John Augustin Daly

Daly was a powerful force in the theatrical world as a writer and producer. He was also gifted with the ability to bring out the best in his actors: “A martinet in his theatre, he demanded of his company the loyalty he gave them. Discriminating in his judgments of actors . . . he made probably the finest and most complete interpretative instrument for the drama that America has seen. He built up a clientele which was confident that at Daly’s Theatre there would be a play worth seeing, and he achieved an identification of manager, playwright, director, company and theatre, unique in our stage history."