At the beginning of the twentieth century, American theatre was heavily dominated by commercialism. In 1909, an attempt to establish a European-style art theatre in New York City was made (Geisinger, 241). The building was so cavernous and unsuited for experimental work that the project failed after two seasons. Dedicated to producing the best of European and classical drama and to fostering new American plays, the first production groups of the 1900"s were amateurs (Geisinger, 241). The memberships were organized by subscription, so that true experiment could be conducted without commercial pressure. One of the first of these companies in New York City was the Washington Square Players. From a similar group, the Provincetown Players, appeared the first American dramatist of international stature, Eugene O'Neill. His first full-length play, Beyond the Horizon, was successfully produced in 1920. (Taubman, 121). "Most of O'Neill's subsequent work represented a restless search for theatrical style such as expressionism in The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape and allegory in his updating of Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, Mourning Becomes Electra, before he found a suitable idiom for modern tragedy in his autobiographical play Long Day's Journey into Night" (Blum, 242).

             In 1918, art theatre was established on a commercially successful basis by New York City's Theatre Guild (Priestly, 134). "During the next two decades it became the most important platform for American drama, encouraging such playwrights as Robert Sherwood, Maxwell Anderson, and Elmer Rice, in addition to O'Neill and European writers" (Priestly, 134). The Theatre Guild's success quickly stimulated independent Broadway producers to follow its example. The artistic challenge was also taken up by various designers, including Lee Simonson, Norman Bel Geddes, and Jo Mielziner, who provided distinguished settings that were realistic, symbolic, or expressionistic as required (Priestly, 135).