December 11, 1931

The Experimental Theatre and the Greek department, with the cooperation of the departments of music and art, presented the Hippolytus of Euripides in Greek. Directed by Hallie Flanagan and Philip Davis, professor of Greek, the performance was thought to be the first presentation in modern times of the play as it was first heard 2,300 years earlier.

Flanagan described the rehearsals as among the most exciting she ever witnessed: “…these students chanting Greek choruses as if they’d been brought up on Greek; President MacCracken as Theseus working on the stage with a cool intensity which communicates itself to everyone; [Instructor in Music Theory] Gertrude Brown’s music filling the theatre.”

Hallie Flanagan, Dynamo

Speaking with a student in 2006, Maisry MacCracken ’31 had another recollection of her father in this role. “He just loved the theater. I know one story he used to tell about when he was acting in a play in Greek under Hallie Flanagan. He was supposed to be some leader and he had had his secretary get him a pair of sandals. When he was rehearsing he would forget his lines in Greek and he’d turn up his toes in the sandals, trying to remember. Then, Hallie Flanagan would shout, ‘Prexy! Put your toes down!’ This would make him forget his lines again and in trying to remember, the toes would turn up again. Finally, Hallie said, ‘You’ve got to wear shoes to the performance.’”

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