Eva Le Gallienne (January , â€" June , ) was a British-born American
stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway
star by age , Le Gallienne consciously ended her work on Broadway to
devote herself to founding the Civic Repertory Theatre, 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 today's Off-Broadway. A versatile and eloquent
actress herself (playing roles ranging from Peter Pan to Hamlet), Le
Gallienne also became a respected stage director, coach, producer and
manager.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 for years (â€"), producing plays during
that time. She managed Broadway's -seat Civic Repertory Theatre at
West th Street (formerly the Fourteenth Street Theatre) from to ,
which was home to her company whose actors included herself, Burgess
Meredith, John Garfield, J. Edward Bromberg, Paul Leyssac, Florida
Friebus, David Manners, and Leona Roberts.Le Gallienne was born in
London to Richard Le Gallienne, an English poet of French descent, and
Julie Nørregaard, a Danish journalist. They married in and separated
in , later divorcing. After Eva's 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 impression on me". She made her stage debut at
the age of with a walk-on role in a production of Maurice
Maeterlinck's 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.
stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway
star by age , Le Gallienne consciously ended her work on Broadway to
devote herself to founding the Civic Repertory Theatre, 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 today's Off-Broadway. A versatile and eloquent
actress herself (playing roles ranging from Peter Pan to Hamlet), Le
Gallienne also became a respected stage director, coach, producer and
manager.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 for years (â€"), producing plays during
that time. She managed Broadway's -seat Civic Repertory Theatre at
West th Street (formerly the Fourteenth Street Theatre) from to ,
which was home to her company whose actors included herself, Burgess
Meredith, John Garfield, J. Edward Bromberg, Paul Leyssac, Florida
Friebus, David Manners, and Leona Roberts.Le Gallienne was born in
London to Richard Le Gallienne, an English poet of French descent, and
Julie Nørregaard, a Danish journalist. They married in and separated
in , later divorcing. After Eva's 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 impression on me". She made her stage debut at
the age of with a walk-on role in a production of Maurice
Maeterlinck's 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.
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