To the Editor:
"Robinson renovations slated," says The Dartmouth. "And it's about time," says I.
Fifty years ago this summer, when I matriculated at the College, Robinson Hall looked just about as it does today: a rabbit warren of various organizations' offices. There was one major exception and that was the theater.
The theater? You see, in early 1945 the old Nugget Theater burned down, the one that actually was on Nugget Alley, and Webster Hall became the town's only movie house for a number of years. That meant the Dartmouth Players lost their traditional space and all theatrical productions moved to the second floor of Robinson.
It was a very small house with a minuscule stage and a terminally cramped workshop in the basement. Nevertheless, we put on some good shows there, featuring some good talent. Frank Gilroy was writing plays and Buck Henry was playing comics. President Hopkins's daughter Ann was a leading lady. Warner Bentley directed a lot of shows and appeared in others. Henry Williams and George Schoenhut directed and designed and built scenery.
That box that protrudes from the back -- the one facing Thayer -- wasn't a fire escape. It was added so that crossovers could be made backstage. If there were multiple sets involved -- Much Ado About Nothing comes to mind -- that's where we stored them between acts. Schoenhut nicknamed it "the dingle-dangle." It's probably a closet now.
I spent most of four years in Robinson Hall, with the Players and occasionally at the radio station, then called WDBS and the home of frequent live radio plays.
Eventually the new Nugget was built, and then the Hop. Things didn't just get back to normal, they improved immeasurably. Maybe they'll put up a plaque in the new Robinson Hall. Maybe they'll put one up in Webster.
