(Posted
December 18, 2004)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The charming lady in
the red dress had a smile on her face as she surveyed the
scene.
Clara Hieronymus was
back where she belonged - in a theater. And her natural
humility was the reason only she was surprised about
the very warm reception she got on a cold December's day from a
large group of theater participants and patrons.
It was Nashville
Children's Theatre's Grand Day 2004 benefit, and the longtime Tennessean theater
critic was the very deserving guest of honor. NCT was recently
selected as one of the top five children's theaters in the country
by Time Magazine, and
there was no doubt among those present that Ms. Hieronymus'
advocacy played an important role in NCT's rise to national
prominence.
Of course, the ever-gracious Ms.
Hieronymus didn't see it that way. "I'm just shocked that they'd
want to honor me," said the women whose 40 years of reviewing
Nashville theater included a great deal of writing about the
nation's oldest continuously operating children's theater (NCT
was founded in 1931).
"I'm so happy to be here. These people
are so wonderful to do this, but it's a good day to remember how
important Nashville Children's Theatre is to our
community.
"The thing about this is, it's exciting
to know that days like this mean more and more support for
children's theater, and that's what makes me very
happy."
Ms. Hieronymus has had health struggles
in recent years, but her strong spirit and grace have fueled her
recovery. That made the event a celebration of her strength and
resiliency as well as an occasion to honor her work. "With
mother having had a stroke, to come back this far and be honored
here gives us all a good feeling in our hearts," her son Bruce
Hieronymus said.
That joy is shared
by others who know her well. Ann Stahlman Hill has been the
driving volunteer force behind NCT for decades (the main theater at
NCT's complex is named for her), and she's come to know and respect
Ms. Hieronymus personally and professionally.
"We wanted to do it for a long time, and
she deserves it as much as anybody in the city of Nashville. She's
done more for the arts than anybody I can think of. She's just
great," Ms. Hill said.
Those thoughts were echoed by NCT
producing director Scot Copeland in his remarks to those present
before a special performance of the troupe's current production, Alexander Who's Not Not Not Not Not Not Going
To Move.
"For nearly half a century, Clara
Hieronymus brought serious aesthetic criticism to the development of
Nashville's theatre scene from her post as arts critic for The Tennessean," he
said. "She constantly raised the bar on those who were producing and
performing, and gave remarkable access and insight to Nashville's
audiences.
"Someone once told me that 'Clara always
likes what you do,' and I laughed, because obviously that individual
wasn't getting the paper everyday. But let me tell you, Clara was
always fair, Clara always let you know why she didn't like what she
didn't like, and Clara never, never, never treated a theater artist
or an audience with disrespect. Anyone who does not understand how
tall Clara Hieronymus stands in the history of Nashville theatre has
been reading the wrong book."
Mr. Copeland also noted Ms. Hieronymus'
role as a founder of the American Theatre
Critics Association (ATCA). Current ATCA executive
committee chair Rick Pender of Cincinnati
CityBeat praised the woman who was one of his
predecessors in written remarks.
"Clara Hieronymus has been a tireless advocate on
behalf of theater and theatre criticism across America. Her
involvement in and leadership of the American Theatre Critics
Association elevated the profession and paved the way for another
generation who could aspire to her position as an advocate for the
arts. We salute her long career in Nashville and are grateful for
her many contributions to our association," Mr. Pender
said.
Mr. Copeland noted the compliment a
fellow ATCA founder had once paid her: "I once had the privilege of
briefly meeting Dan Sullivan, probably the best-regarded of American
drama critics, and when I was introduced as 'Scot Copeland from
Nashville,' he cut into the introduction with a big smile, a hearty
handshake, and the words, 'Well, isn't Clara Hieronymus a gift to
your city.' And yes, yes indeed she is."
Mr. Sullivan sent further thoughts about
Ms. Hieronymus from his home in Minneapolis. The two, along with
renowned publisher/author/playwright/director Orlin Corey, toured
children's theaters across the nation in 1972 to select productions
for an international children's theater conference that to this day
is the only time that conference has been held in North
America.
"What Clara,
Orlin and I shared, and still share, was the belief that children's
theater has to take its audience seriously. Has to not give them
crap. Has to give them theater that will enchant them, thrill them,
even challenge them. Has to be a step up from Saturday-morning
cartoons, not a step down. Above all, has to be work that the artist
himself respects," the former Los Angeles
Times chief theater critic said.
"What inspired me about that trip was the range and
the quality of the work we saw and the realization that it could
stand up to grown-up criticism, of the sort that Clara had been
dispensing for years."
Their companion on that 1972 tour praised Ms.
Hieronymus for her "worldwide perspective" and also noted that she
wanted quality theater for all ages. "Clara understood that there
should be no difference between children's theater and theater for
adults," Mr. Corey said from his home in New Orleans. "She brought a
larger vision and a larger effort to the understanding of what
theater should be, not only in Nashville, but elsewhere.
"She was nourishing, not just destructive as
some critics are. Her work was bright, alert and aware. She had
a broad eye for all elements of a production ... and she's
just a superb person," said Mr. Corey, who first met Ms. Hieronymus
in 1960 when she wrote about his landmark Everyman Players
production of The Book of
Job.
The 1972 children's theater tour, and
the writings that Ms. Hieronymus and her colleagues did as a
result of their journey, "started a snowball effect that resulted in
a sweeping paradigm shift in American children's theater from an
essentially amateur endeavor to one that is approached with the
highest caliber of professional artistry," according to Mr.
Copeland, who noted the recognition received by children's theaters
across the nation when The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis
received the 2003 Regional Tony Award.
Mr. Copeland also read the following passage from
Ms. Hieronymus' writing about the tour:
"Having seen in less than one month 16
children's theatre productions coast-to-coast, my predominant
emotion is one of profound melancholy. Our children have much to
forgive us for. With rare exceptions – for which we give
grateful thanks – what is being done in this country in the
name of children's theater is a woeful and wasteful
disgrace.
"The irony is that those who give of their time,
energy and money to children's theatre are almost always sincere in
their efforts and motivated by enthusiastic idealism. They talk a
good game but have virtually no insight into the gap that exists
between glibly parroted philosophies and the actual fruits of
their labor – the works staged for child
audiences.
"It must be accepted as the obligation of
children's theatre to erase the old opinion of its work as
'shower-curtain theatre' or 'kiddies shows'. In this connection, and
I offer it for what it is worth and one may read his own meaning
into it, of the five companies selected coast-to-coast, four are
professionally cast, professionally designed and professionally
directed."
Ms. Hieronymus' advocacy has truly reverberated far beyond the
city she calls home. Yes, she's aided theater artists
and theater critics, who are certainly better off because
of her efforts. But more importantly, she's made the community in
which she lives, as well as other communities affected by the
theater she's fought for, better for the time she's graced us with
her noble presence.
–
Evans Donnell
For more
information
Read about Nashville Children's Theatre
by clicking here.
Clara Hieronymus was one of the ATCA
founders interviewed for the book Under the Copper Beech:
Conversations With American Theater Critics, edited by Jeffrey Eric
Jenkins. Sales of the book aid the work of the nonprofit Foundation of the American Theatre Critics
Association. The cost of the book is
$30, with a $10 discount for ATCA members. For an order form in
Adobe Acrobat format, click here. You can also
e-mail Foundation ATCA's Alice T. Carter at criticpgh@aol.com for assistance with
ordering. | 
