Brustein, Robert

Brustein, Robert (Sanford) (1927–  ) critic, theater director; born in New York City. A wool merchant's son, educated at Amherst College and Columbia University, he gained his first reputation as a drama critic, primarily for The New Republic (1959–68). Appointed dean of the Yale Drama School in 1965, he founded the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1966 and helped it gain a national reputation as a semiprofessional company. In 1979 he was released by Yale but he was immediately hired by Harvard as a professor of English and was asked to found a resident professional training company, known as the American Repertory Theatre; he supervised some 200 productions. In addition to his edition of the works of August Strindberg, he published several books on theater and society, including Who Needs Theatre (1968) and Reimagining American Theatre (1991).