The University Players was primarily a

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...

theater company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

located in West Falmouth,

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 ...

, Massachusetts, from 1928 to 1932. It was formed in 1928 by eighteen college undergraduates. Notable among them were Eleanor Phelps of Vassar, two undergraduates at Princeton,

Bretaigne Windust Ernest Bretaigne Windust (January 20, 1906 – March 19, 1960) was a United States-based French-born theater, film, and television director. Early life He was born in Paris, the son of English violin virtuoso Ernest Joseph Windust and singer ...

and

Erik Barnouw Erik Barnouw (June 23, 1908 – July 19, 2001) was a U.S. historian of radio and television broadcasting. At the time of his death, Barnouw was widely considered to be America's most distinguished historian of broadcasting. Life According to ...

, and several undergraduates at Harvard, Charles Crane Leatherbee (grandson of American diplomat and philanthropist

Charles Richard Crane Charles Richard Crane (August 7, 1858 – February 15, 1939) was a wealthy American businessman, heir to a large industrial fortune and connoisseur of Arab culture, a noted Arabist. His widespread business interests gave him entree into domestic a ...

Kent Smith Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated ...

, Kingsley Perry, Bartlett Quigley (father of American actress

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 19 ...

), an
John Swope
(son of GE President

Gerard Swope Gerard Swope (December 1, 1872 – November 20, 1957) was an American electronics businessman. He served as the president of General Electric Company between 1922 and 1940, and again from 1942 until 1945. During this time Swope expanded GE's produ ...

and later Hollywood and Life Magazine photographer and husband of actress

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

). Several others of its members who had their first professional experiences with the University Players went on to achieve fame in the theater and film industry, including Joshua Logan, James Stewart,

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

, Margaret Sullavan, Mildred Natwick, Aleta Freel, Barbara O'Neil, Myron McCormick, Charles Arnt, Karl Swenson, Kent Smith, Norris Houghton, Frieda Altman, Elsie Schauffler, and Philip Faversham. Romances born of the University Players led to four marriages: Barbara O'Neil to Joshua Logan for a few years in the 1930s; Logan's little sister Mary Lee Logan to Charles Leatherbee; and that of a few "happy" months in 1932 between actress Margaret Sullavan and actor Henry Fonda; and future author Peggy Friedlander to future English professor Roy Lamson.

Sources

*''New York Times'', 25 May 1928 "Collegians to Give Plays This Summer : Men and Women of Four Institutions Plan a Season at Falmouth"

Sources

Further reading