The news came not by formal announcement, but rather in Guild Hall’s recent online publication of its 2024 seasonal program guide. Its historic John Drew Theater will reopen in July with a new name, the Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater.
The John Drew Theater, honoring a world-famous stage actor of his day and longtime East Hampton resident, had been its name since August 1931, when a variety show called The East Hampton Revels brought together “a startling range of ranks and social classes: debutantes and the sons of dairy farmers — and even a few Vanderbilts — capering and acting and singing as if their lives depended on it,” according to a history published on the occasion of Guild Hall’s 90th anniversary in 2021.
Word of the renaming comes just as the nonprofit cultural center is emerging from a two-year renovation that “has been a labor of love involving hundreds of individuals,” says the season’s program. In particular, “a landmark gift from the Morgan family” has “enabled this complete transformation. Our beautiful performance space now operates at the highest level of technology and comfort, providing exceptional experiences for artists and audiences.”
There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 30. “This is a renewal, a gift, an extension of Guild Hall’s mission for many, many generations to come,” said Andrea Grover, its executive director, in an interview yesterday. “I know people will love the space.”
Guild Hall states in its program that it will continue to acknowledge John Drew with “tribute signage” and will “proudly name the senior staff position in the theater the John Drew Director of Performing Arts” in his memory. The new theater, it says, features “wider, more comfortable seats,” improved sightlines from seats to the stage, acoustic improvements, advanced lighting, audio, and video systems, live-streaming and recording capabilities, a new control booth, restored plasterwork, and more.
While the actor was a cherished figure here, a common misconception, Ms. Grover said, was that he had been intimately involved in the building of the theater. “The Drews were not funders of it,” she said. “He never was in this space. ‘Drew’ was really a tribute name,” she said, established by Mary Woodhouse, the philanthropist who made its construction possible.
“I understand that people might be attached to the name, but I also think they understand that Guild Hall is a living, breathing institution that has to update the way it delivers on its mission,” said Ms. Grover, noting that the organization’s administration and board were “comfortable” with the name change.
Lincoln Palsgrove IV, a great-grandson of Mrs. Woodhouse and a board member of Guild Hall, was said by Ms. Grover to be enthusiastic about the change.
Mr. Palsgrove himself told The Star by text message yesterday that “The spirit of my great-grandparents’ [Mary & Lorenzo Woodhouse] largess, when it came to the East Hampton community, was boundless. Their thinking was bold at the time, because they touched multiple civic organizations that are still part of the community fabric, all in the Village. In particular, Mary’s commitment to arts and theatre was to create an institution that would stand the test of time, and invited her network to join her on the journey. I think both of my great-grandparents would be over the moon to see the vibrancy and energy that the Trustees and Guild Hall staff have brought forward to today from its opening in 1931.”
Earlier in its renovation process, Guild Hall had embarked on a total redesign of the theater, but reversed course after preservationists and community members responded less than favorably to the new design.
“I gave Guild Hall credit when they changed the initial design of the renovation, back to what it looked like when it was built in 1931,” Hugh King, East Hampton Town’s historian and curator of East Hampton Village’s Home, Sweet Home museum, said by phone yesterday. “They put back many of the aspects of the theater that had been around for years, so they deserve credit for that, but the renaming is a surprise.”
Mr. King recalled that John Drew was “part of the community, besides being a great actor. He wasn’t an outlier who showed up in the summer.”
Indeed, Guild Hall’s 90th-anniversary history went on to say, “Broadway has been coming to the beach since before the turn of the last century. Today, John Drew’s is no longer a household name, but at one time he was one of the most lauded actors in the United States. He was also a cherished figure in East Hampton Village, an unforgettable presence — all chin and charm, swinging a slender cane as he walked to the post office every morning from Lily Pond Lane. Drew, who in his prime was cited as the best-dressed man in America, was not just a representative of the Barrymore/Drew acting dynasty, but an early exemplar of a summer person who planted roots: He arrived in the 1890s, built his house near Georgica Beach, served on the volunteer fire department, and gave an oration on the Village Green every Fourth of July. He knew all the shopkeepers by name.”
In a statement in Guild Hall’s program, the Morgans said, “We’ve had meaningful and inspiring experiences in this theater, and we hope that this gift will ensure it remains a special place for future generations.”
Dr. Morgan is a member of Guild Hall’s board of directors; she and Mr. Morgan will be honored at the organization’s gala this year on Aug. 2. The couple’s other philanthropic efforts included, in 2018, the endowment of a professorship of women’s health at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and, earlier this month, a $50 million gift to establish a state-of-the-art research facility at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A psychologist, Dr. Morgan holds a Ph.D. from UPenn’s Graduate School of Education. Mr. Morgan is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Morgan Properties, one of the largest owners and managers of apartment housing in the country, and is chairman of his alma mater, Temple University. They have residences in the Philadelphia area and in Palm Beach, Fla., and a grandchild has a house here in town.
“They are outstanding people — phenomenal individuals,” Ms. Grover said.
Guild Hall has not disclosed the amount of the couple’s donation, but Ms. Grover said the renovation project cost $30 million in total, also offset by other fund-raising and philanthropic contributions.
