Harold Clurman

director

Harold Clurman has been called the most influential figure in the history of the American theater. Between 1935 and 1980, he directed over forty plays, including Jean Giraudoux's *Tiger at the Gates*, Eugene O'Neill's *Touch of the Poe*t, and Arthur Miller's *Incident at Vichy*. He authored seven books, and from 1953 until his death in 1980 he was a drama critic for *The Nation*. As the passionate and talented leader of the Group Theatre, Clurman invigorated American theater with his political and artistic idealism. Though the Group Theatre lasted only ten years, it produced twenty plays and brought an excitement to the American stage that still remains. After the closing of the Group Theatre, Clurman brought his vision to Broadway, where he was instrumental in teaching some of the most skilled and successful actors of the time. He worked to insure the theater's growth by elevating its productions to the level of any other of the great arts. Working with writers such as Eugene O'Neill, Carson McCullers, and Arthur Miller, he created theater that was at once serious and popular, and uniquely American. In recognition of his great influence and commitment to the arts, he was awarded the rare honor of having a Broadway theater named after him. Today, twenty years after his death, Harold Clurman is considered one of the most respected and influential members of the American theater