laugh after laugh from his delighted audience, and although dur­ ing the opening scene he said little of lasting merit, he closed with a serious explanation of the part played by the Triangle Club and the Theatre Intime In University life* He had difficulty with his initial remarks, owing to the competition offered by the Triangle accordlan artists R* M* Perry and J* M. Stewart, both 1932, who insisted on tuning up at the wrong moments* * •Perry and Stewart then gave an accordlan duet of popular tunes and. received a tremendous hand for their performance* 1 This same accordlan player took the role of Bruce, the hero, in the 1930 Triangle show by JoBhua Logan, Samuel H. lams, and Harry 1!. Kennedy, The Tiger Smiles*

Here was another imag­

inative use of regional materials, for The Tiger Smiles opens and closes in the nineties at Princeton; the middle section soars into the future*

In both eras the atmosphere is authentic,

not only of Princeton in the past, but even of what might be called the eternal Princeton.

The plot is well knit, even If

not perfect, and the style shows a marked advance in maturity over its predecessors*

The whole is integrated by satiric

comment on various phases of higher Education*

In the Princeton

of the future a student spends seven years writing a thesis on "The Behavior of a Frog During the Eclpise of 1942*"

The

theses are too profound for any professor to have any knowledge of them*

They are graded by the beauty of their binding.

Colleges are standardized: graduates even look alike*

1* Ibid*. October 1, 1930

The r e v o l u t i o n a r y r e t u r n to l o c a l scene's and l o c a l ­ ize d w i t t i c i s m s . . .is re f r e s h i n g ; it w o u l d not be s u r p r i s i n g to see t h e I n n o v a t i o n t a k e n u p b y other c o l l eg e clubs. T h e ’’‘c h o r e o g r a p h i c e f f e c t s of '’S c h e d ­ u l e ” in the b e s t m a n n e r of the m o d e r n M o s c o w ballet, sc or ed a w e l l - d e s e r v e d triumph. . . C e r t a i n f e a t u r e s of W i l b u r "Wilkins’ n r o p h e t i c v i s i o n are too h o T r i b l e to jqont enrol ate, I n c l u d i n g the salient f e a t u r e s of two m i l l i o n e n r o l l m e n t , the No C o u r s e Plan, the c o n s o l i d a t i o n w i t h a c h a i n of u n i v e r s i t i e s . B u t the t e r r o r s of the f ut ure as p r e s e n t e d in The T i g e r S m i l e s should th r o w some p r e c i o u s light u p o n t h o s e m u c h b e l a b o r e d sub jects of the M o u l d e r s of C a m p u s Opi ni ons f o o t b a l l and f o o t b a l l tickets, the d i f f i c u l t i e s of the curriculum, the a l l e ged p l a g u e of p r o f e s s i o n a l p e d a n t r y . It is a g r a n d show, b r i l l i a n t and original. The d a n c e s f or this r e m a r k a b l e p r o d u c t i o n w e r e c o a c h e d b y Ted Shawn.

Mr.

Logan,

says the critic,

”Mr. D a l r y m p l e ’s I n i m i t a b l e of d o w a g e r s was

"rose to new h e i g h t s , ” and

satire u p o n the c o y n e s s

so h i l a r i o u s

t hat o n e ’s m i r t h is t e m p e r e d w i t h

s a d n es s to c o n s i d e r t hat w h e n he l eav es Prin ce ton , will be bereft

of a w o r t h y

Mr. J u l i a n E l t i n g e r . ”

and gra ce

the w o r l d

s u c c e s s f o r to Mr. M e i - L a n - F a n g or

A n o t h e r man,

whose

c a r e e r w a s to b e

c l o s e l y i n t e r t w i n e d w i t h L o g a n ’s e v e n to the p r e s e n t day,"1* ros e to g l o r y o n this nig ht w h e n M y r o n M c C o r m i c k ’s " i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the stole

'sick fish,' the

show."

the e t e r n a l l y t u r n i n g e a r t h worm,

nearly

2

S p a n i s h B l a d e s by D a v i d S. M c M i l l a n and S a m u e l H, Is of l i t t l e i n t e r e s t

as a libretto,

three of i t s p e r f o r m e r s d e s e r v e First,

Ted Shawn's windmill

"a b r i l l i a n t if exoti c b i t . ” voice brought

but

lams

the c o n t r i b u t i o n s of

at leas t p a s s i n g at t e n t i o n .

and d r a g o n b a l l e t Second,

was p r a i s e d as

J i m S t e w a r t ’s " p le asi ng

out all the q u a l i t y o f - ' D a y a f t e r D a y 1 w h i c h you

1. S o u t h P a c i f i c w i t ^ M y r o n M c C o rmi ck ; d i r e c t e d b y J o s h u a L o g a n 2. T h e P r l n c e t o n l a n . D e c e m b e r 18, 1930

(and y o u year.

and you) will b e

No, Jim, you're n o t

singing 'jus t

in

a

of fate, *but a public b e n e f a c t o r , shower." And last,

the

slipping for

another y o u n g m a n

the

for

song

is just

Club before

of H o l l y w o o d .

the

next

g a r t e r on t h e

lingered

to I d e n t i f y himself w it h t h e T r i a n g l e of s c h o o l for the glamors

showers

Nick

half long

leg

the enough

dropping

(or D i c k )

out

Foran,

a little S o p h o m o r e , p r a c t i c a l l y r a n a w a y w i t h th e show, somewhat to t h e a n n o y a n c e (It is to b e s u p p o s e d ) of the more e x p e r i e n c e d m e m b e r s of t h e ca s t . We shall d o u b t l e s s f i n d h i m , a f e w y e a r s h e n c e , o r n a ­ menting the r o s t e r of t h e M e t r o p o l i t a n O p e r a u n d e r an Italianate p s e u d o n y m . H i s p a r t In S p a n i s h Blades while d if ficult, g a v e h i m l i t t l e o p p o r t u n i t y to show that acting a b i l i t y w h i c h m a d e h i m f a m o u s b e f o r e he left prep s c h o o l . 1 T h e November 19, 1931 ,

Issue

of

The

that t h e Pied Pipers o r c h e s t r a w i l l p l a y Park.

It was led by a small,

slender,

Princeton!an

over

WCAP

announces

In Asbury

shy y o u n g man,

who

was

too t i m i d to try out for a p a r t i n a p l a y u n t i l h i s t h i r d y e a r 2 in c o l l e g e . But in 1932'.s show, I t ' s t h e V a l e t b y W. R. V a n Liew,

the

Frontin,

erstwhile o r c h e s t r a

leader

the lead, and t h u s h u r l e d

found himself

into

what

tical o p i n i o n calls the m o s t d i s t i n g u i s h e d ton a c t o r s .

In later y e a r s J o s e F e r r e r

years w e r e my happiest, w h i c h more

t h a n anything else t o

friends, The p l a y ,

fond memories,

is

the T r i a n g l e

and what

is

a good

Ibid.. December 17, 19(31 Tr'ogram of It's the Valet 3*. Prbgrara of Once Over' Liglhtly

contemporary

career

remarked, question, Club

account

of

cri­

all

Prince­

"If m y

college

it

Is d u e

which gave me

sneeringly

a story of the F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n ,

than no th i n g , but Ferrer g a v e

2•

open to

playing

called

close

a career."

again matters of h i m s e l f ,

less and

m h i a p a s s i o n a t e love of t h e at re u n q u e s t i o n a b l y d a t e s f r o m

that

e v e n i n g •” .^ O n M a y 22,

1933, Dr. S t u a r t

once m o r e w h e e d l e d h is charges

onto the 'non^teualociL stage w i t h a p r o d u c t i o n of N o e l C o w a r d ' s P r i v a t e Lives.

This p r o d u c t i o n w as m o s t

Stuart's

experiment

artist.

W e n d y Atkin,

of G i l b e r t

of m i n g l i n g w i t h h i s

s i g n i f i c a n t b e c a u s e of s tu dents

w h o p l a y e d A m a n d a Pryn ne ,

M i l l e r ' s P e t e r Pa n c o m p a n y i n London,

w i t h th e C o m e d i e F r a n c ais e,

and A m e r i c a n

a professional

was a veteran Mollere

performances

comedies

of F a r q u h a r ' s

2 The R e c r u i t i n g O f f i c e r and S o p h o c l e s E l e c t r a . H e a r i n g that the T r i a n g l e C lu b w a s t a c k l i n g his opus, Mr.

Coward predicted,

matter

of fact,

" T h e y 111 have t r o u b l e w i t h i t . ”

the p e r f o r m a n c e s

A n d the c o m b i n a t i o n of amate ur marked

But as a

s e e m to hav e g o n e off v er y well.

and p r o f e s s i o n a l w a s a p p a r e n t l y a

success. The lines, t a k e n b y t h e m s e lve s, are e x t r e m e l y e n t e r ­ taining, but w i t h o u t t h o s e o v e r t o n e s s u p p l i e d b y p r e c i s e i n t o n a t i o n and exa ct g es ture, the larg er p a r t of th e i r c h a r m w o u l d be l ost . . .Miss A t k i n w as able t h r o u g h o u t the e n t i r e p l a y to c o n v i n c e us that i n c es san t b i c k e r i n g w i t h c e r t a i n p e o p l e m i g h t not af te r all b e such a t i r e s o m e p r o c e d u r e . The skill w i t h w h i c h she r e f l e c t e d the m e r c u r i a l ch ang es of A m a n d a ' s t e m p e r a m e n t w a s a p l e a s u r e to behold, and at n o time was she at a l o s s for the p r o p e r e m o ­ ti o n a l r e a c t i o n . • .Mr. F e r r er, h a v i n g c r e a t e d a m e m o r a b l e f i g u r e as t he M a r x i a n valet, c h a n g e s e f f o r t l e s s l y to t h e s o p h i s t i c a t e d role of E lyot. H e h a s h a p p i l y f o r g o t t e n the T r i a n g l e show a n d shows h i m s e l f e q u a l l y c a p a b l e of l i v i n g a pfolished, if s l i g h t l y mad, e x i s t e n c e i n f a s h i o n a b l e seaside r e s o r t s and Pa r i s a p a r t m en ts, as of c a v o r t i n g t h r o u g h the i n t r i c a c i e s of the F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n .

T h e ne'xb d a y a second r e vie w d e c l a r e d :

1. The,Princetonian. December 15, 1932 2. ffbId . Mar ch 8. 19 35. 3. ibid.vllarch 24, 1933

153 M i a s Atkin. . .and Mr. F e r r e r . . . c a r r y o f f the m a j o r honors. Alone in the s e c o n d a c t f o r a l l b u t a f e w seconds they tea m b e a u t i f u l l y . B o t h a re p e r f e c t in voice and g e s t u r e . Miss A t k i n adapts h e r s e l f charmingly to h e r r o l e , a n d is a t o n c e l o v e l y a n d technically perfect; t h e r e a r e t i m e s h o w e v e r , e s p e c i a l l y in the third act, w h e n M r . F e r r e r c o m ­ p l e t e l y dominates the stag e. F i e s t a , D e c e m b e r 15, 1933, w a s L. Dunning and

the

the

collaboration

future s c r e e n - w r i t e r , R i n g W.

In the familiar r o u t ine fashion It t e l l s

of

Lardner,

a s e a r c h for

treasure in R a c i e n d a del Oro on the B r a z o s R i v e r the early 1 8 9 0 * s.

Complications a r i s e w i t h

between hero a n d heroine, organizer.

But

and the m u r d e r

of

On M a r c h 15,

1934, Dr. Stuart

A c c o r d i n g t o Lucius Beebe,

Mr. Ferrer's,

and

his work almost

I t was apparent

that

searching p a r t y ’s

he

fails

In

his

play,

and

after.®

- this

the

time G o o d b y e ”the

e v e n i n g was

audience

enjoyed

as much as he did h i m s e l f . ” last

Bowing to b r o k e n health, he t u r n e d

his favorite c h i l d

to Joshua Logan,

Broadway to d i r e c t

Stags at Bay.

coach tradition w a s

who

w i t h the

over

came

Fro m this

the

Although D r .

continued his t e a c h i n g until 1941,

Ibid., M a r c h 25, 1933 Ibid.. D e c e m b e r 4, 1933 T H c T : . M a r c h 16, 1934

Stuart

Triangle

reigns

of

in d a i l y f r o m time

on

replaced by the f o r m e r p o l i c y

professional d i r e c t o r .

1. 2. 3.

the

once m o r e

This p r o d u c t i o n was Dr. S t u a r t ' s Club.

during

again presented members

of the Triangle C l u b in a regular p l a y Aga in.

burled

in T e x a s

in a n a m a t e u r

true love is r e u n i t e d to live h a p p i l y e v e r

Jr.

a falling-out

t h e murderer is t r a p p e d w h e n

attempt to p l a y a n embarrassing pa r t

o f J.

at

the

of

least

when he retired

faculty

imported nominally

and

shortly

154 th e rea ft er died,

he was u n a b l e any l o n g e r to carry

b u r d e n s of p r o d u c t i o n , scene in P r i n c e t o n . gies,

a n d n o w d i s a p p e a r s f r o m the t h e a t r e

A m a n of m a n y

one of the ea rl i e s t

arts college,

creator

t a l en ts a nd c e a s e l e s s e n e r ­

c h amp io ns

of t h e a t r e

at P r i n c e t o n ha d

a n d f r o m w h i c h f l o w e d a s t r e a m of talent p e r ­

hap s u n p a r a l l e l e d i n the h i s t o r y Dr* D o n a l d

in the libe ra l

and e x e c u t o r of a u n i q u e p l a n for d r a m a ­

tic t r a i n i n g - a p l a n u n d e r w h i c h the t h e a t r e its G o l d e n Age,

on the

Cliv e S t u a r t m u s t

of A m e r i c a n h i g h e r

education -

surely b e r e c k o n e d a m o n g the g i a n t s

In any h i s t o r y of the a c a d e m i c

theatre in America*

T h e T r i a n g l e C l u b to the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r F u t u r e B r o a d w a y l t e R i c h a r d B. the T r i a n g l e

stage in S t a g s at B a y b y K.

Roulon-Miller, Beebe

Cowdery first

D e c e m b e r 14,

Is p e r h a p s

1934*

The

A. B r o o k s

style

the only v e h i c l e a d e q u a t e

a p p e a r s on a n d B. 3?.

of r e v i e w e r L u c i u s

to d e s c r i b e

the plot:

It c o n c e r n s i t s e l f w i t h the p l i g h t of t h r e e stags h a i l i n g f r o m Ca mbridge, H e w H a ve n, and P r i n c eto n, w h o f i n d t h e m s e l v e s I s l a n d e d In the g e n t s r e t i r i n g r o o m of the RItz, i m m a c u l a t e in dress, f r a u g h t w i t h the v e r y w o r s t of I n t e n t i o n s t o w a r d the civil p e a c e and d e c e n c y in general, b u t d e v o i d of I n t e n t ­ i o n s to the v e r y o r c h i d a c e o u s H u t t w o r t h ' s swell f l a g r a i s i n g i n h o n o r of t h e i r d a u g h t e r that evening. N ot th a t this stops them. • .and t h e i r a d v e n t u r e s I n the P ol o F i e l d r e a c h e s of L o n g I s l a n d f u r n i s h the scheme f o r a seq ue nce of p l a t i n u m and g o o s e l i v e r i d i o c i e s as s pacious as t h e Hope Di am o n d . Be e b e f o u n d t h i s y e a r ' s

show "a cut

above the o t h e r u n d e r g r a d u a t e

didos

i n g e n e r a l ” and a w a r d e d " I n d i v i d u a l o r c h i d s ” to S. D. 1 J o h n s o n a n d R. M. Wood. O n M a y 10,

1.

1935,

the T r i a n g l e C l u b u n d e r t o o k anoth er ex-

Ibid.. December 15, 1934.

155 periment.

Combining f o r c e s with the Theatre

ers from Sarah Lawrence College, Holiday In McCarter T h e a t r e

Intime

and p l a y ­

it p r e s e n t e d P h i l i p B a r r y 1 a

"before a large

and. a p p r e c i a t i v e

audience." Although e v e r y b o d y had been l o o k i n g f o r w a r d to t h e production a n d had expected a g r e a t s u c c e s s , t h e polished a c t i n g and smooth m a n a g e m e n t e x c e e d e d e x ­ pectations* It provided a d i s t i n c t h i t w h i c h w i l l make history I n Sarah Lawrence a n d P r i n c e t o n d r a m a ­ tics* A ct ing before the original N e w Y o r k sets, the entire., ca s t gave a pe rf or m a n c e j u s t as p r o ­ fessional, S.

J. Quinn, A* D. Kinder,

efforts on the libretto of What a Relief t readable

of the Triangle

a good deal

and E. B. This

to date,and e v e n

as a

political s a t i r e .

Olympus, Jupiter is r u n n i n g for re-election.

today

retains

On Mount

in Agriculture

Navy f o r t h i r t y -

and Mrs. Ceres h as been in labor f o r

Word is sent In t h a t

the most

"Consider my

"Mr. Pericles has b e e n

fo r thirty years; Mr, N e p t u n e has been In t h e two years,

Is

shows

of its flavor

cabinet," he declaims,

A l e x a n d e r 'j o i n e d

forty years."

the Vice-President w a n t s

the president's office to

sleep in for the m o r n i n g ;

n o o n he can get the be n c h

of the Supreme C o u r t .

to bo r r o w In the

"Well,"

says

Jupiter, "tell h i m he w i l l have to be m i g h t y c a r e f u l w h e r e puts his feet, as the b o y s tution."

His secretary t e l l s him, "The h i g h w a y

to know what those statues aren't

are mighty touchy a b o u t

statues," Jupiter retorts.

Ibid.. May 11, 1935

he

Consti­

commission wants

are doing along t h e r o a d . "

"Those

"They're r e l i e f w o r k e r s . "

Jupiter Is discovered a ut ographing potatoes.

1.

the

after­

He

has

a new pl a n

a i s s r to k e e p

t r a c k of e v e r y p o t a t o and Is I s s u i n g l i c e n s e s for each

one. Th e

chief b l o t

as m u c h m o n e y n e w la ke,

a n d p ut

dirt

ou t

sort

as he p r o m i s e d .

it in the hole.

of the first h o l e

take

Then dig

Moreover,

(play ed b y Mr.

a r e p l o w e d under,

of election,

the w a t e r

a n o th er hole

out

of the

and put

the

That w o u l d cost

"I've b e e n d o i n g that

the c o u n t r y is l i t t l e b e t t e r

C owdery)

observes,

the t e x t i l e b u s i n e s s

o u t l o o k f o r the coal m i n e r s

spent

s ug ges ts that he take a

"Not e n o u g h , " J u p i t e r answers.

As Juno

ju s t

Apollo

into that h ole .

o f t h i n g for y e a r s . "

off .

is that he has not

d i g a ho l e t e n m i l e s long,

lake

plenty.

on h i s r e c o r d

"The. f a r m e r s

is all sewed up,

is p e r f e c t l y b l a c k . "

and the

On the eve

t h e o p p o s i t i o n v o t e s h i m a n o t h e r 8 0 0 b i l l i o n dollars,

t o e m b a r r a s s him,

and cart it into h i s b e d r o o m

in w h e e l ­

barrows. H e r e Is

satire,

w i t h a s h i g h a polish, right

track.

as A m e r i c a n

as G i l b e r t

to b e

but unquestionably

sure,

is B r i t i s h - not on the

R e v i e w e r E d m u n d . S . De L o n g of the New Y o r k S u n

was properly enthusiastic

at t he p e r f o r m a n c e :

The curre nt o f f e r i n g of W h a t a R e l i e f I p r e s e n t e d b e ­ fore a p a c k e d h o u s e in the M c C a r t e r T h e a t r e last night, takes h i g h rank, if n ot top p l a c e in a l o n g s u c c e s s i o n of d i s t i n c t triumphs. . .An a b u n d a n c e of the c l e v e r e s t l i n e s yet to g r a c e a T r i a n g l e show. T h e 19 3 6 show,

T a k e It A w a y t ( De c e m b e r 14)

flashes

of g e n ui ne A m e r i c a n

efforts

of

1.

satire.

likewise had

Its p l o t c o n c e r n s the

a Sultan of the C i n e m a to r e d e e m his p r o f i t s b y a

Ibid., Decamber 14, 1935.

p r e s t i g e f i l m on a Shakespeare story, know

a n y t h i n g about the Bard,

Nobody around

so t he Triangle Club,

seems

to

as the

i

dramatic

organization of a center

of culture, mLs *. s h i p p e d

t o H o l l y w o o d to supply the necessary It

turns

A few

out to be the blind, deaf,

in

information and r e f i n e m e n t . and dumb leading t he b l i n d .

quotations will reveal the g e n e r a l style of the p i e c e , DIXCE: We're going to d o Shakespeare. MANNY; What is Sh ake speare? DIXIE: He is the c r e a t u r e who wrote R o m e o a n d Juliet. MANN?1 Borneo in J o l i e t ? Phooey, a p r i s o n p i c t u r e .

A

little

lat er the maid tells star Dixie: MAID: Your bath is ready, Miss Delano. DIXIE; Heavens I Y o u know, I had com pletely f o r ­ gotten it was W e d n e s d a y . Boys, come on in. With my new square tub t h e r e are seats for e v e r y b o d y .

S e c r e t a r y Cynthia enters a story conference. CYNTHIA: Are you re a d y for your grammar l e a s o n ? MANNY; We're not g o i n g to have any more g r a m m a r lessons. We're g o i n g into production. FABIAN: Will there b e a spot for my new b a l l e t number, all to be d o n e with tractors? CYNTHIA: Oh, Mr. M a g n um, you can't do t ha t. Mac­ beth is - oh well, n e v e r mind; have it 7/our o w n way, but it will m a k e you the laughing s t o c k o f the whole industry. CHUTTLEWORTH: What, again? W h e n t h e Triangle submits its script,

based on c on fused

class

notes f r o m a Shakespeare course, it is discovered that p r a c t i c ­ ally

e v e r y t h i n g except Macbeth Is in the script - but h e h a s

b e e n omitted,

as it was thought he w a s

only the title

of t he

play. j?r . Delong again covered the h u m o r d e f i n i t e l y hit a new high l a s t on

a n e v e n higher plane this year.

show.

"The s t a n d a r d

of

season, and it c o n t i n u e s Coupled with this,

you have

a cleverly

c o n c e i v e d plot,

and an a d e q u a t e

e x c e l l e n t d a n c e n u m b e r s - in short, F o l - d e -Rol, interesting

only

seen t h r o u g h It

scored

Th e

1938

show

With

satiric

the

(December 9),

and l o n e l y h e a r t s

Robert

column ist s,

tedious.

Chapman, On M a y

5,

of

and a

Once

Over L i g h t l y , d i r e c t e d

and d o e s . " ®

of sale w h i c h b r i n g s i sland

c o r r u pt ion ,

of M a n h at tan .

the S u p r e m e Court,

It is sou nd as an idea.

Unfortun­

are r i g o r o u s l y c o n v e n t i o n a l

and the

the f u t u r e p l ayw ri ght ,

close t o s t e a l i n g the

1939,

" i n dee d wit ty

and will,

I n the p e r f o r m a n c e

came

. ."who could he

can,

the e n t i r e

at p o l i t i c a l

a t e l y the c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s dialogue

is

A t r a v e s t y on the R e s t o ­

deals w i t h a b i l l

o w ner shi p

slashes

c *.'illy

anot her y o u n g m a n p r i m i n g h i m s e l f for

as "a d u c h e s s w ho

by Reginald Lawrence, Into q u e s t i o n

on the other hand,

R i c h a r d C o w d e r y w as

a n d R i c h a r d Barr,

Broad way ,

10, 1937,

for its p e r f o r m e r s .

all ."

of

a hit,"-*-

it was c o a c h e d by J o s e Fer re r.

ration period,

rogue,"

December

ass o r t m e n t

the club p r e s e n t e d

show.

3

an I n f o r m a l m u s i c a l

called Spring S h a m b l e s . In N o v e m b e r

of the

r e g u l a r m u s i c a l - a fa rce about

same y e a r the y p r e s e n t e d

as th ei r

in the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y t r a d i t i o n

a g i r l w h o mu s t m a r r y b e f o r e

she b e c o m e s t w e n t y - o n e in

order to o b t a i n the five m i l l i o n d o l l a r s her f a t h e r h a s left her. Villainous H o m e r Bludge thwarts her every matrimonial move an e ff or t

1. 2. 3.

to get

her

share of the

I b i d . , D e c e m b e r 15, 1936. I b i d . , D e c e m b e r 10, 1937. i b i d . , D e c e m b e r 9 and 10,

inheritance.

1938.

The

In

se tti ng s

159 appear

to h a v e b e e n the beat p a r t of An? Moment Now# Many

a S l i p . (November 8 , 1940), by He nr y Hughes

Wi l l i a m Strawbridge, to g e t

a real girl

treating dialogue

relates the attempt of the Triangle Club as the h e r o i n e

t he P r i n c e t o n scene, stale#

the

of one of its shows.

Although

story is.'ar-fetched and the

C h a p m a n was again in the cast.

On N o v e m b e r idea appeared

and

21,

1941,

however,

another above-average

i n A s k Me A n o t h e r , a spoof "of the polls and quiz­

z e s w h i c h h a v e f l o o d e d the n a t i o n in recent years," t a r g e t s w e r e G e o r g e Gallup and Clifton Padiman.

Its main

The critic was

properly pleased: L a s t n i g h t in M c C a r t e r Theatre the P r inc eto n Tri­ a n g l e Club p r e s e n t e d a revue that m ark ed a d e p a r t ­ u r e f r o m its p r o d u c t i o n s of recent years, captivated it s a u d i e n c e and left little to be desired. In c o n t r a c t to the shows of recent years, it moved at a s w i f t pace. The sketches were original and amus i n g , and the h umo r was far less amateurish than th a t w h i c h Triangle audiences of late years have b e e n subjected to. T h i s w a s C h a p m a n ’ s final T r i a n g l e appearance. Less

t h a n a m o n t h after

2

the premiere of A s k Me Another,

th e U n i t e d S t a t e s p l u n g e d into war against the Axis nations, a n d once, a g a i n center.

the P r i n c e t o n campus became p r ima ri ly a military

It w a s

on November

14

i nev itable t h e n that the 194 2 show, p r ese nte d and

called Ti m e

and A g a i n , should b e g i n as a

c o n v e r s a t i o n b e t w e e n two soldiers, d isc ussing what they are fighting for. ican way

A

seri es of skits followed, d e p ic tin g the "Amer­

of L i f e "

1 , Ibid.. November

2. I b i d . ,

November

f r o m the g a y n ineties to H o l l y w o o d to Wall

25, 22,

1939 1941

Street.

The critic d e c l a r e d it to b e

to a capacity aud i e n c e . of Triangle h i t s . ”

• .a w o r t h y

’’e x c e l l e n t

successor

entertainment

to the l on g line

-

With the p r e s e n t a t i o n of T i m e Club suspended a c t i v i t i e s for

and A g a i n , the T r i a n g l e

the d u r a t i o n .

The Post-War T r i a n g l e C lu b The T ri a n g l e ion to celebrate

Club r e o r g a n i z e d

just i n time for a p r o d u c t ­

the two H u n d r e d t h a n n i v e r s a r y

of Prin cet on U n i v e r s i t y ’s c h a r t e r i n 1746. b y King, Hankin,

S ha nnon,

and H a n s o n

an appropriate b o w to that by a Y a l e subversive, faked evidence that

Clear

the T r a c k s

( D e c e m b e r 14,

occasion.

It tells

the c h a r t e r w a s g r a n t e d a y e a r

Soon however,

the

1946),

w as

of a c o n s p i r a c y

d i s g u i s e d as a P r i n c e t o n i a n ,

the Princ et on o f f i c i a l s h a d s u p p o s e d . the celebration.

of the g r a n t i n g

who p r o d u c e s la t e r

than

Near

c h a o s r e s u l t s for

traitor

is o v e r w h e l m e d b y

the b e au ty and m a j e s t y of P r i n c e t o n ,

c o n f e s s e s h is

gives up his se nior

to b e c o m e

s t a n d i n g at Y a l e

sins,

and

a F r e s h m a n at

Princeton. The a n n i v e r s a r y h a d b e e n th e

o c c a s i o n of i n n u m e r a b l e

k

conferences a m o n g the m i g h t i e s t m i n d s the destiny of h u m a n i t y a nd the r o l e that destiny.

The

g eneral a ca demic

authors'

of our d a y to d i s c u s s of P r i n c e t o n in f u l f i l l i n g

vicious but magnificent

thrust

at a

attitude toward contemporary problems deserves

extended quoting: PROFESSOR MILLENIUM: W e w i l l c o m m e n c e our 5 1 9 t h m e e t i n g i n thi s series of 6 , 3 5 0 B i c e n t e n n i a l c o n f e r e n c e s on the p r e s s i n g p r o b l e m s of m a n k i n d • • .Our t op ic f o r d i s c u s s i o n is: ’’T he E c o n o m i c , A e s t h e t i c , and M o r a l ^ S i g n i f i c a n c e of the - a h Electric Light Bulb. Si n c e this p r o b l e m w a s f o r c e d u p o n u s b y the p h y s i c a l scien ces , I w i l l f i r s t call u p o n Dr. G a m m a to g i v e u s the scien-

1. Ibid.. November 16, 1942

Wd tific

a s p e c t s of the problem. (Applause)

G A M M A : T h a n k you, professor. The p r o b l e m demands s p e c i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n at this time b e c a use if th e e l e c t r i c light is to remain a part of modern c i v i l i z a t i o n t h e n you m ust decide how it is to used. a m concerned only wi t h pure science; the a p p T i c a t i o n of scientific r e s e a r c h is of no c o n c e r n t o the true scientist. It is u p to the s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s - like you, Dr. Fiscal. FISCAL: T h a n k you, my dear Gamma. But I take e x c e p t i o n to that last remark. It most c e r t ai n­ l y is n o t w i t h i n the province of the social s c i e n c e s to d e c i d e what to do with the electric light. O u r fu nc tio n Is m e r e l y to reco rd and i n t e r p r e t the facts, not to evaluate them. I l e a v e a n y r e a l d eci s i o n about the electric light to Dr. D i l e t t a n t e . H e ’s our authority on the s o - c a l l e d f i n e r things of life. DILETTANTE: T h a n k you, Profe sso r Fiscal, but you f a i l t o r e a l i z e that Life is d i v i d e d into two d i s t i n c t p h a s e s of activity. First, the lower, m o r e t r a n s i t o r y and m at eri al ist ic level, and s e c o n d l y , the higher, spiritual, eternal level of t he w o r l d of Art. We aesthetes cannot even d i s c u s s s u c h mund an e m a t t e r s as the electric light. T h e electric light has nothi ng to do w i t h art* 3T suggest Dr. M i l l e n i u m give us the answer# M I L L E N I U M : A s f o r myself, I cannot hope to arrive at a c o n c l u s i o n . To us educators, k n o w l e d g e is a n e n d i n itself, and we cannot come to any c o n c l u s i o n u n t i l all the facts are in. Any p r e m a i m r e d e c i s i o n might prove d i s a s tr ous . It is o n l y w h e n we gain the p e r s p e c t i v e of Histo ry th a t w e c a n pro perly place the p r o b l e m s of men i n t h e i r co ntext, TheBe - er - imme dia te p r o b ­ l e m s m u s t b e tackled by those w ho cause them. A n d i n t h i s connection, I call B g a i n u p o n Dr. Gamma* R a y . I t ’s up to you, GAMMA: Dr.

M o s t c e r t a i n l y not. F i s c a l ’s problem.

The electric light

is

BJI8 CAL: I m a i n t a i n it's Prof ess or D i l e t t a n t e ' s problem. MILLENIUM: The suggests

a

I ' m g l a d we all agree.

R u s s i a n representative,

Olga Papushka,

arrives,

s o l u t i o n t o t h e problem: OLGA:

P u s h buttpn,

lights come on, p u s h b utton,

and

162 p ush button, l i g h t s go off, MILLENIUM: P l e a s e d o n ’t say thatj Ig it we r e that simple, there w o u l d be no n e e d f o r our servf ces. Just think wh a t would h a p p e n if the C o m m o n M an found that the s o l u t i o n to the p r o b l e m w as that simple! W e ’d all b e out of a jobJ I b e g you, not for ours el ves , b u t for the g o o d of the U n i ­ versity! OLGA: Good of the U n i v e r s i t y ? Y o u m e a n the students? MILLENIUM: No - the - goo d of the U n i v e r s i t y , OLGA: Then y o u m e a n the t e a c h e r s ? MILLENIUM: No! T he g o o d of the U n i v e r s i t y ! OLGA: Y o u must m e a n the b u i l d i n g s get b e t t e r , m a y b e ? MILLENIUM: D o n ’t y o u k n o w w h a t a U n i v e r s i t y is? Th e d i s c u s s i o n at this poin t saved only by the firm ha n d

threatens of Dr.

to d i s i n t e g r a t e ,

and is

Millenium,

MILLENIUM: We m u s t g o o n r e c o r d as h a v i n g d e c i d e d something. W e c a n ’t let the C o m m o n M a n down , , , Be it resolved, that the e l e c t r i c light Is he r e to stay. B u t i t s ' m e r i t s are s t i l l u n d e r c o n s i d ­ eration, ALL: Yea'i This brilliant w o r k w a s d i r e c t e d b y 1941,

App ar ent ly it took its p u b l i c b y

a l u m n u s R o b e r t Chapman,

storm.

Clear the T r a c k , • ,a p p e a r e d F r i d a y n i g h t b e f o r e a capacity audience. T o d e s c r i b e the a u d i e n c e as enthusiastic is a m a s t e r p i e c e of u n d e r s t a t e m e n t , • • Undisputed o p e n i n g n i g h t star w a s T e x G a r r e t t , w h o handles every type of b u r l e s q u e h u m o r w i t h skill and studied n o n c h a l a n c e . H i s m o n o l o g u e on ’’P r i n c e t o n as a H o l e ” is p r o b a b l y t he f u n n i e s t s ing le p i e c e In the production. C l o s e b e h i n d G a r r e t t is D o n D u r g i n , • • His scene w i t h G a r r e t t in a t a k e o f f on the B a t t l e of Princeton is one of the s h o w ’s h i g h p o i n t s , . .The ^ whole p r o d u c t i o n is e n t h u s i a s t i c , alive, and si ncere. All Rights Re ser ve d King,

Norris,

and Tuck,

( D e c e m b e r 12, 19 47),

and

a g a i n d i r e c t e d b y Ch ap man ,

at the p ubl ishing business,

B e n j a m i n Baud ie,

of B a u d i e House,

st ea l

attempts to

W o o d w o r t h Whittlewood,

pride

1, Ibid.. December 16, 1946

w r itten by Hankin,

a red-hot

of G o p h e r Gap,

head

is a jab

of the f i r m

romance written by Iowa.

As a sales

1 GS promotion

scheme,

Baudie

of G l o r i a G o s s a m e r , Jerry

Coma,

ties

into

the p l o t

A s for

of t i m ing ,

cast,

novel

"Frank Hartley

and Vincent

it has moments,

"It i s like the

a c t e d with gusto and a good sense

S m i t h c r e a t e d and maintained a fine car i ­

. . C l i f f o r d H a n k in p r o d u c e d

cops,”

But

the e l e m e n t w h i c h m a d e

was n e i t h e r

but

says:

f o r weight and sex quotient,"

cature,

Downer

A crooner,

vagiiely.

analysis,

of a n e w h i s t o r i c a l the

of Brooklyn,

c o m m e n t i n g on the script,

a very thorough-going

testing

to p a s s off the opus as 1':°

a premiere danseuse

P r o f e s s o r Downer, not

tries

the pl a y ,

the

a dumb cop to end all dumb the greatest impression on

acting,

nor the music.

W i t h o u t a n y q u e s t i o n , to m y mind, the best thing In the s how w a s the b a l l e t . For once, an attempt Is m a d e to r e l a t e the stupid business of female i m p e r s o n a t i o n to t h e w h o l e . . .The dancers are used t o p o k e f u n at t he c l a s s i c a l ballet (and very well d o n e ) , at the h i s t o r i c a l n o v e l (a delightfully bana l p i e c e l e d b y J o h n C o l e m a n ) , and - maybe - at the u n t o u c h a b l e A g n e s D e M i lle , In the book r e a d e r ’s dance. M o r e of this k i n d of originality might r e m o v e some of the s e n s e that one gets of looking at a k i n d of a n t e d e l u v i a n survival. Th e

final production

in F a v o r , D e c e m b e r , to the M a y o r ' s corrupt

who plot

c an p ut

reform

Tri a n g l e Club to date Is All

st ory

is the struggle for el ec t i o n

In a sm a l l m i d - w e s t e r n town between the

and t h e

austere

candidate.

around

the

of a m i n s t r e l

of t h e p r o d u c t i o n .

1.

Its

on the b i g g e s t

revolves

services

office

incumbent,

scientious

19 48 .

of the

Key

It is

- nay,

repulsive - but con­

apparent that the candidate

sh o w w i l l w i n the election,

efforts

of eac h candidate to secure the

sh o w w h i c h b e c o m e s figure

Ibid., December 15, 1947

so the

the chief spectacle

In the plot and counterplot Is

G i nge r M cB r i d e , than d u b i o u s

robust owner of an e n t e r t a i n m e n t

of m o r e

character.

The b a s i c

comment on the A m e r i c a n e l e c t o r a t e

per tin en t,

and the p l a y had many m o m e n t s b o t h

humorous.

The d a n ce s were spectacular,

the p r o d u c t i o n b r i s k and crackling. arious

hall

c a ric at ure ,

b a s e d not

a nd

Is c e r t a i n l y

Imaginative

the g e n e r a l

tone

Ginger McBride was

so m u c h u p o n

and of

an h i l ­

the p r i n t e d p a g e

as 1

u p o n Mr. H a r t l e y ' s vocal inflections

and

splendid timings.

E v a l u a t i o n of the Trian gle Club At

this point

it m a y b e o b j e c t e d t h a t

the

st ory h e r e

r e c o r d e d h as b e e n b a s i c a l l y a li terary h i s t o r y ,

a n d that

is n o t h i n g the T ria ng le Club is less i n t e r e s t e d

in t h a n in m a k i n g

literary history.

i n t o b e i n g a nd

The o r g ani zat io n was brought;

the re

has f l o u r i s h e d t h r o u g h the de cad es for th e

sole p u r p o s e o f h a v i n g

fun,

a n y ot h e r b e n e f i t s b e i n g purely h a p p y

accidents.

had;

it t h e r e f o r e ne eds no other defens e,

thetic

improvement

F u n it h a s

and p r o p a g a n d a f o r

aes­

is a pr e s u m p t i o n on an o r g a n i z a t i o n w h i c h

is

ha p p y as it is. T h i s is obvio usl y a d e f e n s i b l e p o s i t i o n , no

a nd it

s h o u l d be

s u r p r i s e if a large p e r c e nt age of T r i a n g l e m e m b e r s p a s t

p r e s e n t h o l d to it.

If,

like the T h e a t r e

its p e r f o r m a n c e s In the d or m i t o r y ro oms ing no

I n t i me ,

the p o s i t i o n w o u l d b e

E v e n w h e n a d m i s s i o n is charged the p h i l o s o p h y attacked

so l o n g as those who are p a y i n g

It p r e s e n t e d

of I ts o w n m e m b e r s ,

one to p a y a d mi ss ion and i n v i t i n g o n l y

they w e r e g e t t i n g into,

and

ask­

those who knew close

to

air-tight.

can hardly be

admission

1. W i t n e s s e d b y the author at its r e t u r n e n g a g e m e n t M c C a r t e r Theatre, F ebr uar y 14, 1949

wh a t

are h a v i n g

to t h e

165 th e i r pays doubt have he

admission*s-worth for

the

over their

expenses

of fun,

and

the

of the g r o u p .

the y e a r s h o w m a n y

B ut

of the

a d m i s s i o n 1s - w o r t h of fun,

a n t i c i p a t e d that

the

a d m i s s i o n collected there

is reason to

s p e c t a t o r s actually did and h o w m u c h longer it oay

a d m i s s i o n c o l l e c t e d will p a y the expenses

of the g r o u p . As f a r h a c k

as 1 9 0 7 J e s s e L y n c h W i l l i a m s

1908 Alumni Magazine

assault

on the T r i a n g l e

said of the

Club:

It w a s w r i t t e n b y a l o y a l g r a d u a t e -who was in a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n to k n o w wh a t w a s thought by the o u t s i d e w o r l d a b o u t our c o l l e g e p l a y s than were the u n d e r g r a d u a t e s or e v e n t h o s e g ra d u a t e s who t o o k p a r t I n the p e r f o r m a n c e s (and who therefore h e a r d onl y the n i c e t h i n g s said about them). This h o n e s t , if s e v e r e e x p r e s s i o n of a b y no means ex­ c l u s i v e f e e l i n g w a s r e s e n t e d , n a t u r a l l y by all con­ c e r n ed, a n d b y some w h o w e r e not, for there are a l w a y s t h o s e w h o t h i n k that P r i n c e t o n loyalty means p r a i s i n g e v e r y t h i n g in sight and that any attempt at i m p r o v e m e n t is l e s e ma.ieste. In 1917 Professor

Stuart

expressed

s i m i l a r warnings:

A v e r y g r a v e p r o b l e m c o n f r o n t s the organization. I t s p e r f o r m a n c e s as a w h o l e h a v e b e e n meritorious; b u t the c o n s t a n t r e p e t i t i o n of the same form of pro­ d u c t i o n h a s b e g u n to p a l l on the audiences. Tradition, a l t h o u g h s o m e w h a t b r o k e n d o w n t h i s last year has g o t t e n in i t s d e a d l y w o r k . I n the face of some r a t h e r u n w e l c o m e w a r n i n g s , the T r i a n g l e Club has b e e n too l o n g u n f o r t u n a t e l y b l i n d to the fact that w h i l e y o u c a n f o l l o w in t h e w a k e of a popular success. • .for a y e a r or two, w h e n t h i s p r o c e d u r e is kept u p i n d e f i n i t e l y the a u d i e n c e f i n a l l y balks. . .In c e r t a i n l a r g e c i t i e s t h e r e are u n m i s t a k a b l e signs that the a u d i e n c e is b e c o m i n g e x t r e m e l y recalcitrant at t h e t r a d i t i o n a l y e a r l y p e r f o r m a n c e . . .At present. . . the a l u m n i of v a r i o u s c e n t e r s f e e l that the burden of t a k i n g c a r e of the T r i a n g l e C l u b year after year Is b e g i n n i n g to b e a h e a v y o n e , ®

1, 2.

The Princetonian, April I b i d . , M a y 3, 19 17.

3,

1909

166 By 1948 the Triangle Club had

come to realise thata failure

to give an unusually pleasing

show might well mean the end of

the ancient organization.'1' Since the standard of production appears from the records to have been generally high, the libretto would seem to be the variable factor in the quality of Triangle shows.

Even the most

ardent devotees of pure fun among Trisnglers then must recognize that attention to quality in the book of their show is mandatory if they hope to survive much longer.

Therefore the following

proposals to strengthen the script should be weighed by all who have interest in the ^riangle Clubs 1) Put the book first.

G-ood music and dance can bebuilt

around any book (See All Rights Reserved or All in Favor for example), but a good book is not likely to emerge from stringing together a series of haphazard acts and miscellaneous songs (See for example The Mummy Monarch).

Avoid as subjects historical travesties (such

as l&therine) or far-fetched plots (such as The Duchess of Bluffshire) unless these subjects serve as comment for something beyond themselves, as the historical comedy Knickerbocker Holiday is a vehicle for contemporary anti-fascist sentiment, Po-ca-hon-tas spoofs the Indian play as a literary species, or the superfidally escapist Mikadn attacks pdLitical corruption and legal double talk.

3) Give attention to the imaginative use of history,

1. Interview with Kennedy Williams, May 16, 1949

167 especially regional materials (as in When Congress Went to Princeton). and to the contemporary scene (as in What a Relief I), especially materials close at hand (as in The Tiger Smiles and Clear the Track). 4)

There ljj such a thing as an amusing pun,

but the young writer should not use one until he has demonstrated his ability to write a complete and amusing script without one (note comments on The Honorable Julius Caesar).

5)

Be sensitive

to appropriate contemporary parallels (as in What a Relief1) but in works of other periods and places avoid contemporary idiom or contemporary reference (see for example how these faults mar The Golden Dog).

6)

Generally speaking, abandon the female

Impersonator, except in cases where some compensating value is achieved.

In All in Favpr it must be admitted that the imperson­

ators not only made piercing comments on their feminine counter­ parts, but invoked an hilarious satire on the whole standard musical comedy formula.

But for a policy, as Alan Downer points

out, "Granted that it was a side-splitting novelty in 1900 to see a barrel-chested ballerina, the joke seems to have worn a little thin."'1' And the convention is a fearful limitation upon the imagination of authors. But if for the present with few exceptions the literary output of the Triangle Club must be brushed aside as negligible, the question arises, has the work of the association been of

1.

The Prlncetonlan, December 15, 1947

168 any significance o t h e r w i s e ? Simultaneously w i t h h a v i n g

It

is

fun,

make theatre w i t h o u t

considers

- bricks

repeated demands to b e

effective before

audiences - to i m p r o v e

his

lines,

timing, to change a n i n f l e c t i o n ,

Mr. Houghton's m i n d

sional stage.

on t h e

the

severest

without

and

straw.

The

a s u c c e s s i o n of l a r g e

to a l t e r

3tag©

to i m p r o v e h i s

a gesture,

completely dry

until

- t hi s

he is

to

of t r a i n i n g for- the p r o f e s -

2 that

the most wretched of books,- h a v e acquisition of c o n s i d e r a b l e

Triangle

theatrical

have often pr odu ced i m p r e s s i v e cessful productions

are not

and Wig, who has

confined

I wish s o m e o n e

shows,

"As

college

would write

Of Th-6 Scarlet Goat R o b e r t S e n c h l e y

and

c o a c h pl u s

even with for

that

the the

the r o a d

R e p o r t s of h i g h l y

to r a v e r e v i e w s a graduate

seen m a n y productions,

Isle of Surprise is t h e b e s t

f in e s s e ,

results.

Ed W y n n d e c l a r e s ,

Cl u b

indeed been vehicles

combination of t r a i n i n g f r o m a s k i l l e d

years.

it h a s .

actors have b e e n

if n e e d be,

the fine s t k ind

And there is e v i d e n c e

Princetonlan.

that

a n actor:'1" he has b e e n r e q u i r e d to

literature

has wrung every m o m e n t

possible

the T r i a n g l e

subjected to what N o r r i s H o u g h t o n most effective t r a i n i n g f o r

quite

a play

In T h e

that T h e

of the p a s t lik e

cpmmented,

suc­

of P e n n M a s k

I can s t a t e

show

trips

fifteen

that f o r m e . "

Z

"Undoubtedly

1. Interview w i t h t h e a u t h o r , J u n e 7, 1 9 4 9 2. This opinion is e n d o r s e d b y M r . L e i g h A l l e n I n a l e t t e r to the author, J u l y 27, 1 9 4 9 * " H a v i n g p e r f o r m e d i n o n l y o n e Theatre Intime p r o d u c t i o n , I f e l t t h a t T r i a n g l e Cl u b experience m o r e v a l u a b l e s i n c e we p e r f o r m e d m a n y ti m e s across the c o u n t r y . • .1 p e r s o n a l l y g o t a lot out of repeating the p e r f o r m a n c e s . O t h e r w i s e I b e l i e v e the variety of the T h e a t r e I n t i m e m o r e v a l u a b l e ." 3. The Princetonlan. J a n u a r y 6, 1 9 2 0

leg: the bes t wrote

college

show I have e ve r

of F i e s t a that

p a r a b l e to that hi s r e a d e r s

"the

club

seen.'

*1

*

shone w i t h the b r i l l i a n c e

of B r o a d w a y perforniers• " ^

that

1 Lo ui s B r o m f i e l d

L u c i u s Be e b e

com­ assures

Stags at B a y

is adult e n t e r t a i n m e n t . . .We me an this in f avo r a b l e c o m p a r i s o n to the m o r e opule nt d e v i s i n g s of m e t r o ­ politan producers. M a k e no mistake, S t a g s at Bay is g a y stuff and b e t t e r w o r t h a d m i s s i o n m o n e y tha n some w i d e l y t o u t e d p r o f e s s i o n a l e s say s that have m a d e their a p p e a r a n c e d u r i n g the c urrent d r a m a t i c s e a s o n .3 Variety insists

of M a n y a Slip

that "the p l o t

is a sncko

idea

and, •. .c ar r i e d t h r o u g h in rare f o r m . " ^ The t e s t i m o n y of T r i a n g l e g r a d u a t e s w h o h a^e e n t e r e d the t h e a t r e

i n d i c a t e s that

w i t h the club an i m p or tan t p a r t F o r example, able,

i mpr es s i v e ,

gratitude adds;

Joshua Logan

says

and h e r o i c

and r e s pec t

they found

since

their e x p e r i e n c e s

of their p r o f e s s i o n a l of Dr.

job.

"He did

a remark­

He d e s e r v e s the e v e r l a s t i n g

of P r i n c e t o n . " 5

"The I n t i m e taught m e n e a r l y

Stuart:

preparation.

A n d R i c h a r d B. C o w d e r y

all I k n o w

of the theatre,

i n c l u d i n g too m u c h h a m m i n g and ad l i b . " 6 The d e g r e e

to w h i c h N o r r i s H o u g h t o n was I m p r e s s e d b y the

c r e a t i v e - p r o d u c t i o n a p p r o a c h of Dr.

Stuart

is r e f l e c t e d in his

o w n book: The w o n d e r t h e n is that e d u c a t i o n a l ‘t h e a t r e h a s no t gone in m o r e c o m p l e t e l y for c r e a t i v e d r a m a t i c t e c h ­ nique. E x cep t for the p r o g r a m s at B e n n i n g t o n , Vassar, Syrac use , and o c c a s i o n a l isolated, w o r k b y an i n s t r u c t ­ or l i k e E d w i n D u e r r or a student at Y a l e , I f o u n d

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

I b id.,February ibid'., D e c e m b e r ibid.,December i b i d ., N o v e m b e r P r o g r a m of Onc e Ibid., p. 35.

7, 1925. 5, 1933. 14, 1934. 15, 1940. Over L i g h t l y , p.

34.

170 almost constant adherence tc the traditional and historical approach to the theatre. The kind of creative research in the sciences that Is conducted in the academic laboratories under a Milliken or a Compton finds no counterpart In the arts.1 In estimating the Impact

of P r i n c e t o n ’s dramatic art

program on its successful professional graduates therefore,

the

Triangle experiences of those graduates v/ill have to he taken consideration.

into

And If o n e protests against

al is m In the liberal arts college, It h a s

n o curricular c o n n e c t i o n

o r g a n i z e d "just for f u n , "

and

the club will point out t h a t

with

that

its g r a d u a t e s on B r o a d w a y m e a n s

University,

the

if

the

good

pr ofessional,

training

that

subsequent it means

anything,

this k i n d of fun in c o l l e g e I s even t h o u g h t h a t

such profession­

training is

for

only

It

is

history

of

having

that

the future an

Incidental

by-product. Developing skill would

in e f f e c t i v e

theatrical

see m to be a p r a i s e w o r t h y g o a l ,

u t i l i z e d for professional p u r p o s e s , a l i b e r a l arts grasp on t h e n a t u r e extent

that Triangle d i s c i p l i n e

gain.

Such discipline c a n b e c o m e

for t h e future professional, h a b i t u a l l y to substitute

whether

for

of

facile

a b i l i t y to make articulate i n

theatrical

h u m a n na ture and ex perience.

It

p a y i n g respects to the p r o g r a m t h e a t r i c a l skills, to r e i t e r a t e

Is

of

art,

this

extent

that

one

tricks

terms

real

Club

general

N o r r i s Houghton, A d v a n c e

f r o m B r o a d w a y , p.

the is

comes for

the

insight

Into

in

in d e v e l o p i n g

weakness

212

of

even

appropriate

Its b o o k s is a serious d e f e c t .

1.

all

however,

therefore

the

and t o

skill,

the Triangle

that

skill be

or f o r p u r p o s e s

dangerous,

the

a series

this

of theatre

develops

to

fu n ,

performance

of

171 This brings into focus the point that Donald Stuart's conception of Triangle training as a device for developing a liberal arts understanding and discrimination in theatre art has, since his retirement, been lost track of for a goal that Includes only a fragment of his broad vision.

Since there Is

no necessary conflict between competence and broad understanding, this narrowing of objectives can be said to represent nothing but loss. It is now time to examine the Stuart plan against the wider background of the American theatre.

The Princeton notion

that dramatic art In a liberal arts college must be judged In terms of liberal arts objectives and not In terms of profession­ al objectives has nothing unique about It.

Cornell, for example,

has worked out an academic program of dramatic art as a liberal study with a variety of courses devoted to the art of the theatre, and Professor Drummond has achieved a balance between original and classic work which enables students to benefit regularly from both types of theatre experience.

Nor is the liberal arts

approach to the theatre through the creative process confined to the Triangle Club.

The University of North Carolina, for

example, makes Its primary emphasis the written play, followed by the solution of the production problems of that play, and the written results have been (in the opinion df contemporary critics) far more significant than those of Donald C. Stuart. /

But what may reasonably be claimed unique is a serious liberal arts approach to understanding and discrimination in theatre art by working with an extra-curricular club awarding neither

172 grades nor c r e d i t S t u a r t ' s conviction that he could, by thus relying upon the principle of opportunity rather than upon the principle of compulsion, arouse an intensity of enthusiasm and devotion impossible in the more formal classroom situation is given considerable credibility by the results he achieved. Of course equally unique, due to the special circumstances under which he worked, was the exclusive use. of a musical comedy libretto as the creative core of his approach.

Besides the

fact that these scripts were often poor stuff, the confinement of the student to this one form is a narrowing Influence.

The

occasional use of an Intime original would have afforded a much wider perspective. Summary The Triangle Club is the oldest continuous dramatic organization in the town of Princeton and the third oldest musical comedy club in America.

One of its presentations is

of significance to the American theatre at large as a landmark in the development of regional playwriting in American colleges and universities: When Congress Went to Princeton is probably the first play by American college students using regional source materials. As faculty adviser of the Triangle Club, Donald Clive Stuart worked out a plan for theatre Instruction in American

1.

No mention of any similar approach is made either in Kenneth Macgowan's Footlights across America, or in Norris Houghton's Advance from Broadway.

173 liberal arts colleges, parts of which have been used more effectively elsewhere, but which was unique in that its most important element was handled by the instructor extra-currieularly> apparently with marked success.

This plan was weak in the

quality of script which it accepted as its working basis, and narrow In that this script was exclusively an original musical comedy.

With corrections of these defects, however, the plan

has much to recommend Itself, both for restoration at Princeton University, and as a general working plan in institutions other than Princeton.

174

CHAPTER VII THE THEATRE INTIME (1892-1948) Forerunners of the Intime Hardly had the Triangle Club acquired Ita name than scattered slgnB began to appeal? that there were those on the campus who felt the need for a broader theatre experience than the one offered by that organization*

In 1892, the Coffee House

was organized to read and study English comedies from Sheridan to the present*

The group explored The Rivals, She Stoops to

Conquer, and The School for Scandal,

Meetings were held In the

rooms of different members and refreshments were served at the end of each p r o g r a m , T h e following year a Shakespeare Club formed to make "an historical and literary study of the plays of Shakespeare, somewhat after the method used by Dr, Murray In his Senior Elective in English," In 1900 The Prlncetonlan remarked; The notice of the Triangle Club which we print in another column will doubtless receive adequate attention, , ,While we are mentioning this subject

1, 2,

The Prlncetonlan, December 16, 1892 M d . , April ll, 1895

the q u e s t i o n occurs w h e t h e r or not it w o u l d be p o s s i b l e to p r e s e n t m o r e t h a n one p l a y d u r i n g the y e a r at the Casino, N o t h i n g c an or s h o u l d take the p l a c e of the t y p i c a l P r i n c e t o n b u r l e s q u e w h i c h Is g i v e n so s u c c e s s f u l l y e a c h spring, yet w h y should, this p r o h i b i t the p r e s e n t a t i o n of one or two s t a n d ­ ard p l a y s d u r i n g the W i n t e r , r e q u i r i n g but a small c o m p a n y and s imple stage s et t i n g s ? It is true that the w o r k of p r e p a r i n g an o r i g i n a l comic o p e r a is e normous, m a k i n g l a r g e i n r o a d s u p o n the time of all i n t e r e s t e d In the u n d e r t a k i n g , the biirden r e s t ­ ing e s p e c i a l l y h e a v y on the l e a d e r s and authors; f u r t h e r m o r e the e x p e n s e of the a n n u a l p l a y w i t h Its e l a b o r a t e s c e n e r y and c o s t u m e s is v e r y g r e a t * But n o n e of t h e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s w o u l d f ac e t h i s n e w u n d e r t a k i n g , we r e the p l a y a s i m p l e d r a m a b y some w e l l - k n o w n writer, and t he a d d e d o p p o r t u n i t y for a c t i n g w o u l d b r i n g to li ght c o n s i d e r a b l e t a l e n t . h i t h e r t o w i t h o u t a s u i t a b l e a v e n u e for e x p r e s s i o n .

The Foreign Language Plays The Department th i s p lea . with

On M a y 8,

othe r p r o j e c t s ,

comedy

of M o d e r n L a n g u a g e s w a s

i n one

1906,

afte r

but

act b y R o b e r t B e n d i x ,

t h e y w.ere b o r n e

confidence which o n the p a r t

several unsuccessful

to h e e d efforts

the G e r m a n C l u b p r e s e n t e d E i g e n s l n n , a

t o T he P r i n c e t o n i a n "the p a r t s amateurs,

the f i r s t

are w e l l w i t h i n off last n i g h t

s e e m e d to i n d i c a t e

of all the

at t he C a s i n o .

act o r s . "

According

the r a n g e

w i t h an e ase

considerable

On the

p

of and

experience

o th er h a n d

the c r i t i c

noted The ch i e f a d v e r s e c r i t i c i s m of t h e p l a y Is its f a u l t y and u n e v e n p r o n u n c i a t i o n . T h e s e f a u l t s are d i f f i c u l t to e r a d i c a t e b u t w i t h all h o n o r to the G e r m a n C lu b f o r the c r e d i t a b l e b e g i n n i n g It has made, w e m u s t l a y It to t h e i r w a n t s in the G e r m a n p h r a se , that they n e v e r c an p r o d u c e a s e r i o u s p l a y w i t h s uch faults. W e t h a n k t h e m f o r the l a u g h s w h i c h w e e n j o y e d last e ve n i n g , and h o p e t h a t ^ i t was in t r u t h t h e i r firs t a n n u a l p e r f o r m a n c e . ®

1. 2. 3.

Ibid ., D e c e m b e r 8, 1900. Ibid., M a y 8, 1906. I b ' l d M a y 9, 1906.

176 The French Club followed suit the following year on May 1.

The play was La Poudre aux Yeux. a comedy in two acts

by Lablche and Martin*

The work of the cast as a whole waa

declared very satisfactory, "and the production was carried through with a snap and a vim that is only too often lacking in amateur performances, even when the actors are using their native language." On the same week the German Club gave Bendix a return engagement in Die Lugnerln. and "justly deserved the stormy 2 approbation with which it was received." In November of the same year, the French Club undertook 3 Lablche's Le Voyage de M*_ Per*!chon, but in March, 1908, cancelled the project, "partly due to a lack of facilities and

„4

partly due to a laok of coaching.”

The German Club's production on April 30, 1908, of Heinrich von Kleist's Per Zerbroohne Krug was its first presentation, as far as is known, by any American college dramatic B association* The performance "was one which reflected great credit upon the members of the cast and upon those who assisted in the long and tedious rehearsing of the play previous to its production." "Anuexcellent production” of Die Blfersuohtlgen went on 7 the boards May 14, 1914*

1. 2* 3* 4* 5* 6* 7.

Ibid.. April 29, 1906 ibid*. May 10, 1907 ibid.. November 26, 19 Ibid*. March 12, 1908 ibid.. January 16, 19C ibid;. May 1, 1908 ib'iaV. May 15, 1914

177 On March 16, 1920, Donald C. Stuart - who, it will be re­ membered, joined the faculty as a member of the French de­ partment - coached the French Club in L ’Anglais Tel Q,ufon le Parle, by Tristan Bernard, and L*Homme Qul Epousa Une Femme Muette, by Anatole France.'*'

Triangle duties, however, did not

permit him to give his services again to the French Club.

But

two months later on Its own the club presented two French comedies and a pantomime in which F. W. Gullbert appeared.

2

On June 1, 1921, Freshman Latin students of Professor Weber gave an English reading of Terence1s comedy Andria In Room 50 of McCosh Hall.^ Sudermann's Frltzen and Unger’s Liebe in Sohlaf. were offered by the German Club on May 16, 1935.

4

In spite of the courageous pioneer work of both the French and the German Club, and In spite of the valiant cause which they undertook in offering the Princeton campus a view of foreign masterpieces In their original tongue, neither club was able to surmount the difficulty of securing a coach who on one hand had an adequate background In the language and on the other hand an adequate grasp of theatre art, and production of foreign language plays on the Princeton campus has been pretty well abandoned. The English Dramatic Association Early in 1907 members of the English faculty, headed by

1. 2. 3. 4.

Ibid.,March 16, 1920 Ibid.,May 13, 1920 ft)id..June 1, 1921 ibid., May 15, 1935

178 Professor Harper, but assisted by Professors Gerould, Root, Croll, Griffen, Brown, Burt, MacDonald, Miles, Osgood, and Murch, organized the English Dramatic Association, and began aiding a student production of Christopher Marlowe’s Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. For a number of reasons this was a significant move.

The English Dramatic Association, sponsored

and guided by members of the faculty, antedates by one year the founding of the Harvard Dramatic Club, called by Kenneth Macgowan, "the first link between undergraduate dramatics and the university teaching of the drama."

This laurel, it

Is evident then, should be lifted from the head of Harvard and placed on that of Princeton.

Moreover a glance at the list of

productions of the English Dramatic Association at Princeton will show that the club merits special attention as one, to quote Mr. Macgowan, "devoted to a very exceptional program of p l a y s . B u t among these exceptional plays, Faustus Is most so, for the 1907 production is the first American performance of Marlowe’s major work.

2

Preliminary notices declare that "the play is to keep the original form in which It was produced at the time of its composition.

Particular attention Is to be paid to perfect

enunciation and gestures on the part of those appearing in the cast, as was also the case in the first productions."

On

the other hand, "No attention will be paid to scenery or stage effects, as these will be held in no consideration as compared

1. 2.

Kenneth Macgowan, Footlights across America, p. 112 The Prlncetonlan, February 25, 1907

179 to the quality of the acting and the general ease with which characters are reproduced •"

The Prlncetonlan reports that "much

enthusiasm is being exhibited by the undergraduates who are to take part In the play."

Alexander Hall was chosen as the scene

of production, since "the facilities offered are amply sufficient to provide for a play in which there is no need for scenery or

-1

other devices."

Because of the importance of this event, the record of the play’s first performance on April 26, 1907, is of interest: The performance of Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus yesterday evening. • .was enthusiastically received by the audience. Almost all the seats in the hall were taken, and there waB every evidence that the audi­ ence enjoyed the scene from the very beginning. The comic scenes throughout were loudly applauded, especially those between Wagner and the Clown and between Robin, Ralph, and Hephlstopholis. The Interest in the main figures was also generous, and the acting of Faustus and Mephistopholis through­ out the totlre play, especially in the fifth, four­ teenth, and sixteenth scenes, held the vital attention of the house. C. P. Deems 1907, who played the part of Dr. Faustus, achieved what must be regarded as an unqualified success. A beauty end distinctness of voice, an ability to express bjr IJr and by face and gestures the wide range of emotions of his part combined i& him with a rare enthusiasm and freshness of spirit. His acting was characterised by self-possession and artistic restrain# - qualities seen in the greatest actors and giving to the play a finish rarely seen in amateur performances. • .0. Van Winkle 1910, who played the part of Mephistopholis, could hardly be improved upon. The dignity, the poetry, the charm, the unearthly cruelty and cunning of Marlowe’s fallen angel were the conceptions which underlay his work, and, as in the case of Deems in the title role, it is rare indeed that an amateur reaches a point of such excellence. • .The chief credit for the success should be given to the director, G. L. Sargent 1907, whose skill in stagecraft, tireless energy, and above all, ability to get work out of the oast, have been invaluable.2

1. Ibid.. March 13, 1907 2. TbTf.T April 27, 1907

180 This saneGeorge Sargent was soon to both as

an

be heard from In New York,

actor and. as a director* An editorial the same day

declared: The character of* the work testified thoroughly that the ability of the undergraduates in theatrical lines is not confined to any one phase of the drama# . . .Last evening* s success is all the more remark­ able when we consider that this is the first attempt made at Princeton in this kind of dramatics, and that the men did their work absolutely without pre­ cedent or the experience ofothers to refer to* We are heartily in favor ofthe plan to give a play annually,! *

On March 11, 1908, the Association presented Philip

Massinger* s A New Way to Pay Old Debts, again at Alexander Hall. The somewhat complicated story of the play was primly grasped and clearly brought out; the varied inter-play of comic and tragic motives vividly duplicated, and the interest of the audience was caught At once and carried on unbroken to the sup­ erb climax of the last act. Too much praise can hardly be given to the company of amateurs who through weeks of arduous training have presented an enthusiasm and developed an insight and power of expression which have made possible such results as this. And to give praise first of all where and when it is due, the thanks of actors and audience alike are extended to the director, G. L. Sargent, 1907, whose enthusiasm, energy, and practical ex­ perience, have fromgfirst to last been of absolute­ ly invaluable help. The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Beaumont and Fletcher, followed on March 25, 1909, again directed by Sargent, at which the audience "laughed from the moment the gawkish Ralph wandered down the aisle and climbed upon the stage until he

1* 2.

Loo. cit^ Ibid.. March 20, 1908

181 died pierced by the winged arrow.”-*- A later critic In re­ trospect, however, called the play ”too long and the action too p indefinite to be fitting for presentation by undergraduates.” Due to his engagement In New York with the company of Cohan and Harris, Sargent was not able to direct Shakes­ peare^ Henry IV for Its production March 11, 1910.

He was re­

placed by H. J. Hadfleld, former member of the Ben Greet company when it played at Princeton In 1903.' The production itself was remarkably smooth, sure, and finished. The articulation was uniformly good. The costuming was unusually successful. . .The re­ sults of Mr. HadfieldTs work as coach have given his ability, tact, and method a most successful Introduction to Princeton audiences.4 Hadfield was retained to direct a second Shakespeare play, A Comedy of Errors, for March 10, 1911, in which ”The audience found the fun really funny,” though ”in the very whirl­ wind of their fun,” the actors ”showed they had acquired that ”temperance that may get it smoothness.”®

With this play the

English Dramatic Association emulated the Triangle Club by tak­ ing the production to the Princeton Club in New York City, at which about

200

alumni were present ”and enjoyed the play

g thoroughly.” For The Jew of Malta, March 28, 1912, Hadfleld con­ structed a balcony in Alexander Hall similar to that in the old

1. Ibid., March 24, 1909 2. TblcL.. April 1, 1911 3 . The Princeton Press, February 19, 1910 4 . fEe Princetonian,’ March 11, 1910 5. T5Td.. M a r c h T 5 T 1911 6 . ibid.. April 6 , 1911

Swan theatre in London.

The production, though apparently

highly authentic, proceeded not without difficulty.

According

to Donald Stuart, who reviewed the play, The English Dramatic Association had a very diffi­ cult task to perform In getting Marlowe's drama over the footlights to an audience which had come to laugh and perhaps to scoff in a good-natured way, whenever the opportunity might be presented; hut the actors overcame these difficulties, and held the attention of the spectators even in the serious scenes In a way which was qiiite remarkable considering the circumstances. As for the comic scenes, they were greeted with roars of laughter and cheers. . .The audience did not allow anything humorous to escape it; and once in awhile it fairly howled over lines such as the one which announced that Abigail, quite mature as played by Fullerton, was but fourteen years of age. However the perform­ ance was by no means marred by such unexpected out­ bursts, and after the first few minutes of the performance, the audience took even Abigail seriously. Student Beesley, as Barabas, struck the high key of his role at the outset, and there Is no denying that he did .iustice to the scene in which he Is burned to death. Even with the primitive Elizabethan setting, the scene had a strong touch of dramatic horror, and the face and voice of Barabas were a bit haunting after the play was over. . The scene In which Bernadine was strangled, was enough to satisfy and bring many to their feet in order to see if Apenzeller had really killed Erdman.l With Ben Jonson's The Silent Woman (April 10, 1913), the Association hit disaster. of the best.

Though the performance was "one

. .which has ever been given," it was presented

"not to a large and brilliant audience, but practically to an empty house."

The Prlncetonlan scored "the seat of learning"

which would permit this "admirable play of rare Ben Jonson" to "pass almost unnoticed."

1.

ibid., April 1, 1912

To be sure, conceded the writer,

183 there were "unprofessional touches, but of these the Associa­ tion, I suppose, would desire little to be said. what matters? ence.

It was a good show and took.

After all,

It got the audi­

That was the main thing But by 1914 a drastic change was indicated. For seven long years, since the founding of the English Club in 1907, the undergraduates have howled for the Association to throw them the tid­ bit of a modern play. Tonight the morsel - Ibsen’s Pillars of Society - will be dropped into their puling maw, that they may chew awhile and think.

And, Hadfield being ill, a new coach was secured In Donald H. Wheeler, of the Lawrenceville faculty.

The total results

were evidently gratifying. The Initial performance last night of Ibsen’s Pil­ lars of Society by the English Dramatic Association leaves little aoubt that the change In policy from the production of Elizabethan to modern drama has been justified in every way. Mr. Donald H. Wheelgr is to be complimented on the results of his work. In that endless battle of the Ancients and the Moderns which has Its peculiar aspects in the Uni­ versity world, and one field of which lies in the selections of the English Dramatic Association, a signal victory was won by the moderns in Friday* s performance. . • It might have been expected that the presentation of modern realism in the place of earlier romanti­ cism would have developed particular difficulties. Such was not the case. • .Of course the difficulty of the undisguisable masculine voice remains. Even the very polite audience of Friday evening could not restrain a titter when the gossiping ladles of the opening scene began to speak - deep calling unto deep. But It was noticeable how soon the In­ congruity could be disregarded by listeners Inter­ ested in the substance and not the sound of the words. . .Such Is the very brief and Inadequate description of the historical hour when Ibsen first came to Princeton. • .The moderns deserve at least a partial representation in such an organization

1. 2. 3.

Ibid.. April 11, 1913 Ibid;. April 2, 1914 iblds. April 3, 1914

as the English Dramatic Association.

The unusually

h e a r t y cordiality of the applause on Friday night

would seem to Indicate that the audience endorsed this view.1 This triumph was followed on March 24, 1915, by Shaw's Candida. In a performance which "left nothing to be desired so far as the acting of the play is concerned." In continuing its policy of last year of giving only modern drama, instead of Elizabethan drama as formerly, the English Dramatic Association has given proof of its justification in Candida. The very modern touch of Feminism In it and its marked human appeal centered in the complications of "the eternal triangle," are much more Interesting than the old stories of the Elizabethan drama.2 Yet

even so there was threat In the editorial of the next day. The English Dramatic Association has proved itself worthy of the support of undergraduates; this support It generally fails to get save In a half-hearted manner. This Indifferent attitude assumed toward the only serious dramatic offering made by Prince­ ton is due to habit as much as anything else. There have been times when the English Dramatic Association did not present plays appealing particularly to popular fancy, but last year this was not the case, and with Candida this year It certainly is not.3 The selection of April 5, 1916, was a two-way compromise.

On one hand It returned to the classics in Moliere; on the other hand into utter farce in Les Femmes Savantes.

According to the

critic "there was no hitch In the production" and the future playwright, Townsend Martin, "showed excellent ability" in Interpreting an "overly-nice" lady and was "one of the features of the play. In March, 1917, the group turned to H. H. Davids' pleas­ ant,if not particularly Important comedy,

1. 2. 3. 4.

Ibid.. Ibid., Ibid.. Ibid.,

April March March April

6, 1914. 25, 1915. 26, 1915. 6, 1916.

The Molluj^*

In

announcing the choice, The 'Prlncetonlan revealed another revo­ lutionary policy, which Was to become the become the most important single feature in the Princeton dramatic art programs rtNo hired coach will be employed, as the officers of the Asso­ ciation desire to give a play which shall be distinctly amateur* Only the efforts of the undergraduates will be employed in its production*" ^

An editorial on May 3 expanded this declaration:

The best way, perhaps the only way, to become fully acquainted with dramatic art is to write, produce, and act plays* It is therefore gratifying to learn that this year the Princeton Dramatic Association has dispensed with the.,.professional coach* The men who produce The IviolluaW are going to meet and solve every question, great and small, of the presentation of modern comedy* They will learn more about drama In six weeks of such self-training than they could in six months of academic study* It Is to be hoped that the time will come In Princeton. • .when every single detail from the writing of the play to the scene painting and acting will be absolutely In the hands of students* 2 But in the meantime war had come, and this experiment collapsed before it had a chance to be tested*

W i t h the collapse

came a permanent end to the troubled career of the English Dramatic Association, as well as to all theatre activity In Princeton University until 1919* Besides its significance as ’’the first link between undergraduate dramatics and the university teaching of drama, ” the English Dramatic Association had been of Incalculable ser­ vice in giving sin outlet to, and furnishing precedent for, interest in serious theatre on the Princeton campus.

It imme-

diateljf rectified the old Dramatic Association's neglect of tragedy by beginning with Dr. Faustus*

1. Ibid*. March 12, 1917 2* Ibid.. May 3, 1917

It recaptured the ground

186 lost by restoring classic comedy in The Knight of the Burning Pestle and a Comedy of Errors*

Unfortunately the victim of a

quite pointless dispute between old and new, producing an either instead of both psychology, it nevertheless Included in Its total repertoire a span from Marlowe to Shaw. In spite of faculty sponsorship, through most of its career, it followed the lead of the Triangle Club in maintaining a professional coach* of town*

It also took some of Its productions out

And in its last pronouncements the English Dramatic

Association established the principle of theory upon which the Theatre Intime was to build* Traditions of Independence at Princeton Since this principle of Independence is the most signif­ icant single feature of the program of dramatic art in Princeton, it might be well before continuing to consider some of the out­ side historical Influences which have helped shape that indepen­ dence*

Of those Influences, the administration's attitude

toward theatre in the curriculum is perhaps the most powerful* Princeton was founded as what was in fact largely a pro­ fessional theological school*

For years its student body was

almost exclusively ministerial students for the New Light branch of the Presbyterian clergy, and its curriculum consisted of the specific professional knowledge and skills needed for the practical ministry of the eighteenth century*

In those turbulent

times, torn by uncertain struggle for power among various religious groups, an official charter for a new institute of religious indoctrination, particularly of a minority religion, was difficult to obtain*

To overcome this hurdle

187 the founding fathers offered two propositions; first, that in admitting students to the new college, no discrimination would he made against any student because of his religious beliefs, and second, that this predominantly professional theological curriculum was an ideal foundation of knowledge for anybody's vocation*

In the eighteenth century this notion made sense

because the body of available information regarding any other subjects than the theological ones (among which, as has been noted, was the existing knowledge of the physical sciences) was negligible.^

The arguments were persuasive and the charter

was granted. But as the other vocations gradually developed a core of knowledge sufficient to be Identified as professional curricula of their own, they too began to clamor for schools* Princeton made repeated attempts to meet.

This demand

In 1830 for example

the trustees tried to lay the foundations for a medical school in the appointment of Samuel Ladd Howell as Professor of anatomy and physiology*

But in 1835 Howell died, his chair remained

vacant and "the embryo medical school came to an untimely end * " 2 A Law School was undertaken in 1847 with a New Jersey Chief Jus­ tice and several distinguished lawyers as faculty members, but it expired nine years later as a financial failure.

As recent­

ly as 1925 Professor Philip Marshall Brown made a vain plea that 4 the University try again* These failures occatiped at a time that the blunders of Green and Carnahan had brought the college to the verge of bank-

1. See Thomas J. Werteribaker, Princeton. 1746-1896. p* 94. 2* Ibid*,- pp• 229 ff • 3. TSE37. p* 229 4* Thie Prlncetonlan, January 30, 1925

188 ruptcy, the parent church had established a new Theological Seminary next door, and almost all of the remaining students on the campus had been drained off to the Seminary.

In 1856

President MacLean found his college not only without students but on the whole without even a reason for students.

Having

lost Its position as a theological training ground, and financially unable to establish another professional school In Its place, Princeton hit upon an Ingenious plan: Recalling the second of the propositions on which It secured its charter, it proclaimed that no student had a right to seek professional competence in any field until he had fulfilled his obligations to a pre­ conceived "common body of knowledge" which was to be identical for everyone. that

By a happy stroke, thought had

revealed to MacLean

this "common body of knowledge" should exactly co-incide

with his otherwise obsolete theological curriculum,'1' In his inaugural address he set forth the basic conceptions of this "liberal" as opposed to "professional" education, "No chimerical experiments In education have ever had the least countenance here. Mental discipline has been aimed at. . .Nor has it ever been the aim. . • to make the college a collection of separate schools and to permit the students here to determine for them­ selves to.what branches they shall devote their time," Students were to adhere henceforth to the "time-honored plan" of "having one course of study for all the students."

In this

"time-honored plan" the emphasis was to be placed upon religion, to which "every other part of education was to be subordinated."

1,

2.

The curriculum at this time consisted of classics, belleslettres, geography, divinity, science, mathematics, philosophy, logic, Hebrew, chronology, metaphysics, and religious history. Wertenbaker, op. clt., pp. 20, 92, 116 Ibid., p. 257

189 With the industrial revolution and an apprently limit­ less new continent to exploit, the nation had entered upon a period of enormous expansion of wealth in which it largely lost track of all values except those of materialism.^

This was the

age of the giant iron dog on the lawn, prized because he looked so real and cost so much money.

In brief, history had co-oper­

ated to make particularly plausible the argument that a defici­ ency in the substance of the professional theological curriculum was exactly what was wrong with America.

At a time when every

fact and every skill was judged precisely In terms of its cash value, the American liberal arts college raised its voice to insist that some facts and ideas have values which cannot be estimated In terms of money.

The result of this conflict

was a division of all knowledge Into Information which had a cash value and information which did not have a cash value, with the trade school educators Insisting that no inform­ ation could be good unless it made money and the liberal arts educators insisting that no Information could be good jyr it made money.

g

This situation produced a number of curious by-products. It has made the trade school educator the progressive In educa­ tion.

Since there is obviously more money to be made, there is

also theoretically an Improved education which might make it. The materialistically-based school becomes the one searching

1.

See for example Allan Nevins, The Emergence of Modern America. 1865-1878, passim. 2 , For'“a cTeTTailed discussion of this dichotomy, see Henry W. Stuart. Liberal and Vocational Studies in the College. Cali­ fornia: Stanford University tress, 1918, passim.

190 for new curricula, testing new techniques, forging ahead.1

The

liberal arts school on the other hand, Is the perennial conservative, because if it were to experiment it might stumble Into knowledge which would make money.

Better it should cling

resolutely to the tried and true cashless curriculum.

Note

for example the following quotation from Wertenbaker: Despite the tedium of classwork, the students complained more of the rigidity of the curriculum and of the subjects included in it than of the teaching. Despite the talk about mental discipline, despite the pleas that one could not master English without knotting Latin, despite the beauty of ancient literature, they were skeptical about the value of classics and mathematics. But the trustees and the faculty clung to the old program. It had been basic in the days of Jonathan Dickinson and of Witherspoon; it must be basic now. The only concessions to the pleas of the undergraduates was the institution of elective courses, entirely outside the curriculum, and for these the students paid fees, and received no official credit. In this way French, German, Italian, English literature, and architecture crept into Princeton as subjects to be tolerated > but they continued to be regarded with suspicion. This conservatism ever and anon forces the liberal arts educator into embarrassing positions.

Rather than leading

him constantly to re-examine the available knowledge of the world for substance which might increase the liberality of the curriculum, which might Infuse the intellectual, aesthetic, and ethical core of his education with greater fervor and deeper meaning, It keeps him resisting available knowledge for fear that It might detract from the liberality already achieved.3

1. 2. 3.

Note for example such universities as New York University and Columbia with their varied trade schools coupled with their Schools of Education. Wertenbaker, on. cit., p. 235. Date, c. 1850. Note for example^ the fear of learning to paint pictures in the art department, as expressed In the editorial on page 193, ahd the "suspicion" of foreign language, English literature, and architecture In the quotation above.

191 For example, with the appearance of D a r w i n ’s discoveries,

the

liberal educators at Princeton found themselves forced for a number of years to maintain a chair on the Harmony of Science and Revealed Religion in order to rationalize D a r w i n away, rather than to Incorporate the brash newcomer into the circle of knowledge worth knowing.^But when some upstart like Darwin or M a r x at last wedges his way into the curriculum, a new problem arises.

Sinc e it

would be heresy to suggest that any part of "the co m m o n body of knowledge" of the eighteenth century curriculum m i g h t now be dispensed with except for the man with special interest in it, there is nothing to do but add the new element to the old, much as one might stuff another sardine into a b u l g i n g tin. Even by the end of MacLean*s rule "the junior and senior courses must have seemed to the students like a moving panorama, giving them hasty glimpses of calculus, Latin, Greek, history, p h i l o ­ sophy, mechanics, physics, rhetoric, theology, geography, astronomy, chemistry, geology, botany, architecture,

constltutlon-

al law, economics, zoology, etc." Apropros of the comments on Darwin,

it m a y be noted that

the physical sciences at Princeton got out of hand In two directions.

In the first place, instead of f u l f illing their

quiet chore of proving that eighteenth century theological conceptions were right, they proved that on the contrary e i g h t ­ eenth century theological conceptions were wrong, thro w i n g the

1. 2.

See data pertaining to Professor Charles Shields, Office of the Secretary of Princeton University. Wertenbaker, op. cit., p. 287

i n the

192 fchll-ordered scheme Into chaos.

Then, Instead of submitting

meekly to annihilation for their misdeeds, they formed a league with the materialists and established the militantly professional School of Engineering.1

Since it i 3 the duty of

educational theory to prove that whatever is, is the best possible education, the Princeton theorists are at work on a statement which will establish that a college should be anti­ professional except for an engineering school which should be professional.

That they are finding the going a little rough

will be Indicated in the editorials quoted below, but something completely adequate will doubtless be forthcoming eventually. Princeton, innocent as it is of the professional schools, which in other institutions may provide a utilitarian training for life, still gives its chief emphasis to the general rather than the specialized discipline of the mind. . .You can get something which may be more important - that something which is embodied in our meaning of a 1liberal education1 and the homogeneity of the undergraduate body. By this homogeneity we mean a certain feeling of the essential unity of the college which does not challenge the distinct individualism of its members. It may be objected that the School of Engineering, for Instance, is In opposition to the non-utilitarian ideal of Princeton. This school, however, has a long and honorable tradition as a thoroughly welded j>art of Princeton, and we do not feel that it is inconsistent with the general theory in the way it is taught here. On the other hand, that the theorists intend to take no such nonsense from the fine arts is indicated the next day. Princeton confines Itself almost wholly to the facts of art, leaving its practice and appreciation to the students. This is entirely along the lines of the cultural policies we support. The function of a college such as Princeton is to educate, not to

1. 2.

Ibid., p. 311 frhe Princetonlan, October 10, 1928

193 train. A state university has a certain obligation to graduate men who are prepared for something, who can go out the next day and get a Job and make a success of it. Princeton’s function is, if we may use the expression, to prepare men for life, to people the country With cultured gentlemen - not intelligent painters, but intelligent men. If these men wish to become lawyers or engineers or painters they are expected to go to a professional school; it is assumed by the fact of their presence at Princeton that they mean to do so. It may be objected that scholarship men will be unable to do this. Princeton Is not run for scholarship men: a man who accepts a scholarship at Princeton should not expect a profes­ sional training; if he wishes more than a cultural education, he should go somewhere else. This Is more or less the understanding upon which Princeton was founded. Unfortunately the understanding is growing less clear. As witness Washington Road. . . The specialization which induces a man to learn all there is to know about the art and history and language and customs of the Renaissance Is beneficial; but the specialization that forces a man to spend all his mornings and 2/3 of his afternoons inside the School of Science Is contrary to Princeton’s ideals of education. To return to the art department, the undergraduate art should remain an art department and not an art school. No one can expect to come to Princeton to learn to paint pictures and design skyscrapers. • • Even so, Princeton’s architecture department, chiefly because of the time it extracts, is as guilty as any of defeating the cause of cultural education. Pro­ fessionalism of necessity follows graduation. Let It not also precedent. Against such a background, it can be seen that a study of the art of the theatre would have a grim time finding a place In the Princeton curriculum.

Although all reports Indicate that

there is probably no likelier way of losing money than to have something to do with the theatre, It cannot be denied that some people have made money at it.

Therefore if one learns to read

a line of Shakespeare intelligently, there is always the danger

1.

Ibid., October 11, 1928

194 that he will sneak off and turn that competence into cash. And if it is pointed out that a knowledge of calculus may be turned into the manufacture of an atomic bomb, the liberal educator will tell you that calculus is already established as a part of the ’’common body of knowledge" which every educated man should have, and ask if you are going to add to the liberal «

art student1s'intellectual indigestion by insisting that he also develop discrimination and insight into one of the major art forms of our time.

For you cannot propose that one man may

transcend the materialistic pressures of our time through a contemplation of the purity and eternal verity of abstract mathematics, where another may do the same through the creation of a beautiful work of art.

With the "common body of knowledge"

theory, you can suggest an educational enrichment only if that enrichment is prepared to elbow its way into the existing intellectual kaleidoscope.1

The tradition of the university

then has been academically to relegate discrimination and per­ ception in theatre art .to the temples of the money changers. Yet again one must not confuse majority opinion with total opinion.

In the earliest days of the Dramatic Association,

Professor Libbey exerted himself strenuously to help the young actors.

2

The entire English faculty was actively behind the

efforts of the English Dramatic Association;

Indeed the impulse

for the organization seems clearly to have come from them.

1. 2. 3.

Note the situation at the close of MacLean1s presidency, discussed on page 191. See page 82. See page 178.

195 Donald Stuart-was actually a faculty member earning money for coaching dramatics, occasionally quality dramatics.

And of

course he was one of the pioneers in insisting upon the critical Importance of theatre art as a liberal art.*

In later times

Professor Stauffer, Dean Gauss, and President Dodds, to m e n t i o n only a few, emerge as champions of an effort to give the creative approach to the fine arts an academic standing of equal dignity 2

with the critical and historical approach.

Nevertheless, all

thing* considered, the general conviction that theatre art should not (because of its possible professionalism! and can not (because of the already over-crowded "common body of knowledge" of which a liberal education is presinned to consist) be made a part of the curriculum of a liberal arts college would seem to be a major factor in keeping the Theatre Intime so distinctly apart from any faculty connections. A second element in the incidental but very real mountain of work which practical achievement In the theatre involves. Norris Houghton, during his brief period as a faculty member at Princeton, undertook a genuine supervision of the University's dramatic program.

Co-incidence or not, Houghton's health broke

down in little over a year.

His successor in the course on the

Development of Dramatic Art, Alan Downer, who came to Princeton

1. See Chapter VI. 2. See page Af?.

196 following a seven year stretch as an active academic director of plays, stipulated specifically that he was not to be required to undertake any actual direction here.'1’ Willard Thorp, a former director of the Provincetown Playhouse, did some brilliant coaching during his early years at Princeton, but has been unable 2

to spare any further time in the theatre for more than a decade. A second reason then why the faculty have had no connection with the Theatre Intime is that the professors best qualified to give help have not been able to afford the time. A final wall between faculty and students in the Theatre Intime was the fact that traditionally Princeton studehts have not found the faculty sympathetic in the matters which concerned them most.

The riots and violence of the early nineteenth cen­

tury have ceased, but the students do not forget that again and again the knowledge for which they so ardently thirsted was denied them and instead a "mental discipline11 thrust down their parched throats.

In general therefore, when undertaking

an activity of real consequence to themselves, such as campus publications, a radio station, or debating societies, students have proceded with resolute Independence.

Nor Is it any

secret that many students have found these unmolested hours the real benefit they have received from their college ex­ perience.

A quotation from Thomas Wertenbaker regarding

debating societies In the early nineteenth century illus-

1. 2. 3.

Interview with Alan Downer, September 24, 1948 The Princeton Herald. February 5, 19550 See page 190.

197 trates

this points The moderator* was speaking advisedly when he claimed that the societies had laid the foundation for the d i s t i n c t i o n won in later life by so many of their me m b e r s . The boy who entered either Whig or Clio f o u n d himself a citizen in a little republic, whose b e n e f i t s and responsibilities he shared. In his s o ciety he could express his own ludgment, have a part in making regulations and sharing policies, strive for honors without interference from the fac­ ulty, express his opinions from the floor, sharpen his wit b y debates w i t h other members, learn to cooperate for the good of the society and. feel the stimulus which comes f r o m rivalry. In comparison w i t h the intellectual life of Whig and Clio, regu­ lar college courses seemed dull and uninspiring. A g a i n it should not be pres u m e d that this sentiment was

u n i v e r s a l among the students, n or that it was u n i v e r s a l l y de ­ served b y the faculty, but the widespread existence of the a t titude is o b v i o u s l y relevant in explaining why the Intime t o o k the shape It did.

Post-War Beginnings The p o s t - w a r renaissance in serious theatre b e g a n with a p r o d u c t i o n of M a e t e r l i n k ’s Sister Beatrice

(May 29, 1919)

at

the G r a d u a t e College, under the direction of Donald Stuart. The rev i e w e r calls It ’’the epitome of every expectation that the f ollowers of local drama have ever entertained. speaking, It was School,

and o f such a production this is the only wa y to speak,

a complete l success.”

The Great Hall of the Graduate

te m p o r a r i l y in disuse,

lent Itself admirably to the

m a g i c of D o n a l d S t u a r t 's stagecraft, atmosphere was the result. p e r f o rmance.

1.

Artistically

and an inspiring medieval

The cast gave a restrained,

’’Profes s o r Stuart has all in all taken the

Wertenbaker,

op.

c l t ., p. 203

Impressive

198 only decisive step toward placing Princeton on the theatrical map.”*

But this gesture had neither a permanent home nor a

permanent program to sustain it, and nothing more came of Stuart’s interest in serious drama for another three years. In the meantime, in a curiously oblique way, a handful of students were working toward a solution of their own. Prompted perhaps by a recent New York visit of the Diaghileff Ballet Russe, a group of Princeton students consisting of Kenneth Miller, Chandler Hale, R. E. Kent, Reginald Lawrence, and Charles H. Scribner assembled in February, 1920, at a room in South Witherspoon Hall, to give four "not very reverent im­ itations” of the great dancer Nljlnski, under the title, Le Ballet Intime.

The adjective "Intime” was well chosen, for

although with later spectacles, the audience was to swell to six, at this Initial venture four Invited patrons were present. The hit of the evening, danced by Kenneth Miller and Chandler g

Hale, was called "The Ballet of the Lemon Tree.” First Months of the Intime Le Ballet Intime was given only once.

But Its public

had been enough amused that Kent, Lawrence, Scribner, and two underclassmen, Hyatt Mayor and Louis E, Laflin, Jr., de­ cided to give a dramatic performance on Saturday, March 6, 1920.

1* 2.

That night, before an audience of six in a vacant room In

The Princetonlan. May 30, 1917 EaTiin, Louis 38., Jr., "The Genesis of the Theatre Intime,” p. 371. Much eppplementary material In this section has been furnished by Dr. Laflin in letters to the author, JulyAugust , 1949•

199 1 Witherspoon Hall,

they presented a bill consisting of three

Items: the last act of Ibsen*s Ghosts, with Oswald played by Hale and Mrs. Alving by Scribner; the Dagger Scene from Macbeth with Kent in the title role and Lawrence as Lady Macbeth; and Act III Scene 4 of Hamlet.

Hamlet was played as written.

Mac­

beth was sung as a parody on Grand Opefca with music "by assorted hymn writers and composers.” the addition of one line.

Ghosts was played straight - with

After Oswald's "Give me the sun - the

sun - the sun," Mrs. Alving replied: ’’The Sun didn't come this morning, Oswald.

But here*s the New York Times*”

And she

produced It.^ Says laflin: ”This performance was given without any thought of repetition* blatantly highbrow*

It was a frank attempt at eccentricity -

There Is a wholesome campus prejudice against

the esoteric - almost against culture or knowledge - at times a trifle too wholesome, and It was this the students wished to defy*1,3

But so enthusiastic was the audience toward this enter­ tainment that the actors decided to appear again on April 12, 1920*

By this time they had an Inkling of their destiny and

1* Some of the details in this account vary from the ones stated in an article by Reginald Lawrence In the Prlnoetonian. April 14, 1927* As this latter was written several years after the events in question, where the account above is taken from contemporary records, It is assumed the details here set down are the more accurate* 2* "Our literary club, the Fromage Club, was already formed before thiB bill* We had a Shakespeare program and the Hamlet scene above was first acted for that in 95 Blair Hall together with a reading of W. S. Gilbert's R o A e t o , ^ ^ ^ ^ m |^s^ern* Same group as Intime *" - Letters to tne author rrom -uouis Laflin, July-August, 1949. 3 . Laflin, "The Genesis of the Theatre Intime," o p . clt*. p. 372

adopted the name by which they are still known - the Theatre Intime.

After a proscenium and curtain had been constructed

out of blankets, there was room on the stage for about three actors.

The door had to be closed before the audience could

sit down. The evening concluded with a repetition of Macbeth, but the first two numbers were serious - inspired, Lawrence suggests, Ly nostalgia for the days of the English Dramatic Association. The Ottlma and Sebald episode of Browning's Flppa Passes was spoken by silhouetted actors.

In Dunsany's The Glittering Gate

orange blankets for the Golden Gate opened on a black blanket, against which a flashlight from behind produced a falling star. A third bill on May 14, 1920, Introduced Dunsany's Fame and the Poet and repeated The Glittering Gate and Macbeth.

By

now the Intime was already well on the way to legend, and it was necessary to lock the door in order that the audience would be small enough to be kept off the "stage." At this time part of the group, instigated by Louis Laflin, suggested that in the Intime lay perhaps the germ of a permanent activity: a campus club for the creation and mounting of fcheir own plays.

In tracing the external forces which influ­

enced him, Laflin says: William Thompson Price had started a school for playwriting In New York in 1900 - the first of its kind In the Christian era. This had inspired George Pierce Baker's famous 47 workshop at Harvard, developed from a course in the English department, English 47. This in turn inspired Princeton's French department to permit Dr. Donald Clive Stuart. . .to teach drama history and dramatic technique In a course known as French 407. This of course was the direct Inspiration of the Theatre Intime, which took its cues from the classics.

1,

Laflin, Letters, op. clt.. pages unnumbered

To this p r o p o s a l however, rence,

Kent,

and Scribner,

the

older guard,

objected.

such as Law­

As L a f l i n p u t s it:

T h e y h a d t r i e d to b e e c c e n t r i c for their ov/n amuse­ ment. T h e y h a d s u c c e e d e d admirably. The y did not w a n t to e s t a b l i s h a n y t h i n g permanent. T h e y did not w a n t to b e serious. T h e y w e r e true bohemians, quite s a t i s f i e d w i t h h a v i n g h a d th e i r play. They even w e n t so far as to say t h e y did not want an audience. F r o m this time on,

t h e r e w a s o c c a s i o n a l disa g r e e m e n t in the group

b e t w e e n the c o n s e r v a t i v e s

and the r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s w i t h the campus

v i s io n . To the l a t t e r g r o u p it w a s a p p a r e n t once h a v e l a r g e r q u a r t e r s , ities.

room.

set to work on the author­

F r o m t h e m w a s o b t a i n e d p e r m i s s i o n to use a square room

at the top of a l o n g just

a n d t hey

the c l u b m u s t at

i n time, On May

spiral

s t a i r c a s e in the old G y m n a s i u m -

as a s t u d e n t h a d b e e n m o v e d into the W i t hers poon 27,

t h e y p r e s e n t e d t h e i r f o u r t h bil l in these new

quarters. The r o o m w a s about t h i r t y f eet square. A third was cut o f f w i t h o l d c u r t a i n s . • .left f r o m the English D r a m a t i c Society. T h e s t a g e was on a le v e l with the audi e n c e , w h i c h sat in four rows of ten rickety f o l d i n g cha i r s . The p r o s c e n i u m was m a d e of old w a s h e d - o u t canvas, hung, w h i l e it was st i l l wet, in f o l d s f r o m the c e i l i n g . T h e opening was b a r e l y six f e e t h i g h and eight f e e t wide. One set of neutral f l a t s w a s m a d e a n d p a i n t e d b y the company, and. a c y c l o r a m a of d a r k g r e e n m u s l i n was b r o u g h t to light f r o m s ome d e f u n c t o r g a n i z a t i o n of the past. F o r the f i r s t n u m b e r on the bill, of h i s o w n Ogden

e n t i t l e d Swine,

T. M a r s h ,

w i t h himself,

Laflin p r e s e n t e d a play Charles 0.

a n d A. H y a t t Mayor i n t h e cast.

dramatization

of t h e m i r a c l e

•imaginatively

told.

Chestnut,

The- p l a y is a

of the G a d a r e n e Swine,

simply but

It e s t a b l i s h e d at once an e s s e n t i a l differ­

1. Laf l i n , "The G e n e s i s 2. Loc. cit.

of the T h e a t r e

Intime," op.

c l t . . p. 373

ence b e t w e e n

the I n t i m e and the T riangle,

for not

o p e n a t r e m e n d o u s n e w range of s u b j e c t m a t t e r studen t p l a y w r i g h t ,

b u t it sought

o n l y d i d it

and m o o d

an a r t i s t i c a l l y

to the

appropriate

f o r m r a t h e r t h a n the r e p r o d u c t i o n of a h a c k n e y e d f o r m u l a, acter i n s t e a d of caricature, second n u m b e r by

the

style i n s t e a d of g a g s .

For

the

company p r e s e n t e d one of the b e s t - k n o w n p l a y s

a f o r m e r P r i n c e t o n man, K e n n e t h S a w y e r G o o d m a n ’s A G a m e

Chess.

T h e i r l ast n u m b e r was a r e p e t i t i o n of F a m e The final bil l

of the y e a r

a p p e a r e d on J u n e

and I n c l u d e d a n o t h e r operatic w o r k b y R a l p h K e n t

a n I n t e r l u d e by A. Hy a t t Mayor,

5,

a n d Louis L a f l i n - a b u r l e s q u e

T r i a n g l e shpw,

T h e Isle of S u r p r i s e .

and Reginald

1920,

current

i n c l u d e d an i n ­

and an O r i e n t a l D a n c e

C h a n d l e r Hale.

In t h e f a l l

B ut it w a s

the Lock.

of t h e

T his last

t e r p o l a t e d n u m b e r b y Charles S c ribner,

manuscripts,

the eager c o m p a n y r e t u r n e d ,

loaded with

to f i n d most of the p r o s c e n i u m h a d t u m b l e d d o w n .

r e s t o r e d in time for a student

audience

to witness Eureka by Reginald Lawrence,

C o n s c i e n c e b y L o u i s L a f l i n (with E d w a r d W e v e r

on October

C o n i g s b y 1s

In the t i t l e role),

The G l i t t e r i n g G a t e , and Charles Scribnerte h i l a r i o u s Western drama, n e r all Inal,

S w i n e , but that

N e l l of Gray Gulc h .

took nart

less

as actors.

convincing, in its u s e

Lawr e n c e ,

s a t i r e on

Laflin,

C o n i g s b y 1s C o n s c i e n c e

and S c r i b ­

is l e s s

and less f o r t u n a t e i n Its d i a l o g u e of the c o n t e m p o r a r y

scene

the b o u n d a r i e s of subject m a t t e r f o r the

limitless,

1920,

and The I sle of P a r a d i s e b y

H e n r y G. M i n e r

"cr e a t e d " b y

of

a n d the Poet.

L a w r e n c e e n t i t l e d S a m s o n and D e l i l a h or T h e R a p e of

7,

char­

a n d t h e treatment

it

than

illustrated

I n t i m e w e r e to be

constantly Imaginative.

g r a m w a s r e p e a t e d f o r the fac u l t y

or ig-

on O c t o b e r 14.

This p r o ­

e n c e "between the I n t i m e

and the Triangle,

f o r not

o p e n a t r e m e n d o u s n e w r a n g e of sub j e c t m a t t e r s t u den t p l a y w r i g h t ,

but

it

sought

and m o o d to the

an a r t i s t i c a l l y

f o r m r a t h e r t h a n the r e p r o d u c t i o n of a h a c k n e y e d acter instead

of carica t u r e ,

only did It

appropriate formula, c h a r ­

style i n s t e a d of gags.

For the

second n u m b e r the c o m p a n y p r e s e n t e d one of the b e s t - k n o w n p l a y s by

a f o r m e r P r i n c e t o n man,

Chess.

K e n n e t h S a w y e r G o o d m a n ' s A Game of

T h e i r last n u m b e r w a s The f i n a l b i l l

a r e p e t i t i o n of F a m e and the Poet.

of the y e a r

a p p e a r e d o n J u n e 5, 1920,

and I n c l u d e d a n o t h e r o p e r a t i c w o r k b y R a l p h K e n t

and Reginald

)

L a w r e n c e e n t i t l e d S a m s o n and D e l i l a h or T h e R a p e of the Lock# a n I n t e r l u d e b y A. H y a t t

Mayor, and The Isle of P a r a d i s e by

H e n r y G. M i n e r

and L o u i s L a f l i n - a b u r l e s q u e

Triangle

T h e I sle of S u r p r i s e .

shpw,

This

t e r p o l a t e d n u m b e r b y C h a r l e s Scribner,

of the current

last

included an I n ­

and an O r i e n t a l Dance

"created" by Chandler Hale. I n the f all the e a g e r c o m p a n y r e t u r n e d , manuscripts, But 7,

to f i n d m o s t of the p r o s c e n i u m h a d tu m b l e d down.

it w a s r e s t o r e d in time f o r a student 1920,

l o a d e d with

a u d i e n c e on October

to w i t n e s s E u r e k a b y R e g i n a l d L a w r e n c e ,

Conscience by Louis Laflin

Conigsby's

(w i t h E d w a r d W e v e r I n the title role),

Th e G l i t t e r i n g G a t e , and C h a r l e s Scribnerfe h i l a r i o u s W e s t e r n drama, ner

all t o o k p a r t

inal,

less

S w i n e , but th a t

W e l l of G r a y G u l c h . as actors.

c o nvincing, in its u s e

the b o u n d a r i e s

limitless,

Lawr e n c e ,

Conigsby's

Laflin,

satire on and S c r i b ­

C o n s c i e n c e is less o r i g ­

and l e s s f o r t u n a t e i n Its dialogue th a n of the

contemporary

scene it illustrated

of su b j e c t m a t t e r f o r t h e I n t i m e were to be

and the t r e a t m e n t

constantly imaginative.

g r a m w a s r e p e a t e d f o r the f a c u l t y on O c t o b e r 14.

This p r o ­

203 On O c tober

2 3 a n d 3 0 a n d N o v e m b e r 4,

The Q u e e n 1 s E n e m i e s b y L o r d D u n a a n y , by C h a r l e s S c r i b n e r ,

Dr.

1920,

T h e G-irl W h o W a s D i f f e r e n t

S m i l e y Dinea

Out b y L o u i s L a f l i n ,

B o m b a r d e d b y M o l e c u l e s b y P h i l i p E. W h e e l w r i g h t . piece

is a n a m u s i n g d o m e s t i c

Wheelwright sends his n ow lost, b u t

he g i v e s

scene

regrets this

appeared

L a f l i n 1s

and its d i a l o g u e

rings

that B o m b a r d e d b y M o l e c u l e s

account

and

true. is

of t h e w o r k :

At t h e t i m e I w r o t e the p l a y I w a s t a k i n g a b i o l o g y c o u r s e w i t h P r o f e s s o r Conklin, and t h e r e w a s a onec e l l e d cr e a t u r e about whose status b i o l o g i s t s were t h e n d i s p u t i n g - t h e y c o u l d n ' t d e c i d e w h e t h e r the t h i n g s h o u l d b e c l a s s i f i e d in the v e g e t a b l e or a n i ­ mal kingdom. I n o l o n g e r r e c a l l the c r e a t u r e ' s na m e , a n d h a v e n o idea w h e t h e r the d i s p u t e h a s n o w b e e n s e t t l e d ; a n y w a y the p l a y was a c r a z y f a r c e a b o u t the c r e a t u r e ' s suit to m a r r y a b e a u t i f u l p a r a m e c i u m (the l i n e "There is a n u c l e u s in m y b o s o m a n d its c h r o m o s o m e s b e a t o n l y f o r y o u " . . . b r o u g h t the h o u s e d o w n e f f e c t i v e l y on e a c h of t h e t h r e e n i g h t s ) a n d the p a r a m e c l u m p a r e n t s ' r e j e c t i o n of h i s suit on the g r o u n d s of h i s a m b i g u o u s c o n d i ­ tion ("What? M y daughter marry a v e g e t a b l e ? " was also good for a horse laugh - don't judge u s too h a r s h l y , r e m e m b e r h o w fast s t y l e s of h u m o r c h a n g e I) a n d f i n a l l y t h e v o i c e s of the o f f - s t a g e g o d s ( P r o ­ f e s s o r C o n k l i n and a popular lab instructor, cleverly i m i t a t e d b y L a f l i n ) d e c r e e i n g t h a t on t h e b a s i s of t h e m o s t r e c e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n s the c r e a t u r e w a s h e n c e f o r t h , w i t h all its d e s c e n d e n t s , to b e r e c o g n i z e d as a n animal. . .The c r u c i a l t e s t of the h e r o ' s a n i m a l i t y i n v o l v e d an i n j e c t i o n o f i n k i n t o the s l i d e on w h i c h all this w a s t a k i n g p l a c e - I r e m e m b e r we a c t u a l l y p e r f o r m e d s u c h a n e x p e r i m e n t in the l a b o r a t o r y that y e a r - a n d it w a s t h u s t h i s m o m e n t a r i l y catastrophic bombardment b y ink m o l e ­ c u l e s t h a t l e d to t h e p l a y ' s r e s o l u t i o n . The aud­ i e n c e w a s s u p p o s e d to b e l o o k i n g at the a c t i o n t h r o u g h the e y e of a m i c r o s c o p e ; the a c t i o n t o o k p l a c e b e t w e e n l a y e r s of b l u e g a u z e , f r o n t a n d rear; t h e a c t o r s l i k e w i s e w ore l o o s e b l u e g a u z e o v e r their c l othing and maintained a c o n t i n u o u s u n d u l a t ­ i n g m o t i o n as t h e y spoke t h e i r l i n e s . S t a g e d a nd d e s i g n e d b y R e g i n a l d L a w r e n c e '21, t h e b e s t of the o r i g i n a l I n t i m e g r o u p and its h a r d e s t w o r k e r . ^

1.

Letter to the author, August 16, 1949

204 O n the S a t u r d a y s lowing plays were

of N o v e m b e r 1 3 a n d 20,

presented:

1 9 2 0 , ' the f o l ­

The Lost S i l k H a t b y Dunsany,

Y o u n g M a s t e r *s A r r i v a l b y C h a r l e s S c r i b n e r b u t l e r exposition technique),

(a s p o o f

The

on the maid-

and T h e M o u s e t r a p b y W i l l i a m Dean

Howells. The farce

ab o u t

St. G e o r g e ,

fourth bill

included Crimson Berries by Laflin

a temperamental

opera

star),

the m e d i e v a l

Oxfordshire

S h o w ' s D a r k L a d y of the S o n n e t s , and I f S h a k e s p e a r e

Were Alive T o d a y , the

latter prob a b l y the A m e r i c a n premiere

D u n s a n y ’s l a t e s t w o r k .

It

a p p e a r to h a v e b e e n D e c e m b e r 4 and 11, On D e c e m b e r

14,

of

closed with Scribner's hilarious

d r a m a t i z a t i o n of L e a c o c k ’s C a r o l i n e ' s C h r i s t m a s .

notice

(a

1920,

The dates

1920.

T h e P r l n c e t o n l a n g a v e Its

first

to the n e w g r o u p : L e T h e a t r e I n t i m e Is a d r a m a t i c o r g a n i z a t i o n that is v e r y l i t t l e k n o w n to t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e s of the University. It w a s s t a r t e d l a s t y e a r . . .It Is u n i q u e a m o n g d r a m a t i c o r g a n i z a t i o n s in t h a t it has e l i m i n a t e d e n t i r e l y the q u e s t i o n of e x p e n s e . Its a u d i e n c e s are b y i n v i t a t i o n , as are its actors. S e l e c t i o n s f r o m t h e c l a s s i c s h a v e b e e n g i v e n along w i t h o r i g i n a l o n e - a c t p i e c e s . . . T here w e r e twelve a c t o r s l a s t year; s i x t e e n o t h e r s h ave since acted this year. So e n t h u s i a s t i c Is t h i s c o m p a n y that its m e m b e r s t y p e w r i t e the p r o g r a m s , f u r n i s h p r o p ­ e r t i e s , a n d a s s i s t w h o l e - h e a r t e d l y in d e s i g n i n g s c e n e r y and c o s t u m e s . E a c h b i l l is p r e s e n t e d two and s o m e t i m e s t h r e e t i mes. A s th e r e are u s u a l l y f o u r p l a y s i n an e v e n i n g , e a c h o f w h i c h h a s a cast of f r o m t w o to t e n p e r s o n s , the w o r k of a s ingle Indi­ v i d u a l Is c o m p a r a t i v e l y s m a l l . 2 But

In spite

that w h e n knowledge

of t h i s f r i e n d l y

squib,

Laflin reports

of the g r o u p f i r s t b e c a m e pub l i c ,

were universally met with a hostile attitude."

1. 2.

The

M e a n i n g the school y e a r 1919-20, not d u r i n g 1919 The P r i n c e t o n l a n , D e c e m b e r 14, 1 9 2 0

"they

student

body considered them " a r t y ” w h i l e m o s t aged the

group f r o m g r o w i n g o n t h e g r o u n d that the I n t i m e ' s

only j u s t i f i c a t i o n for e x i s t e n c e w a s b y the end favor. 1921,

of the f a c u l t y d i s c o u r ­

of the year,

this

N ote for e x a m p l e t h e

its

Bohemianism.

Yet

even

o p i n i o n w a s c h a n g i n g in the I n t i m e ' account

of

a r e p o r t e r In t h e J u n e

6

issue of The P r i n c e t o n ! a n : The w r i t e r . • .went w i t h s o m e m i s g i v i n g s . Rumor had it tha t t h e I n t i m e w a s a h i g h l y e x c l u s i ve, r a t h e r snob b i s h , a n d v e r y B o h e m i a n g r o u p of " s p i r ­ i t s . ” W h a t w a s h i s s u r p r i s e then, to f i n d it i ns t e a d a v e r y m o d e s t , a n o t too serious, a n d a quite sane o r g a n i z a t i o n , g i v i n g o r i g i n a l p l a y s f o r its own p r o f i t a n d e n j o y m e n t , qu i t e u n c o n c e r n e d w h e t h e r or n o t t h e y w e r e s e e n b y the a u d i e n c e . • • No p r e t e n c e w a s m a d e to m a k e It a n y t h i n g m o r e t h a n it was.. Its o n l y d e c o r a t i o n w a s two p o s t e r s . I ts p r o s c e n i u m a r c h w a s of c a n v a s , and its c u r t a i n of red f l a n n e l . S o m e of I t s s c e n e r y had seen b e t t e r days. L i k e w i s e w i t h t h e p e r f o r m a n c e , some of t h e acting w a s n o m o r e t h a n p a s s a b l e . Som e of the plays were ineffective. Stage properties were o f t e n s k e t c h y , a n d o n e s o m e t i m e s h a d the s h o c k of r e c o g n i z i n g o n e ' s m o s t c h e r i s h e d r o o m d e c o r a ­ t ion c o n v e r t e d .f o r t h e m o m e n t into a R o m a n m a t r o n ’s costume. Yet the e n s e m b l e of r o o m , p l a y s , actors, and a u d i ­ ence was s o m e t h i n g e n t i r e l y new. H e r e was a n a t m o s p h e r e of s p o n t a n e i t y , i ntimacy, a n d f r e s h n e s s . One felt n o o b l i g a t i o n e i t h e r t o like or d i s l i k e what w a s o f f e r e d . O n e r e a l i z e d that t h o s e w h o w e r e a ppearing I n ’ t h e p i e c e s of t h e e v e n i n g w e r e n o t p r i ­ m a r i l y i n t e r e s t e d I n t h e v e r d i c t of the a u d i e n c e ' s p l e a s u r e or d i s p l e a s u r e b u t r a t h e r in the o p p o r t u n ­ ities for e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i n d r a m a t i c w r i t i n g a n d production. A bill, p r o b a b l y o n J a n u a r y 15,

i n c l u d e d Will O' Scribner, rence"),

the W i s p b y J . S.

Taylor,

Swa n S o n g b y A n t o n C h e k h o v

conjecturally

Spilled M i l k b y

( "superbly acted b y L a w ­

and The S h o c k , a g a i n b y S c r i b n e r .

Probably on F e b r u a r y 4 a n d 12, 1921,

1921,

the p r o g r a m I n c l u d e d T h e M y s t i c

an a d a p t a t i o n of the R. E. Kent,

a n d c e r t a i n l y o n t he

a n d the M o u s e b y S c r i b n e r ,

XJT I d y l of T h e o c r i t u s ,

and once a g a i n M a c b e t h .

25th,

In H i s I m a g e b y

L a w r e n c e a p p e a r e d In the

s e c o n d and f o u r t h n u m b e r s *

1 A r i a d e C a p o b y E d n a St, V i n c e n t M i l l a y , La w r e n c e ,

The Y o u n g e r G e n e r a t i o n b y Kent,

n e t t e b y Laflin, day, M a r c h

12

A

Working

Lawrence played

M a r c h 26,

by

and a h u m o r o u s v i g ­

M o d e l , c o m p o s e d the

(?), and Satu r d a y ,

Lonnie

show for S a t u r ­

1921.

L a f l i n and

in the l a t t e r p i e c e .

The r e v i e w e r c o n s i d e r e d L a f l i n 1s t r a n s l a t i o n of L i l u l i b n A p r i l 16,

1921,

R o l l a n d ever

intended Liluli

was a mistake

not

a success.

"It is a q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r M.

to b e p r o d u c e d .

to try to p r o d u c e

At

all e v e n t s

it

it on a stage the size of the

g Intime

stage," L i l u l i w a s the pla y for w h i c h R o m a i n R o l l a n d w a s e x i l e d f r o m P r a n c e a f t e r W o r l d W a r I, or w h i c h he w r o t e in exile. H e g a v e p e r m i s s i o n to the M o s c o w A r t T h e a t r e to p r o d u c e it, b u t let us d o it f irst. W e cut it d o w n and a n u m b e r of m i s h a p s s p o i l e d t he performance., A p r o m i n e n t m e m b e r of the G y m T e a m w i t h a fine p h y s i q u e , w a w u n a b l e to m e m o r i z e the t i t l e rol e and r e q u i r e d c o n s t a n t p r o m p t i n g , w & i l e the scenic d e s i g n e r . . . c o n f u s e d the a u d i e n c e w i t h a l a r g e t i t l e b o a r d on the c e n t r a l b r i d g e c a r e l e s s l y l a b e l l e d : "This is the B r i de."J T h e p r o d u c t i o n . • .was qu i t e an i m p o r t a n t p o i n t in the lif e of the Int i m e , It w a s the i m p o r t a n t d r a m a of the year, i n t e l l e c t u a l l y # It w a s a g r e a t t r i u m p h to b e a l l o w e d to p u t It on. It w a s (in m y m i n d ) a l a s t f l i n g f o r i n t e l l e c t u a l f r e e d o m b e f o r e we g o t t i e d d q w n b y the Y M C A and the f o r m e r l y c o n s e c r a t e d chu r c h . At t his p o i n t

conceived the Intime

a conflict

as a toy of t h e m o m e n t and t h o s e w h o h a d

e n v i s i o n e d it as a p e r m a n e n t and S c r i b n e r w e r e

arose b e tween those who had

campus laboratory.

on the v e r g e

of g r a d u a t i o n .

Kent,

Lawrence,

The Intime had

1.

"L o n n i e w a s v e r y funny. It o p e n e d b y an e l d e r l y s p i n s t e r t y p e d i s c o v e r i n g a s e v e r e d b o d y i n a trunk, and h e r e f f o r t s to cop e w i t h poo r t e l e p h o n e s e r v i c e . " - Laflin, L e t t e r s , op. c i t . . p age s u n n u m b e r e d . 2. ttlhe f r l n c e t o n l a n . J u n e 6, 1 9 2 1

o. L a f l i n , L e tter.s^ _ogA oit.j,. p a g e s unnumbered. was p resented w i t h Liluli.

B e h i n d the B e y o n d -----

207 bee n t h e i r b r a i n c h i l d and t hey w a n t e d over,

the p r o d u c t i o n of I l l u s i o n

bein g

too high-brow,

it

to d i e w i t h them.

(L i l u l i ) h a d

and they w a n t e d n o p a r t

Korn-

o f f e n d e d the m as of its e m b arrassing

flop. A split occurred t h e r e f o r e b e t w e e n Scri b n e r g r o u p and the g r o u p f a i t h f u l there were two Theatre Intimes.

to L a f l i n ,

The Old

w h i c h cons i s t e d of The L i ttle W r e c k b y

However b y

and for

a while

Intime presented by

itself in T h o m p s o n Hall a p r o d u c t i o n f o r

Molecules, A Game

the Kent-Lawrence-

t h e P r e s e n t D a y Club,

Scribner,

B o m b a r d e d by

of C h e s s , and M a c b e t h nn A p r i l

20,

the t w e n t y - t h i r d

the g r o u p s

of t h e m o n t h ,

1921.

had f o r g o t t e n t h e i r d i f f e r e n c e s

and

E m o t i o n b y T. S. Matthews

The G re a t

I d e a b y R, W. Laidlaw,

and B e h i n d the Beyo n d b y S t e p h e n L e a c o c k .

" F o r the p e r f o r m a n c e s

1922,

of M a y 7 and 14 of this bill, Jodelle*s

.ioined f o r c e s f o r R e p r e s s e d

Lawrence

original Renaissance

theatre, 1 play c a l l e d T h e E ternal S e r p e n t i n e . " O n May 20 and 21,

1921,

the

H al l f o r a p r o d u c t i o n of The O t h e r by Gene Donald

*22,

a play

about

r e c o r d w h i c h is brok e n b e f o r e M a y 28 and June cock

18, 1921,

a delightful Cleopatra

company drafted Thompson Caliph

a will

and B o n e s

and the M a n

w r i t t e n on a p h o n o g r a p h

it g e t s p l a y e d .

A final bill

on

c o n s i s t e d of T h e P h o t o g r a p h e r by L e a ­

(with L a f l i n and Taylor),

of B e n e v e n t e ' s Pocanas

a d d e d h i s v e r s i o n of

Politics

(a t r a n s l a t i o n b y M a y o r

C a u s a s ), R e p r e s s e d E m o t i o n , and B e h i n d

t h e .B e y o n d . This w a s the final e v e n i n g of t h e T h e a t r e I n t i m e in the to w e r of the Gymnasium.

1•

L o c . clt»

It Is d o u b t f u l

if a n y p r o d u c i n g com-

pany in the countrv haii had a more picturesque beginning. The F a c u l t y d e l i g h t e d i n g o i n g to the vast, u n l i g h t e d g y m n a s i u m on a S a t u r d a y night, p r e s e n t i n g the i n v i t a t i o n w h i c h w a s a l s o the car d of a d m i s s i o n at the door, c l i m b i n g the e q u i v a l e n t of t w o l o n g 811 g h t s of stairs, a l most In the dark, and a r r i v i n g in a litt l e t o w e r r o o m h i g h above the campus, d e c o r ­ ated only w i t h B o h e m i a n p o s t e r s . T h e y e n j o y e d the c r o w d e d a t m o s p h e r e , the u n c o m f o r t a b l e chairs, the m u c h p a t c h e d p r o s c e n i u m , and the flirty r e d f l a n n e l c u r t a i n s w h i c h o f t e n p a r t e d w i t h m e c h a n i c a l exactness, but m o r e o f t e n s t u c k at h a l f - m a s t , w h e t h e r In o p e n i n g or closing. The d r e s s i n g r o o m w a s the i n s i d e of a r o u g h table, s t o o d on end. The p r o p e r t y c l o s e t was b a c k of the audience, and C l e o p a t r a ’s n e c k l a c e or D e t e c t i v e M u r p h y ’s r e v o l v e r , or m u s t a c h e , w a s l i k e l y to be f o r g o t t e n u n t i l just b e f o r e the r i s e of the curtain, w h e n t h e c h a r a c t e r in q u e s t i o n w o u l d rush, .hal f m a d e up, I n t o the audience, and r u m m a g e ab o u t i n a clos e t f u l l of p r o p e r t i e s no b i g g e r t h a n a t e l e p h o n e booth, s o m e t i m e s h a v i n g to r e s o r t to the i n g e n u i t y of the mom e n t , as w h e n L a d y M a c b e t h e m e r g e d w i t h a h a n d s o m e g i r d l e of C o m m o n s s p o o n s and F a m e w ore a s e v e r e l y c l a s s i c a l G r e e k c o i f f u r e m a d e of a b a t h towel. S u c h e p i s o d e s a m u s e d the a u d i e n c e * T h e y l i k e d the t r o l s c o u p s w h i c h s h o o k the p r o s c e n ­ ium and p o s t u l a t e d the i n t e n d e d r i s e of the curtain. Th e y d i d not r e a l i z e that to get a n y t h i n g l a r g e r th a n a f o l d i n g chair u p the c o r k s c r e w s t a i r c a s e w a s an almost I n c r e d i b l e e n g i n e e r i n g feat. Commencement u a ted.

came and L a w r e n c e ,

W i t h t h e m v a n i s h e d the T h e a t r e

E v e n as t h e y h a d wished,

Scribner,

and K e n t g r a d -

I n t i m e t hey h a d known.

the y h a d g i v e n th e i r c r e a t u r e l i f e

t h e n s e e n it expire w i t h t h e i r d e p a r t u r e .

It w a s L a f l i n a n d his

f o l l o w e r s w h o h e n c e f o r t h w e r e to carry the title,

The Theatre

Intime.

So w h i l e Ifewrence, S c r i b n e r ,

be

said that L o u i s L a f l i n flounded the T h e a t r e

tr u l y

and

a n d K e n t b e g a n It,

it m a y

Intime.

It is I n t e r e s t i n g to n o t e In p a s s i n g that t h e P r l n c e t o n i a n at t h i s t ime w a s b y n o m e a n s c o n v i n c e d of the w i s d o m of Laflin's policies.

1. Laflin,

"The Genesis of the Theatre Intime," op. c l t . . p. 375

209 The two performances given In Thompson Hall recent­ ly point to a change in policy. Evidently an attempt is being made, advisedly or otherwise, to make an elastic and highly informal group a complex organiza­ tion partaking of the nature of a preparatory school for the Triangle Club. . .The production at T h o m p s o n Hall had neither "Intime" nor that spectacular quali­ ty which one has come to expect from Triangle shows. They were frankly dull, and it seems unfortunate that those who were seeing an Intime bill for the first time should have to judge all Its productions by this one.-*Looking ahead, Laflin had realized the Theatre must have larger, safer, and more practical quarters.

His eye fell upon

a brownstone chapel building called Murray-Dodge Hall, which was now the home of a student religious group, the Philadelphian Society.

Once each day the building was used for worship services,

but from then on It was empty.

The hall seated a little over 200

people - large enough for a substantial audience but small enough to preserve the intimate tradition.

"Alone and single-handed",

Laflin tackled the Murray-Dodge (YMCA and Presbyterian) author­ ities and talked them Into leaning their facilities to the Theatre k

,

Intime.

Money was found to erect a workable stage; properties,

costumes, scenery, and a post-card fund were donated by a grate­ ful public, alterations were made during the summer, and by the fall of 1921 the Intime was able to take possession. Accordingly, then, in its new home, the Intime on October 11, 22, and 29, 1921, offered Atlas by T. S. Matthews 1922, Her Face by Louis Laflin, The Life Machine (a translation by Gene MacDonald of a Guignol plot, entitled A Terrible Night), in which future playwright T. H. V. Motter acted, and Lulu Batt by A. G.

,1.

The Prlncetonlan, June 6, 1921

210 Neldon and J. S. Taylor,

Versatile Leigh Allen, soon of Broadway

and Hollywood, acted In the latter play,1

Laflin*s play Is a

"modern morality" in which a pious young man is tempted by the devil In the guise of a pretty girl to try a miracle.

"Even

with sufficient faith to do them, miracles may not be performed for self-glorification." On Saturday, November 19, 1921, appeared Vogner, a farce about a Princeton man who, according to his Yale rival, goes mad at the mention of Richard Wagner*s name (written by the future head of the Princeton English department, Donald Stauffer). The Thirteenth Floor by Thomas S. Matthews (in which screen-writer and novelist-to-be Philip Wylie took part), Shades of Hamlet by Laflin (an imaginative and at times impressive conception of the meeting of the characters In Shakespeare’s tragedy in the next world), and Du Barry by future movie-actor Oraig Biddle, Clinton Gray, and J. S. Taylor.

The repetitions of this bill on November

26 and 28 added Laflin*s The Orchid, probably in place of Du Barry. The Orchid has much the same plot as Molnar*s The Guardsman. The next bill had students as its guests on December 5, 1921, faculty on December 10, and the Triangle Club on January 14, 1922.

Presented were a Princeton farce entitled Poetic

Justice by Henry C. Hart, a romantic farce about a Mexican bandit educated at Princeton - Clinton Gray»s The Superman Crashes

1.

Ibid., October 29, 1921

211 Through. Dun 3any’3 a Night at an Inn, and While the Carriage Walt a by Louis Laflin, a burlesque on the Oscar Wilde type of British comedy of manners.

On January 14, Leacock*s The Photo­

grapher was added "for full measure." January 24, 1922, is famous as the premiere date of Thomas S. Matthews* The p. T.*s, a play which had the distinction of being banned by President HIbben, so that on February 23 and 27 It was replaced by an older play, probably Will 0* the Wisp. The appearance of Miss Sarnia Marquand in the Matthews play Is the first recorded Instance of a feminine player in a Theatre Intime production, but an instance which was soon to be the Intime's settled policy.

The night was moreover noteworthy for

thefirst American production of Milton's Samson

Agonlstes, in

an adaptation by Professor Harper, a member of the Princeton English department and official biographer of William Wordsworth. Lastly appeared what might be called an impression of Ion, a farce entitled It1s a Wise Child (Euripides Notwithstanding) b y Louis Laflin.^ For March 29 and April 11, 1922, a highly successful evening Is reported by The Prlncetonlan. Besides Leacock* s M£ Unknown Friend, two new plays appeared: In After All Mr. Spencer has dramatized a story told over a dinner table with a masterful use of the flashback. By his own flawless acting of the princlp:; ^ role, he has taken advantage of a splendid opportunity to assure correct Interpretation of the more subtle psychology. He Is supported by

1.

"I have a script with all the laughs we got marked. There are 193. It is rather confusing to read, but acts clearly and Is very funny." - Laflin, Letters, op. olt., pages unnumbered•

U212 a n o less f i n i s h e d p e r f o r m a n c e L a f l i n i n the c o l l a t e r a l p a r t .

on the p e r t

of Mr.

T h e L u x e m b o u r g , w r i t t e n b y J . S. T a y l o r 1924, is an i n t e r e s t i n g study of the a t t i t u d e t o w a r d d e a t h d i s p l a y e d b y the F r e n c h b o u r g e o i s c o m p a r e d to that of t h e h i g h l y cult u r e d , h a u g h t y a r i s t o c r a t . Mr. T a y l o r Is i m p r e s s i v e as the n o n c h a l a n t m a r q u i s . T h e e f f e m i n a t e a f f e c t a t i o n he a s s u m e s is d e t r i m e n t a l to t h e f o r c e of h i s p r o u d s c o r n of d e a t h , e v e n wh i l e it is t r u e t o life. The

final number

m e d i e v a l farce,

on t h e p r o g r a m w a s

an a d a p t a t i o n

of a F r e n c h

t i t l e d b y L a f l i n as P a t e l l n P a y s .

That bill was H o w a r d B a e r ’s T h e

f o l l o w e d o n M a y 2, 4,

a n d 10,

1922,

Other F o o t , The B e t t e r M a n by L a f l i n

by

(a f a r c e

built

a r o u n d t h e I m p e r s o n a t i o n of t w o c h a r a c t e r s b y o n e a c t o r 2 off-stage), Pourquoi Chantent-IIs? by Charles Overstreet, and

a Laflin title of

adaptation

of S o p h o c l e s 1 O e d i p u s

role was magnificently played b y Theodore

of P l a u t u s ' Motter b y J.

1922,

later

c ast a n d d i r e c t e d b y L a f l i n ) ,

critic found

- "in many respects

cerned with

consisted

far

of an a d a p t a t i o n

(re-labelled Hidden T r e a s u r e , with

S t e a r n s 4 and G-. C. H o l l a n d e r ,

T r e a s u r e was

3. 4.

18,

comedy Trinummus

in the

s e s s i o n the

1. 2.

Spencer,

the H a r v a r d E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t . T h e e v e n i n g of M a y

o rs

R e x "In w h i c h the

les s

and P u t t i n g

It A c r o s s

directed by Motter.

satisfactory

than its p r e d e c e s s ­

the worst p r e s e n t e d thi s y e a r . "

c a l c u l a t e d to

interest

only

the h i s t o r y of t h e d r a m a , "

This

"those p r i m a r i l y

and P u t t i n g

Hidden con­

It A c r o s s ,

in

T h e P r l n c e t o n i a n , A p r i l 12, 1 9 2 2 1T^ h e p l a y w a s w r i t t e n to i n c l u d e all the e l e m e n t s l e a s t likely to s u c c e e d in d r a m a . The Protagonist never meets the A n t a g o n ­ ist. T h e r e is o n l y o n e p e r s o n on s t a g e t h r o u g h the e n t i r e play, t i l l t h e v e r y end. He goes through a whole wed d i n g ceremony alone, I n c l u d i n g t h e i n t e r r u p t i o n and t h e s w i t c h i n g of b r i d e ­ grooms." L a f l i n , L e t t e r s , op. c i t . , p a g e s u n n u m b e r e d L o c . cit. A c c o r d i n g to L a f l i n , a m e m b e r of t h e C l a s s i c s D e p a r t m e n t , w h o a l s o d i r e c t e d the show, t h u s b e c o m i n g t h e f i r s t of t h e Intlme's f e w f a c u l t y d i r e c t o r s . -L o c . cit.

215 spite

of a g o o d idea,

poor makeup."1

f a i l e d because

of "mediocre acting and

A M a y 20 bill probably substituted S h a w ’s The

M a n of D e s t i n y for T r l n u m m u s . T h e S h adow H.

P. Ba e r ,

25,

1922,

in the

D a r k , a t hree-act m y s t e r y m e lodrama by

P, H. Davis, and P. Lloyd-Smith, mad e its b o w May

w i t h Louis L a f l i n ' s Ludgate a surprisingly good p e rformance of an exceedingly d ifficult part, I am inclined to think the star p e r ­ formance of the evening, perhaps of the year. The success of the illusion d e p e n d e d ver y largely on his rema i n i n g in his part, and he n either overdid n or d e p a r t e d f r o m his Svengali-like role for an instant.

The c ritic

during

b e l i e v e d that "not only d i d the actors prevent

dozing

the performance, but I am afraid that many of the harrowed

s p e c t a t o r s returned home unnerved to the toes."^ The Nature

of the The a t r e Intime

O n this note of triumph the I n t i m e concluded its second year,

a n d fo u n d e r L a f l i n

could look b a c k with considerable

s a t i s f a c t i o n on the results of his labors.

Prom a dormitory

st u n t h a d b e e n nour i s h e d an organization w h i c h stood for the best

i n t h e a t r e in a wid e expanse of types,

w h i c h ha d more

an organization

than anything else in the history of P r i n c e t o n

U n i v e r s i t y to u n l e a s h the creative p o w e r of its students, w h i c h combined a n d f un.

the

spirit of adventure and h i g h endeavor w i t h sanity

In two years

o r i g i n a l works, which

stand

or l i t t l e

1. 2;

it had had a p r o g r a m of classics and

of b o t h traditional

and experimental p r oduction,

as a chal l e n g e to any other college p r o d u c t i o n group,

theatre,

for a similar period.

The Prinoetonlan, May 18, 1922. l5Ta.t 'May 26, 1922

214 In the w o r d s

of L a f l i n :

T h e T h e a t r e I n t i m e is u n q u e s t i o n a b l y u n i q u e college organizations - indeed among little t h r o u g h o u t the c o u n t r y .

among theatres

1. It is w h o l l y an u n d e r g r a d u a t e e f f o r t . No out­ side p r e s s u r e has b r o u g h t f o r t h the d e s i r e to w r i t e and produce original plays. 2. It h a s g r o w n f r o m n o t h i n g , and witho\it f i n a n c i a l f i r s t aid. . .and w i t h o u t a n y p r o f e s s o r i a l or p r o ­ fessional outside assistance whatsoever. 3. It Is a s p o n t a n e o u s e x p r e s s i o n of u n d e r g r a d u a t e t h o u g h t in acting, c o a c h i n g , w r i t i n g , scenery, and l i g h t i n g - e v e n the d e t a i l s of b\iilding the stage. . . 4.

Its a u d i e n c e s

are e n t i r e l y b y i n v i t a t i o n .

5. It h a s d e v e l o p e d a n d w o n s u c c e s s o n a c a m p u s already overcrowded w i t h extra-curricular activities and i n d i r e c t d e f i a n c e of a s t r o n g l y P h i l i s t i n e atmosphere. . . 6. It h a s p r o d u c e d s i x t y p l a y s in less t h a n t w o y e a r s .

of one to t h r e e

acts

7. It h a s p r o d u c e d f o r t y o r i g i n a l p l a y s f r o m the p e n s of f i f t e e n b r a n d n e w p l a y w r i g h t s i n the same short t i m e . l L e g i t i m a t e t h e a t r e o n the

Princeton

come n e a r l y e x c l u s i v e l y the p r o v i n c e zation largely independent independent

of f a c u l t y

of an u n d e r g r a d u a t e

of f a c u l t y

supervision.

i n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e a t r e art n o w

campus then has b e ­ organi­

Instruction and completely The

emerges

s l i g h t q u a n t i t y of c l a s s

r a t h e r the r e s u l t

of

t r a d i t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y p o l i c y t h a n as a p o l i c y e v o l v e d f r o m a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of w h a t w o u l d b r i n g t h e r i c h e s t al e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e a t r e to P r i n c e t o n s t u d e n t s . of f a c u l t y

s u p e r v i s i o n on the o t h e r h a n d

possible

cultur­

B u t the l a c k

is d e f i n i t e l y

the r e ­

sult of c a r e f u l l y t h o u g h t t h r o u g h p o l i c y .

1.

Laflin,

"The G e n e s i s

of T h e T h e a t r e

Intime,"

op.

c i t . . p.

375

215 The Intime*s origin coincides with Donald Stuart’s rise to power in the dramatic art program at Princeton*

His tremendous

energies have already been noted in part; still more Is to follow*

Every indication is that he passionately loved the

theatre and that he was deeply concerned to construct at Prince­ ton the most effective possible theatre program*

When Laflin

appealed to the authorities for larger quarters, how simple It would have been for Stuart to have stipulated the right of super> vision as the price for the requested facilities* But the record is quite clear that this is exactly what he did not do*

"Dr. Donald Clive Stuart," reports Laflin, "has

insisted that there shall be no Faculty supervision to stamp the whole procedure with the preferences of a single man*

He

has been the Intime’s best friend and s u p p o r t e r T h i s posi­ tion is entirely consistent with his conviction that the creative endeavors of the Triangle should not be harried by a preoccupation with credit and grades, even though it was essential that the work be done and done well*

Here again is an invocation of the

principle of opportunity as opposed to the principle of compulsion* Yet seen in correct perspective, the Independent Intime, particularly In Stuart*s days, is actually only a part of a much larger scheme*

In the first place there is the academic

program, including the study of dramatic literature and the theory of dramatic composition accepted even by conservative colleagues as a legitimate liberal arts course*

From the out­

set a regular project in this course was the compoUfcion

1.

of an

Laflin, "The Genesis of the Theatre Intime," op. cit** p* 376

216 original play.

Whether or not the plays written In that course

were produced by the Intime, the Intlme’s plays were written by men most of whom had taken the course and had hed supervised experience in playwrlting*^

Nor should It be forgotten that

other courses in dramatic literature such as the ones in Shake­ speare and English Drama have contributed their part to the Princeton student’s understanding and discrimination in theatre art. Also If there were any tendency on the part of the Intlme to overdo the obscure or dull for intellectuality’s sake, it had the robustly Philistine Triangle Club as a balance. AAd as has been pointed out, in the G-olden Age of theatre at Princeton* the two organizations had essentially interlocking membership* While Stuart was adviser, its members (and therefore most Intime members) had the opportunity to see their professor's concessions of theatre theory and play direction reduced to specific practice* Moreover with the single legitimate production which he undertook on certain years as with the French plays, his students were able to see these same conceptions practiced in terms of more serious theatre*

Yet these students were left unhampered in their inde­

pendence with the Intlme*

Benefitting by all that he had to offer,

yet free to develop undistorted by even hla personal preferences, and now absolutely dependent on their own resources to solve the problems of creation, directing, acting, and stagecraft which their imaginations had evoked* his students could develop thoroughness

1* "Though there is no connection between Professor Stuart’s course in dramatic technique - French 401 - and the Intime from a scholastic point of view* still it is hoped that a number of plays written in that course will be produced later In the year*” - The Brie-a-Brae. 1923* p* 83

217 and

self-reliance,

and

by-flre would have most

wise

the

convictions resulting from the

a vigor

and e f f i c i e n t

trial-

and importance for which e v e n the

s u p e r v i s i o n could not compensate.

The Playwright1a Theatre Well year,

on i t s f e e t

at

t h e beginning of the 1922-3 s c h o o l

t h e I n t i m e b e g a n a p e r i o d devoted primarily,

exclusively, quarters

to t h e

enlarged,

ified In charging admission money Accordingly,

o r i g i n a l play.

stage remodelled,

it h a d r e a c h e d the point where it f e l t admission

in order

this

Its

though not

and where It felt it needed

to d o

i ts just­

the

justice to its own p r o d u c t i o n s .

s e a s o n o p e n e d with a twenty-five cent

a dmission

fee . The first an original

offering

three-act

o f t h e year, November 6, 1922,

f a r c e - c o m e d y by J . S. Taylor 1924

future novelist Arthur Meeker The

critic

considered

from obvious neyed

Vreeland, much

Mr.

too good

a hack­

The acting of M i s s

a n d M r . G r a y was "of the highest

order,"

t h e play.**’

of J a n u a r y 1 9 included three one-act p l a y s .

C l i n t o n G r a y ’ s T h e G e n e s i s of Tlmon shows Anne S h a k e s p e a r e

visiting her husband nagging Is

1.

suffering

and wasting its time on

of o n e L a d y Conniston.

for

The b i l l A.

It i n a d e q u a t e as entertainment,

Spencer,

and

1925, entitled The Royal B e n g a l .

racial prejudices,

caricature

was

in London.

the genesis

for

the

In her ceaseless, w e l l - m e a n t idea of Tlmon of Athens,

The Prince ton lan, November 7, 1922

"Wh o

J.

got tired,

oi life

and went away from home to live alone.” The

critic thought Gray had written "some soul-stirring lines" and that Theodore Spencer did "full justice to them In his superb acting of the Immortal Will.

The analysis of the dramatist’s

first realization of ’how it feels to be God’ struck a resound­ ing note well below the surface of ordinary dilldtantism." "Ttie players wore modern evening clothes.

The reason for this

. . .wab^ not artistic: it was strictly practical. .fV» fi,- S *

;

^costumeSi”

i.'•■^0-.: ,

1^

- a romantic

of r o m a n t i c i s t s

'

of a s t e r n m i l i t a r y r e g i m e . "

H.

Steiger

'Isheep I n w o l f 1 s c l o t h i n g " t h a t h e m a d e o£s M.:''/ personality ure

as

attractive

a general,

and. t h i s

J

\

'J

Judgment

»J1

t\ f * y

*

t

j,

strengthens the

\

J.

' ,

so acted this

"th e m a n ' s whimsical

enough to obscure his

sacriflce he m a k e s for him," j- >r

at the nominal

't ‘j v'r'?

contemptible fail-

c a s e of D r e w s in the

S. M o s h e r ’s suc c e s s with ,The

f.

"

of P a l l a s r e s t e d l a r g e l y

" i n h i s k e e n discernment, of

t he e f f e c t t o b e g a i n e d f r o m t h r o w i n g t o g e t h e r m u t u a l l y repulsive pi

■v6

characters,"

rt*y i --i •'

The

>■

\

■■

y

.■ 'r

••

o p e n i n g d i a l o g u e b e t w e e n t h e d i g n i f i e d M, P.

and the c o c k n e y h a n g m a n "would

wm* 1. I I bid.,, bid M a y 24, 1923. 2. I b i d V , O c t o b e r 18, 1923.

j u s t i f y its

existence,

if for

no other p u r p o s e , conventions."

as

a satire

In Baer's

tragedy

formance of t h i s d i f f i c u l t Intime has b e e n

able

o n b o t h E n g l i s h and p o l i t i c a l

par t

to b o a s t

the role of T o m L i n c o l n . ^

is p e r h a p s

of l a t e . "

Heyn* s " p e r ­

the b e s t

thing the

William Brenton played

The p l a y t e l l s of a c r a z e d

who b r i n g s r u i n to t h e d a u g h t e r telling t h e m f a l s e l y tha t

of G a f f e r E r n e s t

old m a n

and g r a n d - d a u g h t e r h e h a t e s b y

the grand-daughter

is a h a l f - s i s t e r

to her s w e e t h e a r t . On J a n u a r y with a cast

"that

acted t h i s p l a y

25,

19 24,

The Shadow in the D a r k w a s - r e p e a t e d

equalled,

so w e l l

if it d i d n o t

t w o y e a r s ago."

Man.’ "iafforded a m u s i n g b i t s 4

surpass,

the

Laflin* s Th e B e t t e r

of h u mor.

‘ ; T h e M a r c h 27 b i l l c o n t a i n e d G o o d m a n ' s A G a m e

The B e t t e r A n g e l

one w h i c h

(a " S h a k e s p e a r e a n m o s a i c "

of C h e s s ,

a r r a n g e d b y J . S.

Tailor? in^wiiich B r e n t o n as S h a k e s p e a r e g a v e t h e b e s t p e r f o r m a n c of*'the''evening), R e t a i n e r s

of t h e M o o n (a B r i t i s h c o m e d y b y

it '!B ^ 'Jeffrey1 1 9 2 7 ) t a n d O d d P r o p o s a l a b y A l f r e d C y n i n g !,.tii6ugE',vhe'''!does''n6t' a p p e a r

in t h e D i r e c t o r y ,

writes

p r o m i s i n g ' P r b s h m a h p l a y w r i g h t " ) , ’w h i c h " c o m b i n e d of‘Sa. slap-stictc f a r c e ''

except

all

element

" Again' t h e 1s e a s o n ’e n d e d o n h i g h n o t e w i t h L l o y d - S m i t h 30,

1924.

"Th e p l a y

is

man, 'a girl'j;-'':and-;a -Hat w h i c h t a k e s t h e m b a c k to t h e fa m e ,

2,

the

a

a slap-stick."^’

Baer'’s T h e 'W a y A c r o s s ,' A p r i l

1.

like

(who,

and gives

I b i d . , No v e m b e r - 2 2 i ' 1923. Ibid., J a n u a r y 2 § , ,1924.

.&?: 1HGH5-* Me4ch.|2a; 71924.

the

one

of

and a

days o f Gen .

inside d o p e

on the

re a l r e a s o n w h y t h e l e g i o n s c r o s s e d the R u b i c o n . " B r e n t o n as the P r o - C o u n s e l ,

G-aius Caesar,

F e l i p e b y J . S.

a tragedy,

author,

Taylor,

but lacked

was

"dramatic

sense."

was

"superb."

and w e l l

a c t e d by

The f i n a l number,

o f t h e S e a , " s e e m e d to b e w e l l r e c e i v e d b y goers."

William

chronic

its Spume

Intime

1

Toward the that m o s t

e n d of t h e m o n t h ,

of the I n t i m e

alarmed by

authors were g raduating

H e y n a t t e m p t e d to o r g a n i z e the u n d e r g r a d u a t e s pla y w r i t i n g tradition. each year

should take

of its b e s t

realization

in June,

E. V.

t o c a r r y on the

Among his proposals was a bill

'i

the

that

the Intime

c o m p o s i t i o n s f or

a

p

New Y o r k presentation.

But

apparently nothing

came

of the

plan . On October

50,

of o n e - a c t p l a y s . was ruined by

1924,

the I n t i m e

offered another group

G o o d m a n a n d H e c h t ’s T h e H e r o

"a s e r i e s of c o n f u s i n g g y m n a s t i c s

r e p e a t e d lines

at w h i c h w e w e r e

expected

of S a n t a M a r l a and h u r r i e d l y

to l a u g h . "

T h i s was

f o l l o w e d b y the o n l y o r i g i n a l p l a y b y a f a c u l t y m e m b e r w h i c h the I n t i m e w a s to g i v e -

C o i n d r e a u ’s s p o o k y N o c t u r n e .

"It Is p e r h a p s w i t h p l a y l e t s si t u a t i o n , never

simple but

t o o c r o wded,

suc h as this,

effective

that

setting,

the I n t i m e

stage.

1.

A

Ibid.,

screen

scare,

■.

.*>*W-* I

■-/•'■■a..' ■

i

■ '■ V*-.

"Its

asides,

that

is

T. J.

amusing qualities

our g r a n d p a r e n t s t o l e r a t e d

M a y 1, 1 9 2 4 .......

1 2 . i SH-bld. . ??May» .2 4 , 1 9 2 4

and a stage

is at Its b e s t . "

W i l l i a m s 1 The Silent P r o t e c t o r deri v e d f r o m the a b s u r d i t i e s tha t

w i t h an e x c e l l e n t

exposition dialogues

on the addressed

224 to the audience alone,

h y p e r b o l i c rhetoric,

letters - all are u s e d w i t h p e r f e c t H e y n ’s fears w e r e

Princeton u n d e r g r a d u a t e

2

to give

Neither

Accordingly

Willard Thorp,

faculty of the U n i v e r s i t y .

play b y

nor a

The

result

is r a r e

t h e n it t u r n e d

Magic, with a graduate

s o o n to j oin the E n g l i s h

In e v e r y way.

and finish about it t h a t

efforts

h a d p r o d u c e d e n o u g h to s u s t a i n t h e

to Gilbert K. C h e s t e r t o n ^ s m y s t i c a l p l a y ,

play that Is e n j o y a b l e

his

$ 5 0 0 to the b e s t

Intlme’s repertoire f o r t h e y e a r .

student as director:

Important

s e r i o u s n e s s . ”^

soon realized.

an offer from E d d i e C a n t o r

many

on D e c e m b e r 11 w a s The

production has

In a m a t e u r s , ” w i t h

"a a polish

’’e x c e l l e n t

acting” and ”fine l i g h t i n g e f f e c t s . ” ® The next m o n t h t h e I n t i m e in publishing a m a g a z i n e b y Ernest Heyn, n o w

undertook a brief experiment

(T h e T h e a t r e

Intime M a g a z i ne ) e d ited

of B e r n a r r M c F a d d e n P u b l i c a t i o n s .

issue contained a n a r t i c l e

on

The first

”T h e F u n c t i o n of t h e I n t i m a t e

Theatre” by Alan M c G e e ,

o n ’’L i v i n g L i g h t ” b y H. G. M a c M o r r a n ,

Russian Drama by G e o r g e

Nebolaine,

o n ’’T h e R e g i s s e u r ” b y W i l l a r d

Thorp, on ’’The T w e n t i e t h C e n t u r y T h e a t r e " b y F r a n k V e r n o n ; and theatrical r e v i e w s ,

the

stirring Foreword b y D o n a l d A second I s s u e

text

o f C o i n d r e a u ’s N o c t u r n e

Clive

in April,

to good literature a n d c a r e f u l

theatre in

Manhattan,

192 5,

Ibid., November 1,

2.

Ibid., April 5, 1 9 2 4

' 3.

Ibid., D e c e m b e r

acting,

a

written by Walter Hampden,

Colndreau,

an essay

on

c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of the A m e r i c a n

1924

13,

and

included an exh o r t a t i o n

notes on p r o d u c t i o n techniques,

1.

book

Stuart.

a review of F r e n c h d r a m a b y M a u r i c e censorship, another o n t h e

on

1924

Benjamin

225 F e i n e r ’s p l a y B u r s t i n g the B a r r i e r s , t h e a t r e n e w s

and b o o k

reviews. S h a w 1s H o w He Lie d to H e r H u s b a n d and S i m o n ’s H o u r , a d r a m a t i z a t i o n of J a m e s B r a n c h Cabe l l * a -

short

D. Ro b b i n s ,

1925,

Jr.,

1924,

came on M a r c h 19,

’’the G e o r g i a n p e r i o d e x c e l l e n t l y d o n e . ” that B r e n t o n ’’p e r h a p s b r i n g s

The l a tter was

In this

it was t h o ught

t o o m a n y of the m a n n e r i s m s of the

m e l o d r a m a t i c v i l l a i n of the T r i a n g l e fi n a l

story b y C. H.

show to his p a r t . ”

The

and m o s t e f f e c t i v e n u m b e r w a s B u r s t i n g the B a r r i e r s , an

a m u s i n g s e ries o f p l a y l e t s a c c o r d i n g to Sutro,

Benelli,

Russell Wright, to b e c o m e

s h o w i n g a w i f e l e a v i n g her h u s b a n d O ’Neil l ,

ex-1926,

had

and M o l n a r . ^

left

school

the y ear b e f o r e

a d e s i g n e r f o r the N e i g h b o r h o o d P l a y h o u s e .

r e t u r n e d to the

I n t l m e to d i r e c t t w o

He n ow

experimental productions

of G e r m a n p l a y s w h i c h r e p r e s e n t e d p r e - S h a k e s p e a r e a n forms Hamlet made

and R o m e o

and J u l i e t , A p r i l 16,

”a very winsome b o yish Hamlet,

with such a finely modulated voice

1925.

William Brenton

done with exquisite that

of

art and

a g a i n and a g a i n I f o u n d

m y s e l f w i s h i n g h e h a d S h a k e s p e a r e ’s l i n e s

to r e a d . ”

ion was

b u t f a s c i n a t i n g as a

"not

only entertaining

in itself,

study of t r a n s m i g r a t i o n and t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , 2 of d r a m a t i c art and e f f e c t . ” F o l l o w i n g the P r i n c e t o n p e r f o r m a n c e , W r i g h t ’s show to the N e i g h b o r h o o d P l a y h o u s e . classmate

of h i s

professional..

1. 2i 3. ■ U

•

actors,

Wright's

It m a y t h e r e f o r e b e

Ibid., M a r c h 20, 1925 A p r i l 17, 19 2 5 ilblcL. F e b r u a r y 16, 1 9 2 5 *>'■" I i, '•'H f f .*? ) V \

company

made

is c o n g r a t u l a t e d

to O ' N e i l l ' s p o w e r f u l b u t

some

1936,

" m u c h m o r e u n d erst a n d abl-e t h a n

the w h o l e

attack o n P h i l i s t i n i s m . " Dion A n t o n y m a d e

o n N o v e m b e r 17,

last

"as the

tortured genius

shifts b e t w e e n his

two

person-

s p e e c h of the p r o l o g u e w i t h

The performance was

' C

hazily-directed

'5,

a

attended by Joe

■“

Holton of T w e n t i e t h C e n t u r y Fox,

B e n J a c b h s e n of M e t r o - G o l d w y n -

Mayer, D i c k A l d r i c h o f

an u n n a m e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

Paramount,

Columbia,

and Henry Haller,

dramatic

columnist for

from

the B a l t i m o r e

Sun. Melchor Ferrer was ur.C

?

' v '

•

1

Penrhyn St uni s l e w s , 1901 4I think It w t*3 ’ t 1990 tha I I ; rod toed :>:y fi'-’o I motion , in t u r n T o r P c i a o s I l*.>:*i' r L - h - y ( 1 d; •• r Paramount) • I produced eight p.le.tu in allwriting parts of t her;! • froo a b o x ■ r'"i ce vie»v ■J- hue ■ !,'u aacce.,^ P \ve--o The Lor end thr point ia Wo;uan, At the Erh of I;Vi? Worl d . Thtn-;e w-'re pro­ duced 1991-2. “ The' Little Finish-r w-s revived I thi nV: -bout 1927.*“ •■0

Senior G i r l s , Y W C A auditorium D e c e m b e r 4, 1 9 SO Senior Class auditorium April

95,

1 9 hi

YMCA December PI,

A Christmas Carol High School

Junior auditorium

Miss Cher.ryblos.s_qm High School

High School auditorium January

1931

and Senior High, school p u p i l s D e c e m b e r 93, 1931

22,

19 32

Y o u n g W a s h i n g t o n at M t . Vernon High ScYo.G students H i g h SoTTool auditorium March 3, 1932

Easter T a b l e a u x YWCA

1 9 SO

YV/CA April

1, 1932

465 r lay

Performers Place

b ate

Little Wom e n 3TTgh School

Miss Fine's sch nuclitorium Ayi‘1] d, ?>

Seve n t e e n

senior Class auditorium Apr 11

H i g h Schoo l The M erchant

of Venice ?

79,

].:vC;

Country Lay School May 6 , 19 3?

M a m m y 1 s R i r t h d a v Party G a r d e n Theatre

\ii t h e r sp o c>n Sexual July pp., 19??

The M e lting Pot senior Class H i g h school a u d i t o r i u m D e c e m b e r 9, C a ptain Gross Bone s H i g h School

be n ’ tor Class auditorium March

197.

."1,

Id?.”.

Tree sure Island. C o u n t r y Da y School H i g h Schoo l audit o r i u m F a y 5, 19?? Pomandei 1 W a l k ~ H i g h school Why the Chim e s Rang High s c h o o l Mo n s i e u r B e a u c a i r e H i g h School

Mis s FJne ' s School auditorium April 73,

1.95?

S e n i o r D r a m a t i c Club auditorium D e c e m b e r 19,

Id

High. S c h o o l Student Playe a n d ’tor i u m M a r c h 23, 1934

The Ghost of J e rry B u n d l e r The K i n g ’s 'Warrant _

Coun t r y Da y

'-T-xality Street M u r r a y Hall

Miss Fine's

School

April

13,

1934

ochool 14,

3 934

April

The New M o o n H i g h School

H i ^ h School audit o r i u m December

7, 1 9 ”.

S m i l i n ' Through H i g h School

Senior Class auditorium M a r c h 1,

19?3

B i g - H e a r t e d Herbert H i g h School

Senior Glass auditorium December

C,

David C o p p e r f ield Hi»tH Seh o o 1

High School audit o r i u m March

77,

19?

1930

46-6 Play

Pei*.ror>nier s Place

Da te

The Maid and the Golden Slipper Township school

Primary Grnieu Anri 1 rs

pwr

Twelfth Night Country Day School T-ie Crowanest high School «)UiJ itorium A;-rj ? I1?, The Devil1s Disciple MeCarter Theatre

Mis s F 1 sie 1m ch >'■>i ::ovemb•

C o u n t r y Lay school School auditorium May 0, 1938

The Coti!tier of F airvln n d

T o w n s h i p School jv ay

---------------- --

Five For Bad L u c k Assembly ~ High School a u d i t o r i u m Tours Truly W i llie Senior _ ffiJ-h S c h o o l aud i t or i urn

1?, 1938

May 18,

Class DecfmliHr

1938

•,

1

9 38

467 ? 1 ay

'Per'foiTu--

P1 » 0 e

;.;m t

High The Ivlikad o llFgi Soho* 1. and itc;■•1nr

. jC O n

0 larch -•

M I as y 'r)e tr 1? .’ , 1 91;.

All Tangled Up P.O.o. High School auditorium The Magic Coat Murray Hall

of

A. Louge Uovemt.e*•

l- r '■

Hospiral ^iu society May 7 , IP PC

T a b l e a u x from the History of In1aria ?

Fro sent gey C j ni., e b n o r*y d , 1 9 A-'

The Absent-Minded Bri degroom Sona of America Grade School auditorium .February R, The L a d l e 3 of Cranf ord T h om p s o n Hall

i rinoe ton Circle A 1

v or»V and Ladue- Company r unim-;' mi 9

-,•. a..- ■ f1i1 iinm.1 11, i; r?.r'

Small Miracle McCarter i’heatr e

iiene 1‘11 / c I.or 1 s Eon..' ben terhior- P("

J

P ^ .1 . .

r.

The riapo'/ Journey Hi.gh be.’.oo 1 ecu], t,y High School and 11oi1in rsi 0 or -o>>er ].A , 19 36 V o t e r ’s Paradise Township Parent-Tee .-he ••! s (. October 2 3 , 19 36 High School aud Itorium Lea ue of women Vot *■'a a

D o s 1 s Delight

Murray Hall 3 l i n i n g of triR Con at ].tut ion

?

Jnnuary £P., lc-»37 Community tare ant

septembe-' 17, 19 3

Rernlni scence Parent-Tea • 9> p , 1 5

-"-Logan, Joshua,

*Ke.Millnn,

Dnvld L.; and lam t«, d e m u R l

-■(•Van Llew,

W. R ., It *s the ~>h»3.o t , 195 7 .

-:rDunnlng, J. L . ; and Lardner, •K-Brooks, H . A.:

7 9

.

The Golden D o g , 19 2°. '

-••(•Logon, Joshua; lams, tnniel H .; «nd K e n n e d y , Tiger S m i l e s , 1950,

King

11.,

H:d ’■/ j. . > Fh.e

Go m l sii ;.,lr>c'. o r , 1 9 5 1 , #

,V. J r . ,

and Roulon-J.:' ill e r , b.

-"•guinn, 5• J.; Kinder, Relief 1 , 1955.J

F l e a l.a, 1 9 5 5 . 9

T, , S t a g s

A. D . ; an.fi hle.xundor,

at hjrr >

■’‘•Lerunan, Alexander d.,

blny,

-"-Hughes, Henry/* P.; Davis, Carol E.; Any I'-'onen1; Nov/, 1959 ,

Mark,

and Ask He

a

J, o .;

F o l - d e - H o l , 1957.

-^Lehman, Alexaadei' M,; U h l , R i c h a r d R . ; and i-cKlung, Once Over Lightly, 1 9 5 5 ,A

*-Hughe s, H e n r y

19 J-l.-'

1.. b ., •.Gm

#Chadwlck, Gordon; Rounds, F. \!. ; i/o t son, . J.; and Kennedy, J. u . , Take It A w a y 1 , 19 56, y

Lawrence,

1. 1«

T., Gsmarkand, 19 7 6 . 7

•^Tinker, F • A.; *bwnouw,

‘11 ■ '1

"j§, c r *; I'3". )i, J •.j •; 1997.

Crow ford, Robert; Edgar, Day; The bc.arlet Coal., 1924. Carter,

A" u-u ~

end F r i e 1 i n g h a i k , He my:' i ’ ll,

StravJor logo , ^ 13 1 am,

T'a ny

A n o t h e r , 1941 ,

e Read by tlie author

Program nolrs used in text.