Brattle Theatre 'Dead'; HTG Will Use Building

After four months of unsuccessful financial appeals, Bryant Haliday, general manager of the Brattle Theatre, last night admitted failure and announced "The Brattle Theatre is dead."

At the same time, both Haliday and the Harvard Theatre Group disclosed details of a contract leasing the Brattle to the HTG for two weeks in mid-December. The Theatre Group will open December 11 with Shakespeare's "Coriclanus."

"No money has been raised in our drive for financial assistance," Haliday explained as the reason for the failure. A month ago, the Brattle announced that it needed $20,000 to reopen.

No Personnel

Haliday added that the Brattle might not have the personnel to produce plays, even if it had had the money. Former director Albert Marre has just been appointed assistant director of the New York City Center, and Haliday said he will take a large share of the company with him to New York.

According to Haliday, no plans have been made for the theatre after December, but he indicated that two motion picture distributors were bidding for the building. Both distributors wish to exhibit foreign or "art-type" movies.

The HTG's contract was completed after week-long negotiations, complicated by the fact that two separate contracts had to be signed. The theatre building and equipment are owned by different corporations, and agreement had to be made with both.

"Coriolanus" will go into rehearsal this week, and move into the Brattle after Herman Levin's production of "The Temptation of Maggie Haggerty" moves out. Levin has leased the theatre from November 11 to 25, with an extra week option if the play is successful.

Three Year Search

The HTG, on signing its contracts with the Brattle Holdings Company and Cambridge Productions which own the theatre and stockrooms, felt it had "ended a three-year search for a theatre convenient to the University community."

The HTG will be using the theatre, which housed its parent organization for four years. The Theatre Group grew out of the Harvard Veteran's Workship, whose alumni formed the Brattle. During the past few years, the Brattle Company has given artistic and technical help to the HTG.