EDITORIAL: Adrian Hall Was the Father of Modern Providence
Monday, February 06, 2023
Providence has always had corrupt politicians.
The city has always had Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design — the destination for students who arrive in September and leave in the spring four years later.
And, for decades, Raymond Patriarca helped to distinguish Providence as a crime hub.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe man that changed the local and national perceptions of Providence was Adrian Hall.
When he arrived in the early 1960s, Providence was a Gotham City look-a-like.
It was dark and gloomy. Factories were closing, and the city was shrinking. Mill buildings weren’t cool apartments; they were empty and targets of arson.
In 1950 nearly 250,000 people lived in Providence, and by 1970, the population had fallen to 179,000.
In 1963, the tall Texan Hall came to Providence and helped start a theater company in a church on Broad Street.
By the 1970s, Trinity was developing a national reputation as a leading theatre company. Hall was the creative force. He was bigger than life.
In 1974, Trinity was selected to produce Oscar Wilde's "Feasting with Panthers" for PBS' Theater in America series. Remember, there were only four TV networks then.
It was one of the milestones that put Trinity on the national map.
In 1981, Trinity received a Tony Award, and the national award established Trinity and Providence as a creative mecca.
During Hall’s tenure, Trinity created Project Discovery in 1966 — an introduction to theatre. Over the decades, more than 1.4 million schoolchildren have attended Trinity to see a show.
One student who says her life was transformed by attending Project Discovery was a girl from Central Falls named Viola Davis.
On the day Hall’s death was announced, Davis won a Grammy award joining just 17 other entertainers who have ever won a Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and an Academy Award.
Beyond sparking the passion of Davis, Hall helped to launch the careers of some of the best actors in America — Katherine Helmond, Tim Daly, Peter Gerety, Richard Kneeland, Barbara Meek, Richard Jenkins, and on and on.
Hall, more than anyone else, positively transformed Providence into an artistic hub and created the best of post-industrial Providence.
An editorial is the opinion of a publication — specifically, the ownership.
While based on facts and news reporting, it is an opinion intended to discuss critical community issues. Often, the opinion is written with the intention of positive change.
GoLocal editorials have sparked conversations, change, and even the naming of a bridge.
LEARN MORE HERE