first major theatre to present an all-African American cast in a performance that "portrayed African American life seriously and sympathetically." The three one-act plays, presented under the general title Plays for a Negro Theater, were Simon the Cyrenian, The Rider of Dreams, and Granny Maumee. They were written by Ridgely Torrence and directed ("staged", in the parlance of the day) by Robert E. Jones. In 1919 the Yiddish Art Theatre came to the Garden Theatre, first featuring and managed by Reicher and then by Maurice Schwartz, performing works by playwrights including Leonid Andreyev, S. Ansky, Sholem Aleichem, Maxim Gorky, Gerhart Hauptmann, Peretz Hirschbein, David Pinski, Arthur Schnitzler, George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. The Yiddish Art Theatre remained, on and off, for six years, frequently dropping the name "Garden" entirely from newspaper ads. In 1925, in the face of plans to tear down the Madison Square Garden complex, the Yiddish Art Theatre moved temporarily to the Nora Bayes Theatre and then to their own newly constructed theatre at Second Ave. and 12th St. When the 1924 Democratic National Convention was held at Madison Square Garden, the Garden Theatre became a delegate's lounge area. Seats were covered with a false floor and Macy's department store donated oriental rugs, stuffed chairs and couches. And ashtrays—smoking was banned in the big arena but allowed in "Macy's Convention Club", so the theatre became the "smoke-filled room" for the record 103-ballot convention. Actors These are among the actors who performed in three or more plays at the Garden Theatre (mainly in the theatre's top years, 1890–1910) and were, or later became, widely known for their work in theatre or in motion pictures. (List excludes those named above.) Anna Barton Rowland Buckstone Sayre Crawley William Courtenay Cecil B. De Mille Elwyn Eaton W.J. Florence Amelia Gardner Virginia Harned Mildred Holland Joseph Jefferson Nicholas Joy Lillie Langtry Cecilia Loftus Tully Marshall Henry Miller Helena Modjeska James Neil Franklin Pangborn Ernest Rowan Lillian Russell Marie Booth Russell E.H. Sothern Jack Standing George Vivian Ruth Vivian Violet Vivian Keith Wakeman John Wray Plays, playwrights, opening nights Following are examples of plays that appeared at the Garden Theatre for at least 48 performances, or six weeks, between 1890 and the mid-1910s. Does not include dozens of benefits, concerts, lectures, amateur and student productions, short-stay touring performances, and revivals of these plays in subsequent months. (WP=World premiere, AP=American premiere.) Dr. Bill,