Word: brustein
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...dispute the impressive scholarly and professional qualifications of Robert Brustein. His writings have had a tremendous impact on American theater. Under his guidance, the Yale Repertory Company has been vibrant and innovative. The Yale School of Drama has established itself at the forefront of American theater training. On the surface, Brustein appears to have every credential to serve an apocalyptic function, to act as a White Knight who can ride in and take Cambridge by storm...
From the administration's point of view, Brustein is an ideal candidate. When he came to Harvard to announce that he was available, Brustein offered to fill a post that had to be filled by the end of this academic year. His appointment would save the administration from the complicated problems of conducting a lengthy, affirmative-action search. He would bring with him a great deal of practical experience. He would also bring with him that essential Harvard commodity: prestige. For Harvard to capture Brustein directly from Yale would be a major coup...
...clincher for Brustein's wooing of the Harvard administration was his promise to bring to Cambridge the famous Yale Repertory Company. Brustein can't promise to import the whole operation to the Loeb. He may simply set up another company. In any case, he has promised that it wouldn't cost Harvard a ce Brustein believes that he can raise the entire operating budget for the company through foundation grants and private donations. For Dean Rosovsky, struggling to balance his FAS budget, Brustein's offer must have been irresistible...
From an administration perspective, the prospect of a prestigious Harvard Repertory Company is the crowning glory of Brustein's proposal. He might be a wonderful Harvard acquisition, but his company promises to be a serious problem for undergraduate theater. While the vision of Brustein as a white knight who will save Harvard theater from the "blahs" is naively optimistic, that optimism is harmless enough. It is more dangerous to gloss over the very significant problems that will result from the imposition of a professional company in an undergraduate facility...
...Crimson itself acknowledged that there are "risks" in accepting Brustein's plan, but it chose to downplay those risks. It seems that those students who hail Brustein's appointment as a major achievement are basing their optimism on two very tenuous assumptions...