Our Story (briefly): Nearly 100 Years in the Making
“Long live the Abbey Theatre of Dublin! And long live the Hedgerow Theatre of Moylan, in the State of Pennsylvania!” – Sean O’Casey
AMERICA’S FIRST REPERTORY THEATRE
Hedgerow has its roots in the artisan/craftsman movement at the turn of the last century, when Will Price founded this movement dedicated to individual expression in contrast to t
he impersonal industrialization of society. Actor/director Jasper Deeter fell in love with the intimacy of the grist mill-turned borough hall, the aesthetic appreciation of the community, and the opportunity to create a theatre with an artistic rather than commercial center. He foreshadowed the regional not-for-profit theatre movement, established a racially integrated company of resident, local, and visiting artists, and maintained an identity for Hedgerow as a seminal theatre for theatre artists throughout the country. Beginning in 1923, Hedgerow launched the first resident repertory theatre that, over its many years, has become a magnet for many national theatre personalities, from Richard Basehart to Edward Albee; from Ann Harding to Susan Glaspell; to—more recently—Keanu Reeves and Austin Pendleton. Visionary actor/director Jasper founded Hedgerow in 1923 as a haven for cutting edge artists of the early 20th century, and the theatre quickly gained a national and international reputation as a proving ground for such artists as Eugene O’Neill, Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, Theodore Dreiser, and Wharton Esherick.
