Robert Sanford Brustein, 96

During a session of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on April 1, 2025, the following homage to the life and contributions of the late Robert Sanford Brustein was recorded in the permanent archives of the Faculty.

The impact and significance of Robert Brustein, a notable figure in American theatre throughout the 20th century, continue to resonate in the 21st century. Beginning in 1966 as the dean of the Yale School of Drama, Brustein established the Yale Repertory Theatre, collaborating with playwrights like Sam Shepard and David Mamet, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep. In 1980 at Harvard, he took on the position of director at the Loeb Drama Center, transforming it into the base for the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.). He subsequently founded the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. During his time at Harvard, Brustein was also a full professor of English and retired in 2003, transitioning to a research professor of English and creative advisor to A.R.T.

Brustein’s mastery of drama, spanning from classical Greek works to experimental theater, was renowned, yet he consistently positioned himself as a theatrical pioneer, pursuing and crafting genuinely novel and profound productions. He emerged as a prominent figure in the regional theatre movement, promoting a serious and thoughtful engagement with both classical authors and emerging talents. His establishment of repertory companies at Yale and Harvard forged new connections between research institutions and the performing arts, a model later adopted by various other schools. In a 1990 interview with The New York Times, he remarked, “The fundamental goal of commercial theater is profit,” and added, “the fundamental goal of noncommercial theater, in its ideal form, is to foster an environment where artistic works can be appreciated. I do not believe these aims can coexist.”

Brustein held a profound belief in the textual analysis of plays, valuing their interpretations as literary pieces as well as dynamic performances that require varied interpretations over time. Upon arriving at Harvard, he expressed concerns that the institution might not consistently uphold high-quality theater. It was reported that President Derek Bok provided assurances to mitigate such worries. A common joke reflected that if ticket sales fell short for the A.R.T., then Bok’s Office would step in. Brustein’s apprehensions were not unfounded. Two of the initial A.R.T. productions witnessed audience members exiting mid-performance, yet he was open to embracing such risks to attain distinctive qualities that a calculated commercial theater could seldom match.

At the A.R.T., Brustein adeptly integrated performance, academic scholarship, and dramaturgy, bringing together professionals, amateurs, and students alike. Under his guidance, the A.R.T. supported directors like Alvin Epstein, JoAnne Akalaitis, Peter Sellars, Julie Taymor, and Robert Wilson. Despite maintaining a challenging national and international agenda, Brustein frequently conducted lecture courses on modern or post-modern drama from 1980 to 2001.

The current artistic director of the A.R.T., Diane Paulus, became familiar with Brustein’s contributions during her undergraduate years at Harvard. She believes his vision for theater remains audacious and cutting-edge. Sam Marks, a senior lecturer on playwriting within the Department of English, mentions, “Not only does he leave a remarkable legacy in the theater, but he significantly impacted the lives of many of his students, whom he cherished.”

Born on April 21, 1927, in Brooklyn, the son of businessman Max Brustein and Blanche Haft, Brustein spent his childhood in Manhattan, attended the High School of Music and Art, and subsequently graduated from Amherst College. During his college years, he took a hiatus to serve in the Merchant Marine. After earning an M.A. in dramatic literature from Columbia University and spending two years at the University of Nottingham on a Fulbright fellowship, he pursued a Ph.D. at Columbia and later taught at Columbia, Vassar College, and Cornell University.

In 1964, Brustein released “The Theatre of Revolt,” a critical examination. His body of work is impressively extensive. Focusing mainly on review or chapter essays, he produced over a dozen books, contributed chapters to edited volumes, authored numerous reviews, wrote articles for scholarly journals, penned a comedy about Shakespeare and Marlowe, and crafted an autobiographical play, “Spring Forward, Fall Back.” His other theatrical works include “Nobody Dies on Friday,” a satire of acting instructor Lee Strasberg, and “Shlemiel the First,” a klezmer musical inspired by tales from Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Beginning in 1959, Brustein served as a drama critic for The New Republic for 46 years. He contributed reviews and essays to The New York Review of Books. Notable among his publications is “Letters to a Young Actor,” a reinterpretation of Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet.” Brustein counseled aspiring actors to pursue a comprehensive liberal arts education instead of a narrow professional focus. He edited Strindberg’s works. Other favored playwrights included Ibsen, O’Neill, Genet, Pirandello, and Shaw, all of whom he explored in “The Theater of Revolt” and presented at the A.R.T. He continued his writing endeavors until shortly before his passing, which occurred at his residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 29, 2023.

Brustein’s vigor and prolific output in directing, producing, teaching, mentoring, and writing were remarkable. Spirited, he occasionally sparked controversy but invariably approached such encounters with informed opinions shaped by knowledge, theatrical experience, and academic research. He appeared, at times unusually, to relish the friction of disagreement. The more significant his opponent, the more tenacious became his rebuttals.

Brustein and Samuel Beckett engaged in a disagreement over Akalaitis’s interpretation of the set for Beckett’s “Endgame” at A.R.T. Brustein responded, “To threaten any deviations from a purist interpretation of this or any other play… not only deprives collaborating artists of their interpretive freedom but risks transforming the theater into a mere display of wax figures.” He also clashed with August Wilson regarding the character and scope of Black theater in the United States.

In his later years, Brustein criticized what he perceived as a revitalized, even brutal, American idolization of wealth and success, coupled with a corresponding decline in integrity, intellect, and spirit. He believed similar dynamics were undermining American theater. Speaking to The Boston Globe in 2012, he commented, “I believe the American theater now mirrors America, as all events unfolding are beginning to reflect America — the one-percent America.”

Initially married to Norma Ofstrock, who passed away in 1979, Brustein remarried in 1996 to Doreen Beinart, who survives him, along with his son, Daniel Brustein, stepchildren, and various grandchildren and step-grandchildren.

Respectfully submitted,

Derek Miller
Martin Puchner
James Engell, Chair