Rehearsal Club (New York City)

The Rehearsal Club was a theatrical ingenue boarding house was founded in 1913 by Jean "Daisy" Greer, daughter of New York's Episcopal bishop, and Episcopal Deaconess Jane Harriss Hall. The residence provided young women pursuing a life in the theater a place to rest between auditions, along with opportunities to socialize and receive simple meals.[1] Within a year, the Professional Children’s School was established in back parlors of The Rehearsal Club.[2]

The Rehearsal Club
Formation1913
FounderJean "Daisy" Greer
TypeYoung Women's Residence
PurposeResidence for Women and Girls of The Stage
Headquarters218-220 West 46th Street
New York, NY
Location
Official language
English
Websitehttp://www.rehearsalclubnyc.com

History

In 1920, the Club relocated from its first home on West 46th Street to a large house on West 45th to accommodate increasing residency. In 1923, the Club moved to 47 West 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, where it remained for over 50 years. The brownstone and its neighbor number 45, acquired for the Club in 1925, were owned by Rockefeller family members.

The Rehearsal Club served as the inspiration for Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman's 1936 play Stage Door, which was adapted into the 1937 film of the same name starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.[3]

One of the most noted Rehearsal Club residents was Carol Burnett. In 1955, she initiated and was featured in a showcase of her fellow Club friends called 'The Rehearsal Club Revue,'[4] which served as an initial career boost for several of the girls. Ms. Burnett sponsored scholarships for Club residents in the 1960s, and fondly recalls her Club life in her memoirs This Time Together [5] and One More Time: A Memoir.[6] Many, many well known alums include Blythe Danner, Cynthia Darlow, Diane Keaton and Sandy Duncan and a host of others.

Although men were not allowed upstairs, many did hang out in the Rehearsal Club’s first-floor parlor.[7] James Dean, before he became a Hollywood legend, often visited the Rehearsal Club and for a time dated resident Liz Sheridan, also known as "Dizzy," then a 23-year-old fledgling dancer on the Milton Berle Show.[8][9]

In 1979, Rockefeller Brothers Fund sold the buildings at 45–47 West 53rd Street to American Folk Art Museum[10] and the Rehearsal Club closed for good.[11]

Today

In 2007, Rehearsal Club alumnae gathered and reignited the Rehearsal Club with the mission statement to "preserve the name of The Rehearsal Club, protect its legacy and inspire other younger generations". In 2018 The Rehearsal Club was incorporated as a 501c3 non profit and relaunched the residency program to provide a safe affordable haven for young women seeking careers in the performing arts. Once again alums like Carol Burnett and Blythe Danner came on board and sponsored rooms for the young woman chosen to live in the new Rehearsal Club space. On October 20, 2023, TRC will host a 110th Birthday Gala with a Rehearsal Club Revue and on Oct 21 it is reviving the TRC Wardrobe Sale. The Rehearsal Club is alive and well. See the website rehearsalclubnyc.com.ref>"Home". rehearsalclubnyc.com.</ref>

References
  1. NY Times, July, 1913, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/07/06/100633752.pdf
  2. Professional Children’s School, From the Archives, 2012, by John Tucker
  3. "Origins of 'Stage Door,'" The New York Times 25 Oct. 1936.
  4. "She Made It". She Made It. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  5. This Time Together by Carol Burnett, published Harmony Books (April 6, 2010)
  6. One More Time: A Memoir by Carol Burnett, Publisher: Random House, c1986
  7. Published The New York Times, July 6, 1913, retrieved August, 2012
  8. "People Magazine": An Affair to Remember, by Michael A. Lipton, June 24, 1996 Vol. 45 No. 25. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20141628,00.html
  9. "James Dean Walking Tour". Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  10. American Folk Art Museum
  11. Life Magazine, April, 1979
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