Adapter, Alice in Wonderland

Eva Le Gallienne was a prominent actor, director, producer and pioneer in the American regional theatre movement. Le Gallienne made her stage debut in Monna Vanna (1914) and went on to perform on stage, in television and film. She originated the role of the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, which she and Florida Friebus adapted from Lewis Carroll’s novel. In 1926, Le Gallienne founded the Civic Repertory Theatre in New York City, specializing in classics and notable foreign plays presented at low admission prices. Her translations introduced Americans to the works of Anton Chekhov and Henrik Ibsen, among others. The theatre was unable to survive the Depression and closed in 1933. In 1946, Le Gallienne cofounded the short-lived American Repertory Theatre in New York with Cheryl Crawford and Margaret Webster. Le Gallienne wrote two memoirs, a children’s book and a biography of Eleonora Duse. Her awards include an Emmy Award for The Royal Family, a Tony Award honoring her 50-year-long acting career and work with the National Repertory Theatre and the NEA’s National Medal of Arts.