Hans Christian Andersen Eva Le Gallienne Popular Books

Hans Christian Andersen Eva Le Gallienne Biography & Facts

Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, in 1926 she left Broadway behind to found the Civic Repertory Theatre, where she served as director, producer, and lead actress. Noted for her boldness and idealism, she was a pioneering figure in the American theater, setting the stage for the Off-Broadway and regional theater movements that swept the country later in the 20th century. Le Gallienne devoted herself to the art of the theater as opposed to the show business of Broadway. She felt strongly that high-quality plays should be affordable and accessible to all people who wanted to see them. She ran the Civic Repertory Theatre for seven years (1926–1934), producing 37 plays during that time with a company whose actors included Burgess Meredith, John Garfield, Norman Lloyd, J. Edward Bromberg, Paul Leyssac, Florida Friebus, David Manners, Josephine Hutchinson, Alla Nazimova, Joseph Schildkraut, and Leona Roberts. Life and career Le Gallienne was born in London to Richard Le Gallienne, an English poet of French descent, and Julie Nørregaard, a Danish journalist. They married in 1897 and separated in 1903, later divorcing. Le Gallienne and her mother then spent the next eleven years shuttling between Paris, London, and Copenhagen. While in Paris, Le Gallienne was taken to see performances by Sarah Bernhardt, an actress she idolized and sought to emulate. Meeting "La Grande Sarah" as a young girl inspired Le Gallienne to devote herself to "the power of the Theatre to spread beauty out into life." Le Gallienne made her stage debut at the age of 15 with a walk-on role in a 1914 production of Maurice Maeterlinck's Monna Vanna, then spent several months attending drama school at Tree's Academy (now the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). She left school to perform in the role of a cockney servant in a West End play called "The Laughter of Fools", and "brought down the house," receiving excellent reviews. The next year, at age 16, Le Gallienne and her mother sailed for New York City, where she began auditioning for Broadway plays. Her first few roles were small, but impactful, though she was released from one while performing in out-of-town tryouts. She then spent a season performing on tour and in summer stock. After traveling in Europe for a period of time, she returned to New York to star in Arthur Richman's Not So Long Ago (1920). Soon afterward, she became a full-fledged Broadway sensation playing the role of Julie in Ferenc Molnár's Liliom (1921) for the Theatre Guild. Her star status was cemented in 1923 when she played Princess Alexandra in Molnar's The Swan. Le Gallienne became a naturalized United States citizen in 1927. Le Gallienne's great dream was to found a classical repertory theatre like those of the European cities in which she spent her youth. After producing and directing some special matinees of plays by Henrik Ibsen, in 1926 she leased a theatre on West Fourteenth Street in Manhattan and there established the Civic Repertory Theatre. Her goal was to present the highest quality plays at the lowest possible prices. Her motto was, "The theatre should be an instrument for giving, not a machinery for getting." She ran the non-profit Civic Repertory Theatre for seven years (1926–1934), backed by the financial support of Alice DeLamar, a wealthy heiress, as well as several other prominent donors who believed in her work and agreed to subsidize it. The Civic Rep disbanded at the height of the Depression in 1934, having lost a substantial amount of subscriptions and subsidies due to the economic downturn. Le Gallienne was a lesbian, and was as open about her love of women as it was possible to be in her day. Robert Schanke, who published a biography of Le Gallienne in 1992, claimed that she struggled with her sexual orientation throughout her life. However, such assertions are contradicted by Le Gallienne's own letters and diaries, in which she wrote confidently about her romantic relationships with women. Helen Sheehy, who published an authorized biography in 1996 with the cooperation of Le Gallienne's estate, rejected Schanke's portrait of the actress as a self-hating lesbian. Sheehy quotes Le Gallienne's words of advice to her close friend May Sarton, who was also gay: "People hate what they don't understand and try to destroy it. Only try to keep yourself clear and don't allow that destructive force to spoil something that to you is simple, natural, and beautiful." Similarly, Le Gallienne told a friend, Eloise Armen, that love between women was "the most beautiful thing in the world." Le Gallienne's first romantic relationship was with Mary Duggett, whom she called "Mimsey." They were together from 1917-1921, until Mimsey gave in to social and familial pressure and married Stuart Benson. The two women soon reconciled, however, and remained friends for life, with Mimsey taking on the mantle of Business Manager at the Civic Rep. In 1921, Eva went to Hollywood to visit the actress Alla Nazimova, whom she had met in New York several years prior. Nazimova was at the height of her fame and at that time wielded much power in the acting community. If the two had an affair at that time, it was a brief one, but Nazimova did introduce Le Gallienne to many influential people of the day. It was Nazimova who coined the phrase "sewing circle" to describe the lesbian community of her day. There are reports that Le Gallienne was romantically involved with actresses Tallulah Bankhead, Beatrice Lillie and Laurette Taylor, but there is no evidence for these claims among Le Gallienne's documents. Between 1921 and 1926, Le Gallienne had relationships with writer and socialite Mercedes de Acosta and scenic designer Gladys Calthrop, as well as a brief affair with actor Basil Rathbone. But the love of her young life was actress Josephine Hutchinson, whom Le Gallienne invited to join the Civic Rep company in 1927. Hutchinson divorced her husband, Robert Bell, in 1930, having separated from him in 1928. Contrary to popular belief, Le Gallienne was not named as co-respondent in the divorce. Le Gallienne and Hutchinson performed together in numerous plays at the Civic Repertory Theatre, including Dear Jane (1932), a play by Eleanor Holmes Hinkley based on the life of Jane Austen, and in Alice in Wonderland, which was adapted for the stage by Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus in 1932 and subsequently revived on Broadway in 1947 and 1982. Le Gallienne and Hutchinson split up in 1934, when Le Gallienne began a relationship with Marion Gunnar Evensen-Westlake, who would be her "companion" for the next three and a half decades. Le Gallienne starred as Peter Pan in production that opened at the Civic Rep on November 6, 1928. The flying effects were superbly designed, and for the first time Peter flew out over the heads of the audience. The critics loved "LeG," as .... Discover the Hans Christian Andersen Eva Le Gallienne popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Hans Christian Andersen Eva Le Gallienne books.