Robert Whitehead founded ANTA to create "a national theatre as a guiding spirit".[4] He needed a location, as he had both a company of actors and commissioned two playwrights (Arthur Miller & S. N. Behrman), and he needed one quickly. New York University leased land to them, with ANTA having to foot the bill,[4] an estimated $525,000.[5][4]Marvin Carlson described the theatre as "characterless steel box, about 20 feet high and more or less square, painted a mustard yellow and from the outside, suggesting a warehouse or storage facility. The simple entrance had a marquee bearing the name ANTA".[4] The theatre, which was not intended to be permanent, had a seating capacity of 1,158",[5] and opened in 1963 with Arthur Miller's After the Fall.[4] Another observer praised "the fine acoustics that have been achieved by the creation of irregularly surfaced concave walls." However, that same observer noted that "the interior of the building is not striking and might well be mistaken for a small industrial plant of some sort."[5]
Several highly regarded plays had their runs at the ANTA Washington Square. Among the most notable were the original productions of Arthur Miller's plays After the Fall and Incident at Vichy, and the 1964 revival of Eugene O'Neill's Marco Millions, starring Hal Holbrook as Marco Polo and David Wayne as Kublai Khan.[6] A production relished by many Molière lovers was William Ball's 1964 staging of Tartuffe, with an "outrageous" Michael O'Sullivan in the title role.[7] Quite likely, the most famous show ever to play at the ANTA Washington Square was the smash hit musical Man of La Mancha, which began its first New York run there on November 22, 1965, and transferred to the more conventional Martin Beck Theatre in 1968, pending the demolition of the Washington Square Theatre.[8]
The dismantled pieces of the prefabricated theatre were purchased by Yale University for the Trinity Repertory Company, one which artistic director Adrian Hall later called "bold, silly move". It was done as a way to save costs on construction, but it never materialized. Yale ended up purchasing the Majestic Theatre in downtown Providence, currently home to Trinity Repertory Company.[9]
anta, washington, square, theatre, theatre, located, west, fourth, street, greenwich, village, manhattan, york, city, american, national, theater, academy, anta, initial, home, repertory, theatre, lincoln, center, from, early, 1964, completion, vivian, beaumon. The ANTA Washington Square Theatre was a theatre located on 40 West Fourth Street in Greenwich Village Manhattan New York City It was run by the American National Theater and Academy ANTA and initial home to the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center from early 1964 to the completion of the Vivian Beaumont Theater in 1965 1 2 The theatre not to be confused with the ANTA Theatre later August Wilson Theatre on 52nd Street was located away from the mainstream Broadway district Closed in 1968 3 it used a thrust stage tilted toward the audience with the audience sitting on three sides of it It did not employ the use of a curtain ANTA Washington Square TheatreAddress40 West 4th StreetNew York CityUnited StatesCoordinates40 43 45 N 73 59 47 W 40 729082 N 73 996321 W 40 729082 73 996321OwnerNew York UniversityTypeBroadway likeCapacity1 158ConstructionOpened1963Demolished1968ArchitectEero Saarinen building and Jo Mielziner theater TenantsAmerican National Theater and Academy ANTA Robert Whitehead founded ANTA to create a national theatre as a guiding spirit 4 He needed a location as he had both a company of actors and commissioned two playwrights Arthur Miller amp S N Behrman and he needed one quickly New York University leased land to them with ANTA having to foot the bill 4 an estimated 525 000 5 4 Marvin Carlson described the theatre as characterless steel box about 20 feet high and more or less square painted a mustard yellow and from the outside suggesting a warehouse or storage facility The simple entrance had a marquee bearing the name ANTA 4 The theatre which was not intended to be permanent had a seating capacity of 1 158 5 and opened in 1963 with Arthur Miller s After the Fall 4 Another observer praised the fine acoustics that have been achieved by the creation of irregularly surfaced concave walls However that same observer noted that the interior of the building is not striking and might well be mistaken for a small industrial plant of some sort 5 Several highly regarded plays had their runs at the ANTA Washington Square Among the most notable were the original productions of Arthur Miller s plays After the Fall and Incident at Vichy and the 1964 revival of Eugene O Neill s Marco Millions starring Hal Holbrook as Marco Polo and David Wayne as Kublai Khan 6 A production relished by many Moliere lovers was William Ball s 1964 staging of Tartuffe with an outrageous Michael O Sullivan in the title role 7 Quite likely the most famous show ever to play at the ANTA Washington Square was the smash hit musical Man of La Mancha which began its first New York run there on November 22 1965 and transferred to the more conventional Martin Beck Theatre in 1968 pending the demolition of the Washington Square Theatre 8 The dismantled pieces of the prefabricated theatre were purchased by Yale University for the Trinity Repertory Company one which artistic director Adrian Hall later called bold silly move It was done as a way to save costs on construction but it never materialized Yale ended up purchasing the Majestic Theatre in downtown Providence currently home to Trinity Repertory Company 9 Production history Edit1963 After the Fall 1964 Marco Millions 1964 But for Whom Charlie 1964 The Changeling 1964 Incident at Vichy 1964 Tartuffe 1965 Man of La ManchaReferences Edit archives nypl org Actor s Workshop and Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center records archives nypl org Milton Esterow Lincoln Theater Begins Repertory New York Times p 19 January 24 1964 https timesmachine nytimes com timesmachine 1964 01 24 97163853 pdf Zolotow Sam March 18 1968 ANTA Washington Sq Theater Closes Forever The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 4 2022 a b c d e The View from the Aisle over 10 000 Nights 28 November 2017 a b c Temporary Theatre Permanent Example Saturday Review February 22 1964 IBDB The official source for Broadway Information www ibdb com Archived from the original on 2012 10 18 O Sullivan 37 Dies N Y Times July 26 1971 https timesmachine nytimes com timesmachine 1971 07 26 79144907 pdf ANTA Washington Square Theatre New York NY IBDB Zeigler Joseph Wesley 1973 Regional Theatre The Revolutionary Stage ISBN 9781452911427 40 43 45 N 73 59 47 W 40 7291 N 73 9963 W 40 7291 73 9963 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ANTA Washington Square Theatre amp oldid 1102121281, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
