Chicago, Greenwich Village and Provincetown: American theatre becomes little
Keywords:
American drama, little theatre movement, Provincetown Players, Susan Glaspell, George Cram Cook, Eugene O’NeillAbstract
At the outset of the 20th century, dozens of small theatre companies sprang up across the United States. Towards the end of the 1910s, divisions began to emerge in many of these organizations. These splits may be categorized generally as between a politically radical or artistically experimental faction against a more traditional contingent seeking the larger audiences which would be attracted by higher production values. By the 1980s the Provincetown Players had become little more than a footnote in canonical American theatre history as the group that produced Eugene O’Neill’s first plays. Since then, however, another account has come forth that suggests a larger significance for the group. This narrative centers on George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell’s dissatisfaction with the commercial ambitions the Washington Square Players and their decision to split from them. This story of the Provincetown group also features the fundamental contributions of women, particularly that of established novelist Glaspell, in all aspects of production during the early years of the Provincetown Players. The formative roles of women in other early 20th century American companies will be touched upon in this paper as well.
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