Winthrop Ames

Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter.

For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoire included directing and producing Shakespeare and classic plays, new plays, and revivals of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas.

Ames was born in North Easton, Massachusetts to Cathrine Hobart and Oakes Angier Ames, members of a wealthy manufacturing family. Ames studied art and architecture at Harvard University. He worked in the publishing business before turning to a career in the theatre. In 1911, Ames married Lucy (Fuller) Cabot in London, and the couple had two daughters named Catherine and Joan.

In 1904, Ames toured Europe to study the management techniques of sixty opera and theatre companies. Upon his return to America, he became manager of Boston's Castle Square Theatre. In 1908, he was appointed managing director of the New Theatre in New York, at Central Park West and 62nd Street, where Lee Shubert was the business manager. The New Theatre was the largest playhouse in New York City at that time, and Ames began to produce ambitious productions, mostly of Shakespeare and other classics. In November 1908, the theatre opened with an opulent production of Antony and Cleopatra starring Julia Marlowe and E. H. Sothern. The theatre was a financial failure and closed after only two seasons.

...
Wikipedia