Henry Jewett Players Explained

The Henry Jewett Players (c.1910s–1930s) was a repertory theatre troupe established by actor Henry Jewett in Boston, Massachusetts. The group operated from the Boston Opera House (c.1915); the Toy Theatre and Copley Theatre on Dartmouth Street (c.1916–1924);^[1] and the Repertory Theatre on Huntington Avenue (c.1925–1930).^{[2] [3]} Performers included Peg Entwistle and Conway Wingfield. A contemporary critic explained how the players worked: "Mr Jewett ... considers the term 'Stock Company' beneath the just merits and present ambitions of his organization, and insists that it be dignified by the name 'Repertory,' instead. There is justification for this to the extent that no member regularly plays 'leading' parts, but all are moved around in the cast from week to week, from important to minor roles. But the company is nevertheless not run on the European Repertory system by means of which several plays are put on within the week, but instead, follows the usual American fashion of playing each play for a week or more at a time."^[4] The Jewett Players continued until around 1930.^[5]

Performances

Among the group's productions:

• Ibsen's Pillars of Society^[6]
• Dusany's Lost Silk Hat^[7]
• Angel in the House^[8]
• Inside the Lines^[9]
• Pinero's Dandy Dick
• Galsworthy's The Pigeon
• Galsworthy's The Silver Box
• Shaw's plays
• The Rivals a comedy by Richard Sheridan, 1917-1918 season.
• Tom Jones
• Alfred Sutro's Walls of Jericho^[10]
• The Doctor's Dilemma^[10]
• Graham Moffat's Bunty Pulls the Strings^[11]
• Officer 666
• The Private Secretary
• Are you a Mason?
• Charley's Aunt
• Chains
• Hindle Wakes
• Strife
• The Thunderbolt
• Oscar Wilde plays
• J. M. Barrie plays
• H.A. Jones plays
• Granville Barker's The Voysey Inheritance^[12]
• St. John Hankin's Cassilis Engagement^[13]
• Gregorio Martínez Sierra's Romantic Young Lady^[14]

See also

• Huntington Theatre Company, which now resides in the former Repertory Theatre (built in 1925 for the Jewett Players; bought in 1953 by Boston University)

Further reading

• Mary E. Carroll. "The Henry Jewett players, a notable dramatic achievement." National Magazine, March 1918
• Caroline Hills Allen. "The Frances Jewett Repertory Theatre Club." Smith Alumnae Quarterly, Feb. 1922
• Frances H. Jewett. The Repertory Theatre Idea. Boston: Frances Jewett Repertory Theatre Club, Copley Theatre, 1922
• Chapters on H. Jewett in:
• Eric McHenry. "A haunting on Huntington: Theater imbued with spirit of founder." B.U. Bridge, Oct. 8, 1999

Notes and References

1. Blue Book of Cambridge, 1917
2. "Ask the Globe." Boston Globe, Aug 26, 1984
3. Huntington Theatre Co. Boston University Theatre. Retrieved 2012-02-26
4. Frank Chouteau Brown. "'The Hub' defies Broadway: the home of the stock company has never had to depend on erratic Broadway bookings." Theatre Magazine, v.34, 1921
5. Henry Jewett died in 1930. (Henry Jewett, 1861-1930. Oxford companion to American theatre. Oxford University Press, 2004)
6. http://www.ibsen.net/index.gan?id=11187133&subid=0 Ibsen.net
7. Bookseller, newsdealer and stationer, June 15, 1917
8. Boston Globe, May 22, 1917
9. Boston Globe, Feb. 2, 1918
10. Boston Globe, Jan. 24, 1919
11. Boston Globe, Feb. 10, 1920
12. The Drama, Jan. 1922
13. Boston Globe, Dec. 12, 1922
14. William V. Jackson. "Modern Spanish Plays Produced in the United States, 1900-1947." Hispania, Vol. 33, No. 2 (May, 1950), pp. 140-143