Robert Whitehead founded ANTA to create "a national theatre as a guiding spirit".[4] He needed a location, as he had both a company of actors and commissioned two playwrights (Arthur Miller &S. N. Behrman), and he needed one quickly.New York University leased land to them, with ANTA having to foot the bill,[4] an estimated $525,000.[5][4]Marvin Carlson described the theatre as "characterless steel box, about 20 feet high and more or less square, painted a mustard yellow and from the outside, suggesting a warehouse or storage facility. The simple entrance had a marquee bearing the name ANTA".[4] The theatre, which was not intended to be permanent, had a seating capacity of 1,158,[5] and opened in 1963 with previews of Miller'sAfter the Fall.[4] Another observer praised "the fine acoustics that have been achieved by the creation of irregularly surfaced concave walls." However, that same observer noted that "the interior of the building is not striking and might well be mistaken for a small industrial plant of some sort."[5]
Several highly regarded plays had their runs at the ANTA Washington Square, including Miller'sIncident at Vichy[6] and the revival ofEugene O'Neill'sMarco Millions.[7] A production relished by many Molière lovers was William Ball's 1964 staging ofTartuffe,[8] with an "outrageous"Michael O'Sullivan in the title role.[9] The longest running show to play at the ANTA Washington Square was the smash hit musicalMan of La Mancha, which began its first New York run there on November 22, 1965.[10]Man of La Mancha's producers Albert W. Selden and Hal James took over the theater in 1966.[11] The theater closed permanently on March 17, 1968,[12] andMan of La Mancha transferred to the more conventionalMartin Beck Theatre in 1968, pending the demolition of the Washington Square Theatre.[13]
The dismantled pieces of the prefabricated theatre were purchased byYale University for theTrinity Repertory Company, one which artistic directorAdrian Hall later called "bold, silly move". It was done as a way to save costs on construction, but it never materialized. Yale ended up purchasing the Majestic Theatre in downtown Providence, currently home toTrinity Repertory Company.[14]
