Catharine Sargent Huntington (1887-1987) was an American actress, producer, director, activist, and founder and manager of theater companies in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Her work in theater lasted until she was 86 years old and spanned 6 decades, and she received the Rodgers and Hammerstein Award in 1965 for her work. Additionally, Huntington was part of the "Death Watch," protesting the trials and death sentence of

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

Early life and education

Huntington was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts on December 29, 1887, as the sole daughter of Lilly St. Agnam Barrett Huntington and clergyman George Putnam Huntington to survive infancy. The family later moved to

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

, where Huntington grew up. Between 1904 and 1906, she lived in Cedar Square,

Roxbury, Boston Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

with her aunt Kate Summer. While in Boston, Huntington attended Miss Haskell's School, graduating in 1906. She proceeded to

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, where she graduated in 1911

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

with an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

After graduation, Huntington spent her summer in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and began teaching at the

Westover School The Westover School, often referred to simply as "Westover," is an independent college-preparatory day and boarding school for girls. Located in Middlebury, Connecticut, United States, the school offers grades 9–12. Early History Mary Hilla ...

in Middlebury, Connecticut, where she worked until 1917.

Activism and war involvement

At the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Huntington left her job at

to serve as the

representative to the troops in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with the Wellesley unit of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. She served as an aide, working on war reconstruction with the Réconstruction Aisne Devastée and the Union des Femmes de France until her return to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1920. After her return, Huntington continued local war reconstruction efforts. In August 1927, she was arrested for protesting the murder conviction and death penalty of

through loitering and sauntering with the "Death Watch." She was one of 156 people arrested for the protests, although her fine of $10 was double the amount of the fine for the majority of the other members of the watch. She appealed the fine and went to trial in December of the same year with seven others, including

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

Powers Hapgood Powers Hapgood (1899–1949) was an American trade union organizer and Socialist Party of America, Socialist Party leader known for his involvement with the United Mine Workers in the 1920s. Biography Early years Powers Hapgood was born on Dece ...

, and John Dos Passos. She was included in the

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

on August 24, 1927, in an article titled ''"Death Watch" To Make Test Case,'' that stated "Miss Huntington, whose address is 66 Pickney St, said her family had been here for 300 years and read a statement maintaining she had a right to protest as she did."

Theater career

Huntington founded the Boston Stage Society in 1922, and was associated with the Brattle Theatre, Peabody Playhouse, the Tributary Theater, and the Poet's Theater throughout her lifetime. Additionally, she founded the New England Repertory Theater on Joy Street in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1938, and later founded the Provincetown Playhouse on the wharf in

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

in 1940 with Edwin Pettit and Virginia Thoms. The new playhouse replaced the old structure that existed between 1915 and 1924. She served as the owner and manager of the playhouse between its founding year and 1973. During her time there, a

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

drama was produced each summer season, and the theater hosted the O'Neill Festival in 1966, where 10 of his plays were produced. Huntington was awarded the Rodgers and Hammerstein Award in 1965 for her work in American theater in the

area. Later, on her 97th birthday, Governor

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

and the Massachusetts legislature recognized her contributions to American theater.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntington, Catharine Sargent 1887 births 1987 deaths American theatre people 20th-century American actresses American theatre directors Women theatre directors Radcliffe College alumni Actresses from Massachusetts People from Ashfield, Massachusetts