BEFORE SYRACUSE STAGE
“A play closes some Saturday night, but a theatre continues on. The theatre must not stand or fall on one play or one season. We can’t sell one play to the community we live in. We sell an institution that a community can be proud of.”
– Rex Henriot, managing director of the Syracuse Repertory Theatre
The marquee of the Regent Theatre advertises The New Playhouse’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet. 1961.
In 1958, Syracuse University acquired the Regent Theatre Building located on the southwest corner of E. Genesee Street and Irving Avenue. The Regent was a movie house that had occupied the location since 1914 when Myron Kallet built it as the first of the Kallet Theatre chain. Administration for the Regent became the responsibility of University College and its dean Alex Charters, who set a goal of developing “a comprehensive program in education and culture for the Syracuse community’s taste in music, drama, and film.”
Gerald F. Reidenbaugh, artistic director of the Syracuse Repertory Theatre and chair of Syracuse University Drama Department, gives notes to student actors during a rehearsal.
Initially, fulfilling that goal meant bringing in well-known performers and touring productions. Marcel Marceau, Hal Holbrook (Mark Twain Tonight), James Whitmore (Will Roger’s USA), Jose Greco Dance, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and many others performed at the Regent, as did numerous local and community groups. In 1961, Department of Drama faculty member Gerald F. Reidenbaugh started a summer theatre called The New Playhouse. Using the Regent as its home stage, The New Playhouse employed professional actors and also used students from the Department of Drama in supporting roles. Within a year, an administrative entity called the S.U. Theatre Corporation was granted a charter by the New York State Education Department to establish a board of trustees and manage relations with Actors’ Equity Association. Professional theatre officially arrived in Syracuse.
A flyer promoting a performance by The Modern Jazz Quartet. 1971
The Regent marquee announces performance dates for Syracuse Repertory Theatre’s production of Dear Liar by Jerome Kilty.
The University upgraded the Regent and funded construction of new 200 seat facility dubbed the Experimental Theatre (today’s Storch Theatre), which was completed in 1966. With the support of the Rosamond Gifford Charitable Foundation, Reidenbaugh established a professional resident company of actors and created a new company called the Syracuse Repertory Theatre (SRT). SRT opened its first season in the Experimental Theatre in January of 1967 with a production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. Across seven seasons, SRT produced 37 plays under the direction of Reidenbaugh and general manager Rex Henriot using professional actors supported by Department of Drama students. Though financial stress caused SRT to cease production, its success demonstrated a high level of community interest in having a local professional theatre and proved the value a professional company could have for the Department of Drama. In short, SRT prepared the way for the arrival of Syracuse Stage.
Laura MacFarlane as the Princess of France, Gerard Moses as Lord Boyet with ladies in waiting Adale O’Brien, Katherine Manney, and Shirley Fenner in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. Season: Syracuse Repertory Theatre, 1967. Director: Rod Alexander.
Gary Gage as Glas and Roger Robinson as Randall in Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by William Hanley. Season: Syracuse Repertory Theatre, 1967. Director: Rex Henriot.