The Théâtre Montparnasse is a theatre at 31, rue de la Gaîté in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.

History

After the death of famed Paris theatre builder and artistic director Henri Larochelle (1826-1884), his widow, along with former actor and artistic director Louis-Hubert Hartmann, built the present structure, which opened on 29 October 1886, on a site that had been dedicated to theatre since 1817. Architect Charles Peigniet, who helped create the pedestal for the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

in New York Bay, designed the new building. Although the Théâtre Montparnasse began as a commercial playhouse for melodramatic fare, it occasionally leased its stage to new experimentalist plays of the Independent Theatre movement. A year after the theatre's opening, Hartmann readily agreed to lease his stage to André Antoine, whose revolutionary new company, the

Théâtre Libre The Théâtre Libre (French for "Free Theatre") was a theatre company that operated from 1887 to 1896 in Paris, France. Origins and History Théâtre Libre was founded on 30 March 1887 by André Antoine. The primary goal of the theatre was to ...

, had, in spring 1887, earned immediate publicity as an exciting venture devoted to producing new plays. He also generously offered his warehouse of scenery and backdrops. Théâtre Montparnasse became the Théâtre Libre's home for the six programmed evenings between November 1887 and June 1888, where it presented fifteen new works of varying quality. The season's most resounding success was the French premiere of Tolstoy's ''

The Power of Darkness ''The Power of Darkness'' (russian: Власть тьмы, Vlast′ t′my) is a five- act drama by Leo Tolstoy. Written in 1886, the play's production was forbidden in Russia until 1902, mainly through the influence of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. I ...

'' on 10 February 1888, which led to a rare sold-out repeat performance eight days later. By contrast, on 16 January 1891, Paul Fort's Théâtre d'Art presented a failed, five-and-a-half-hour production of Shelley's

The Cenci ''The Cenci, A Tragedy, in Five Acts'' (1819) is a verse drama in five acts by Percy Bysshe Shelley written in the summer of 1819, and inspired by a real Italian family, the House of Cenci (in particular, Beatrice Cenci, pronounced CHEN-chee). ...

in French translation. From 1930 to 1943,

Gaston Baty Gaston Baty (26 May 1885 – 13 October 1952), whose full name was Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Gaston Baty, was a French playwright and theatre director. He was born in Pélussin, Loire, France. Career In 1921, Baty formed his own company ''Les Compag ...

directed the theatre, and as a result, it became known as the Théâtre Montparnasse-Gaston Baty. From 1944 to 1964, actress Margaret Jamois directed the theatre. In 1965, Lars Schmidt bought the theatre and appointed Jerome Hullot artistic director. Schmidt and Hullot introduced many English talents to the French stage, including such authors and actors as

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, Peter Shaffer,

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

, Arnold Wesker, and Murray Schisgal. In 1979, they created the Petit Montparnasse theatre on the site of a former warehouse. In 1984, Schmidt retired, and Myriam Colombi succeeded him, renovating the theatre and adding a bar-restaurant. The current capacity of the main theatre is seven hundred and fifteen seats. In 1998, renovation and expansion of the Petit Montparnasse began, and it became a hall with two hundred seats, finally reopening in November 2003. The Théâtre Montparnasse-Gaston Baty was designated a historic monument on 3 April 1984.Historical monuments and protected buildings in 14th arrondissement of Paris
(in French)

Productions since 1930

Productions by Gaston Baty

* 1930:

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

* 1930:

The Doctor in Spite of Himself ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

* 1930: Le Sourd ou l'auberge pleine by Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard-Desforges * 1931: Wasteland by Jean-Victor Pellerin * 1931: Danube red by Bernard Zimmer * 1932: Bifur by

Simon Gantillon Simon Gantillon (7 January 1887 in Lyon – 9 September 1961 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a 20th-century French screenwriter and playwright. Filmography ; Screenwriter * 1932: '' Sergeant X'' by Vladimir Strizhevsky * 1938: ''Gibraltar'' by Fedor ...

* 1932: Café-Tabac by Denys Amiel * 1932: As You Desire Me by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

* 1933: Crime and Punishment by

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

* 1934: Round trip from Jacques Chabannes * 1934: Prosper by

Lucienne Favre Lucienne Favre (4 January 1894 – 21 March 1958) was a 20th-century French writer and playwright. She was an algerianist. She was among the first to doubt the authenticity of the Muslim persona of the Jewish-Algerian writer Elissa Rhaïs. Publ ...

* 1935: Hotel masks by John Albert * 1935:

Les Caprices de Marianne ''Les caprices de Marianne'' is a two-act opéra comique by Henri Sauguet with a French libretto by Jean-Pierre Gredy after Alfred de Musset. It was first performed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1954, with the Orchestre de la Société des Co ...

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

* 1936: Madame Bovary by

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

* 1937: The Failures by

Henri-René Lenormand Henri-René Lenormand (3 May 1882 - 16 February 1951) was a French playwright. He was born on 3 May 1882 in Paris. His plays, steeped in symbolism, were recognized for their explorations of subconscious motivation, deeply reflecting the influence ...

* 1937: Faust by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

* 1937: Madame Capet by Marcelle Maurette * 1938:

Arden of Feversham ''Arden of Faversham'' (original spelling: ''Arden of Feversham'') is an Elizabethan play, entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 3 April 1592, and printed later that same year by Edward White. It depicts the real-life murder ...

* 1938: Dulcinea

* 1939: Manon Lescaut of Marcelle Maurette by the

Abbe Prevost Abbe may refer to: People * Abbe (name) Places * Abbe (crater), a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon * Lake Abbe, African lake * Abbe Falls, waterfalls in India Other uses * Abbé, the Fren ...

* 1940: Phèdre by

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

* 1940: A boy at Very by

Eugene Labiche Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

* 1941: Mary Stuart by

Marcelle Maurette Marcelle may refer to: *Marcelle, a French feminine version of Marcel * 1300 Marcelle (1934 CL), a main-belt asteroid *Groupe Marcelle A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. A ...

* 1941:

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

* 1942:

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

* 1944: The Grand Poucet by

Claude-André Puget Claude-André Puget (22 June 1905, in Nice – 14 August 1975) was a 20th-century French playwright and screenwriter. Theatre Plays *1932: ''La Ligne de cœur'' *1933: ''Valentin le Désossé'' *1937: ''Tourterelle'' *1938: ''Les Jours heureux ...

* 1944: Emily Brontë, pièce en 3 actes et 9 tableaux by Simone * 1945:

Lorenzaccio ''Lorenzaccio'' is a French play of the Romantic period written by Alfred de Musset in 1834, set in 16th-century Florence, and depicting Lorenzino de' Medici, who killed Florence's tyrant, Alessandro de' Medici, his cousin. Having engaged in de ...

* 1947: The Love for Three Oranges by Alexandre Arnoux

Productions by Marguerite Jamois

* 1943: Hedda Gabler by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

* 1946:

Mourning Becomes Electra ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...

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 ...

* 1949: Snow by Marcelle Maurette and Georgette Paul * 1951: Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos * 1955: The Teahouse of the August Moon by John Patrick * 1956:

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montparnasse, Theatre Theatres in Paris Buildings and structures in the 14th arrondissement of Paris Monuments and memorials in Paris