On theatre at Harvard

[Joel S. Berson]

At 10/25/2012 12:03 AM, James Harbeck wrote:
>In 1690, a Harvard College student named Benjamin Colman wrote a
>play, Gustavus Vasa, thought to be the first play by an American (by
>birth) to be acted in the colonies.

While pondering this, I came across something that some on this list
might find interesting.  On Dec. 10, 1953, the Harvard Crimson
published an essay titled "Harvard Theater: Puritans in Greasepaint /
200-Year Heritage Manages to Persist Despite Strong Official
Discouragement".  Apparently prompted to hope for the better by the
recent appointment of Nathan Pusey as President, the article notes
that the college regulations still contained a 1762 prohibition on
participation by students in "any ways" in stage plays.  It then
discourses on the 250-plus years of the history of theatre at Harvard.

The author is J. Anthony Lukas.

Joel

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