Eva Le Gallienne

Eva Le Gallienne was an Englishborn American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne consciously ended her work on Broadway to devote herself to founding the Civic Repertory Theater, in which she was both director, producer, and lead actress. Noted for her boldness and idealism, she became a pioneering figure in the American Repertory Movement, which enabled todays OffBroadway. A versatile and eloquent actress herself , Le Gallienne also became a respected stage coach, director, producer and manager. Ms. Le Gallienne consciously devoted herself to the Art of the Theatre as opposed to the Show Business of Broadway and dedicated herself to upgrading the quality of the stage. She ran the Civic Repertory Theatre Company foryears , producingplays during that time. She managed Broadways 1100seat Civic Repertory Theatre at 107 West 14th Street from 192632, which was home to her company whose actors included herself, Burgess M

Le Gallienne was born in London to an English poet of French descent, Richard Le Gallienne, and a Danish journalist, Julie Norregard. After Evas parents separated when she was four years old, she and her mother moved to Paris, where she spent her childhood shuttling back and forth between there and Britain. While in Paris, she was taken backstage to meet Sarah Bernhardt, which, she said made an enormous impresssion on me. She made her stage debut at the age ofwith a walkon role in a 1914 production of Maurice Maeterlincks Monna Vanna, then spent several months in a drama school. She left to perform in a minor comedy as a cockney servant, and brought down the house, receiving excellent reviews.

Source: Wikipedia