Lucille Lortel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucille Lortel
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Lucille Lortel around the 1920s
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Lucille Wadler
December 16, 1900 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
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| Died | April 4, 1999 (aged 98) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress, theatrical producer, artistic director |
| Years active | 1925–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Louis Schweitzer (1931–1971; his death) |
Lucille Lortel (born Lucille Wadler, December 16, 1900 – April 4, 1999) was an American actress, artistic director, and theater producer. She was a very important person in American theater, especially for "Off-Broadway" shows.
During her long career, Lucille Lortel produced or helped produce almost 500 plays. Five of these plays were nominated for the famous Tony Award. One of her most well-known productions was Threepenny Opera. This show ran for seven years and was so popular that it helped make Off-Broadway theater famous.
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Early Life and Acting Career
Lucille Wadler was born on December 16, 1900, in Manhattan, New York City. She was one of four children. Her parents were immigrants from Poland. Lucille grew up in the Bronx and Manhattan. She was homeschooled before going to Adelphi University in Brooklyn. Friends remembered her as lively and fun. She loved to dance, even when she was in her 80s!
In 1920, Lucille started studying acting. She went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She even traveled to Berlin to train with a famous director named Max Reinhardt. In 1925, she made her first appearance on Broadway. She acted in a play called Caesar and Cleopatra with Helen Hayes. Lucille Lortel appeared in several other plays on Broadway. She also acted in one of the first "talking pictures" (movies with sound).
In 1931, Lucille married Louis Schweitzer, who was a paper industrialist and a kind person who gave money to good causes. She stopped acting in 1939 to respect her husband's wishes.
White Barn Theatre: A Place for New Plays
In 1947, Lucille Lortel found a new way to be involved in theater. She opened the White Barn Theatre. It was in an old horse barn on her and her husband's property in Westport. Lucille wanted this theater to be a special place. It was a "sanctuary" where new and experimental plays could be shown. Writers could try out new ideas without worrying about making money. Actors could also try new things with their roles.
Many plays started at the White Barn Theatre. Some of them later became very successful in bigger theaters. For example, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel premiered here. Another play, Next by Terrence McNally, also started at the White Barn. Famous actors like Eva Marie Saint and Cherry Jones performed there.
Some plays that started at the White Barn later moved to Off-Broadway or Broadway. For example, Redwood Curtain by Lanford Wilson went on to Broadway. In 1992, a museum was created near the theater. It was called the White Barn Theatre Museum. The White Barn Theatre closed in 2002. Later, the property was sold. But its legacy lives on! The Westport Country Playhouse now has the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center. This center keeps her vision alive.
Lucille Lortel Theatre: Off-Broadway's Home
In 1955, Lucille's husband bought her a theater in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was called Theatre De Lys. He gave it to her as a 24th wedding anniversary gift! For her first show there, Lucille brought her White Barn production of The Threepenny Opera. This show was a huge success! It ran for seven years. It was so important that it helped make Off-Broadway theater a major part of New York's theater scene. The production even won a special Tony Award!
After Threepenny Opera, Lucille produced many other important plays at her theater. These included The Balcony by Jean Genet and The Blood Knot starring James Earl Jones. The theater also became home to plays like David Mamet's A Life in the Theater and Sam Shepard's Buried Child.
On November 16, 1981, the Theatre de Lys was renamed the Lucille Lortel Theatre. This was done during the run of a play called Cloud Nine. In the 1980s, many other hit plays were shown there. These included Steel Magnolias, which ran for over 1,100 performances!
In 1992, Lucille produced The Destiny of Me. This play won the first Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play Off-Broadway. The theater also hosted plays starring famous actors like Julie Harris and Uta Hagen.
In 1998, Lucille Lortel created the Playwrights' Sidewalk outside the theater. It's a special tribute to playwrights whose work has been performed Off-Broadway. Each year, a new playwright's name is carved into a bronze star in front of the theater. Before she died, Lucille made sure her theater would continue. She transferred it to the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation. Now, the theater only shows plays from non-profit groups.
ANTA Matinee Series: A Theater Laboratory
In the mid-1950s, Lucille Lortel helped create something new. She convinced the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA) to support a "matinee series." This was like a "laboratory for innovation." It was based on the experimental work she did at the White Barn Theatre.
Lucille became the artistic director of this series. It started in 1956 at her Theatre de Lys. She wanted to show plays that were not focused on making money. Plays were chosen for their artistic value, not for how popular they might be. The series was held every Tuesday afternoon for twenty years! Some plays from this series even went on to be shown at the Festival of Two Worlds in Italy.
Many famous actors performed in the ANTA Matinee Series. These included Helen Hayes, Eva Le Gallienne, and Siobhán McKenna. Even Richard Burton and Sybil Thorndike performed poetry readings there.
Other Projects and Contributions
Lucille Lortel was involved in many other theater projects.
Library of Congress
Starting in 1960, Lucille Lortel presented a series of plays at the Library of Congress. This included works by famous writers like Seán O'Casey, Edward Albee, and Samuel Beckett. These presentations helped share important plays with a wider audience.
Broadway Productions
Lucille Lortel also produced plays on Broadway. She was an associate producer for a famous revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. She also produced Angels Fall and As Is, both of which were nominated for Tony Awards. In 1986, her production of Blood Knot also received a Tony nomination.
In 1988, Lucille Lortel received two more Tony Award nominations! One was for the musical Sarafina!, which was about apartheid. The other was for the play A Walk in the Woods. This play was so important that it was performed for members of the U.S. government and foreign leaders. Lucille even took the Broadway company of A Walk in the Woods to the Soviet Union!
Off-Broadway Productions
Even with her own theater, Lucille continued to produce plays at other Off-Broadway theaters. She produced "The Beckett Plays," which received a special award from the New York Drama Critics' Circle. She also produced Back on the Boulevard in 1996.
Supporting Education
Lucille Lortel cared deeply about supporting new talent. She created the Lucille Lortel Fund for New Drama at Yale University. This fund helps produce new plays at the Yale Repertory Theater. The first play supported by this fund was August Wilson's famous play Fences. She also started the Lucille Lortel Fellowship in Playwriting at Brown University in 1996.
Awards and Honors
Lucille Lortel received many awards and honors throughout her life.
1950s–1970s
She received awards from ANTA (American National Theater and Academy) for her "pioneering work" in theater. Her productions of The Threepenny Opera and The Balcony won Obie Awards. In 1958, she received a special Obie Award for "fostering the spirit of theatrical experiment." She also received the first Margo Jones Award in 1962 for helping new plays get produced.
In 1975, the Mayor of New York City honored her for her contributions to the city's culture. In 1976, the Governor of Connecticut honored her for promoting plays by women writers.
1980s
In 1980, her theater was renamed "Lucille Lortel's Theatre de Lys." In 1981, the Museum of the City of New York called her "The Queen of Off-Broadway" in an exhibition. They even created a permanent gallery in her honor.
In 1983, Lucille Lortel's caricature (a funny drawing) was placed on the wall at Sardi's, a famous restaurant where theater stars are honored. In 1985, she received the first Lee Strasberg Lifetime Achievement in Theatre Award. She also received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Bridgeport.
In 1986, the Lucille Lortel Awards were created in her name. These awards honor outstanding Off-Broadway productions and achievements each year. She was also honored by The Players Club as "The First Lady of Off-Broadway."
In 1987, Fairfield University gave her an honorary degree. She also received the Connecticut Arts Award. The Lucille Lortel Theatre Collection, which includes her theater history and personal items, is on display at the Westport Public Library. This collection includes an Emmy Award she won in 1988!
In 1989, the City University of New York created The Lucille Lortel Distinguished Professorial Chair in Theatre. This was the first theater chair named after a woman. She was also honored by The New York Public Library as a "Lion of the Performing Arts."
1990s
In 1990, Lucille Lortel was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. She also received the Actors Fund Medal of Honor.
In 1991, a major exhibition about her career, called "The Theatres of Lucille Lortel," was shown at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. She also received an Honorary Lifetime Membership in the New England Theatre Conference.
In 1992, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Christophers and the Kennedy Center Medallion. She also received the first Seán O'Casey Award for her work in theater.
In 1993, she received the Drama League's "Unique Contribution to Theatre" Award. She also received another honorary doctorate degree from the City University of New York. A book about her life, Lucille Lortel: A Bio-Bibliography, was published.
In 1996, Lucille Lortel was inducted into the Greenwich Village Hall of Fame. She also received the Helen Hayes Award. In 1997, Arthur Miller, a famous playwright, gave the first Lucille Lortel Lecture on Playwriting at Columbia University School of the Arts. She also received the League of Professional Theatre Women/NY's Lifetime Achievement Award on her 97th birthday!
In 1998, a lobby at St. Clare's Hospital in New York's Theatre District was named The Lucille Lortel Lobby in her honor.
Death
Lucille Lortel passed away on April 4, 1999, at the age of 98. She is buried in Westchester Hills Cemetery in New York.
Images for kids
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Lucille Lortel's headstone
