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History of the Ivoryton
Playhouse
The building that is now the Ivoryton
Playhouse was built in 1908 as a recreation hall for the
employees of the Comstock-Cheney factory. In all
likelihood, the building would have been demolished long ago
but for its chance encounter with a remarkable man.
Milton Stiefel started his long career in
theater as an actor, playing with such famous personalities
as Julia Marlow and Lionel Barrymore. Eventually, his
career took him backstage and he became nationally known as
"The Assistant Director," right hand man and confidante of
David Belasco, considered by historians as one of the
greatest directors in American theatre.
After Belasco's death, Stiefel continued as a
manager and stage director for many extravagant productions,
which, as was the custom in those days, traveled nationally,
and played in every major city in the United States. At the
conclusion of one of those tours, Stiefel came to Essex in a
severe state of exhaustion in order to rest and recuperate.
He saw the unused recreation hall, knew it would be perfect
for a resident stock company, set about drafting contracts,
and putting a cast together. “Broken Dishes” had just
closed in New York (reportedly with Bette Davis in her first
Broadway role), and Stiefel opened with it during the week
of June 17, 1930.
Thus the Ivoryton Playhouse became the first
self-supporting summer theater in the nation. Older
theaters as in Dennis, MA, and Skowhegan, ME, were not
self-supporting, but endowed by foundations of wealthy
families. The Westport theater was established a year after
the Ivoryton.
Stiefel’s company, made up mostly of his
friends, called themselves The New York Players. They lived
in private homes in Ivoryton from which most of the sets and
props were borrowed. The company did not break even until
the last week of the summer but that was enough to convince
Stiefel that the deal was doable. Throughout the ensuing
years he continued to produce and direct in Ivoryton, and in
1938 he bought the building.
The theater gained in prestige to the point
that invitations to work there were highly prized in the
theater profession. Its reputation grew nationally and
Paramount Pictures produced a short film showing its
complete operation. Established actors like Henry Hull and
Norma Terris signed on to perform at Ivoryton. Newcomers
like Katharine Hepburn and Cliff
Robertson, both on their way to Broadway and Hollywood
stardom came along to help the Ivoryton legend.
Ivoryton’s fame as one of Americas leading
summer showplaces continued to grow until the outbreak of
World War II when the theater went dark for several seasons,
mainly because severe tire and gasoline rationing made it
virtually impossible for audiences to get to Ivoryton. So
Stiefel, physically unable to qualify for military service,
went to Hollywood, where he served as a director for
Columbia Pictures. He vowed to return – and did – reopening
the playhouse after the war and resuming a parade of stars
that included, among many others, Marlon
Brando, Ethel
Waters, Art Carney, Talullah Bankhead, Helen
Hayes, Ezio Pinza, Betty
Grable, Madge
Evans, Vivian
Vance, Groucho
Marx, June
Lockhart, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Don Ameche.
Stiefel continued at Ivoryton until his
retirement in 1973, when he sold the theater to Ken Krezel.
Stiefel, however, remained active in an advisory capacity
until his death in 1983. Krezel, meanwhile, was having
difficult times with the Playhouse and finally, in 1979,
decided to sell the property. It was then, amid rumors that
the historic theater might be torn down to make way for a
discount drug store that the non-profit Ivoryton Playhouse
Foundation was organized and with the help of The Essex
Savings Bank, came up with a mortgage to buy the property
from Krezel for $115,000.
Over the course of the past 28 years, the
Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation has completed a total
renovation of the building, including new shingles, a new
heating and air-conditioning system, new seats and
state-of-the-art theatrical sound and lighting systems. The
Playhouse has maintained its reputation as a first-class
summer theatre and now produces a year-round professional
season of musical, comedies and dramas. |
