Knowra Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (1893–1974) was an American stage actress and producer celebrated for leading roles in Shakespearean drama and other classical plays. Her long partnership with director Guthrie McClintic shaped a notable Broadway career.
The Barretts of Wimpole Street : Rudolf Besier’s play dramatizes the romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. Cornell’s role as Elizabeth Barrett became one of her defining stage performances.
Guthrie McClintic : An American theatre director and producer known for staging many Broadway productions with Katharine Cornell. He was Cornell’s husband and longtime director, guiding many of her best-known roles.
Buffalo, New York : A city in western New York on the eastern shore of Lake Erie. Cornell was born in Buffalo, where her early life began before her theatrical career.
American Theatre Wing : An American organization that supports theatre and provides services to theatre professionals and veterans. Cornell served as the organization’s president during World War II, helping direct its wartime work.
Eva Le Gallienne : A British-born American actress and director who founded New York’s Civic Repertory Theatre. Le Gallienne built a permanent repertory institution, unlike Cornell’s focus on individually produced star vehicles.
Candida : George Bernard Shaw’s comedy centers on a clergyman, his wife, and a young poet competing for her affection. Cornell starred as Candida in a celebrated Broadway production directed by Guthrie McClintic.
Maxwell Anderson : An American playwright whose verse dramas include Winterset and High Tor. Cornell starred in several Anderson plays, including The Wingless Victory and The Candle in the Wind.
American Academy of Dramatic Arts : A New York City conservatory that trains actors for stage and screen careers. Cornell studied acting there, receiving formal preparation for professional theatre.
Stage Door Canteen : A wartime entertainment venue where Broadway performers volunteered for Allied service members. Cornell helped lead the canteen effort that connected Broadway performers with servicemen.
Orson Welles : An American actor, director, and producer whose theatre work included the innovative Mercury Theatre. Welles pursued ensemble experimentation and rapid reinvention, contrasting with Cornell’s sustained classical star persona.
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