author
Philip Moeller
1880–1958
A lively force in early 20th-century American theater, he helped shape the stage as a playwright, director, and co-founder of the Theatre Guild. His work moved easily between original plays, adaptations, and Broadway production.
1 Audiobook
Washington Square Plays
by Lewis Beach, Alice Gerstenberg, Edward Goodman, Philip Moeller
About the author
Born in New York City in 1880, Philip Moeller became an important figure in American theater as a producer, director, playwright, and screenwriter. He studied at New York University and Columbia, and was among the founders of the Washington Square Players before helping found the Theatre Guild with Lawrence Langner and Helen Westley.
Moeller was especially known for directing and producing major stage works during the 1910s through the 1930s. He was associated with productions of writers such as Eugene O'Neill and George Bernard Shaw, and he also wrote plays of his own, including Madame Sand and Helena's Husband. His career later extended into film writing as well.
He died in New York City in 1958. Remembered less as a single-book author than as a wide-ranging man of the theater, he played a real part in building the serious, modern American stage.