Act I, Scene ii

In the mid-'20s, George Pierce Baker, then professor of English, proposed founding a drama school at Harvard. When Harvard administrators nixed the idea. Baker packed his bags and moved to Yale, and thus was born the Yale School of Drama.

This year--close to the 50th anniversary of Baker's exodus--his ghost has returned to visit the old haunt, in the form of Robert S. Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama and director of the Yale Repertory Theater.

Brustein came to Harvard several months ago to propose a dramatic "institute"--a combined graduate and undergraduate school to be headquartered at the Loeb. Harvard administrators rejected the idea then, but Brustein kept plugging.

Three weeks ago, Brustein returned. This time he offered to direct the Loeb, set up an undergraduate drama program and bring the Yale Repertory Theater to Harvard. Administrators agreed to reach a decision this week, but as of yesterday, they were still negotiating.

Last Sunday, the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) voted to reject Brustein's proposal. Kerry L. Konrad '79, president of the HRDC, said the organization believed Brustein's professional approach to drama would not serve undergraduates' needs.

Many HRDC members said students would not be involved in significant numbers to make up for the reduction in undergraduate stage time at the Loeb and access to the Loeb's shop facilities.

The English department got into the act Tuesday, voting to offer Brustein a post in the department if he is appointed director of the Loeb.

Brustein will leave Yale next year, because Yale President A. Bartlett Giamatti, in a controversial decision last year, did not renew Brustein's contract.

In Brustein's 13 years at Yale, he revived the drama school with revolutionary styles of training, as well as built up an undergraduate drama department.

Whether Baker's heir can do the same here remains to be seen.