Editing Max Reinhardt (section)

{{short description|Austrian-born theatre and film director (1873–1943)}}
{{about|the theatre director|the publisher|Max Reinhardt (publisher)|the radio presenter|Max Reinhardt (radio presenter)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Max Reinhardt
| image              = Max Reinhardt.jpg
| caption            = Reinhardt in 1911, photograph by [[Nicola Perscheid]]
| birth_name         = Maximilian Goldmann
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1873|9|9|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Baden bei Wien]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1943|10|30|1873|9|9|df=y}}
| death_place        = New York City, US
| resting_place      = [[Westchester Hills Cemetery]]
| occupation         = [[Theatre director]], [[theatrical producer]], actor
| spouse             = Else Heims (1910&ndash;1935; divorced; 2 children)<br />[[Helene Thimig]] (1935–1943; his death)
| children           = [[Wolfgang Reinhardt (producer)|Wolfgang Reinhardt]]<br />[[Gottfried Reinhardt]]
}}

'''Max Reinhardt''' ({{IPA|de|maks ˈʁaɪnhaʁt|lang|De-Max Reinhardt.ogg}}; born '''Maximilian Goldmann'''; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born [[Theatre director|theatre]] and [[film director]], [[theater manager|intendant]], and [[theatrical producer]]. With his radically innovative and [[avant-garde]] stage productions, Reinhardt is regarded as one of the most prominent stage directors of the early 20th century.

For example, Reinhardt's 1917 stage premiere of [[Reinhard Sorge]]'s [[Kleist Prize]]-winning [[stage play]] ''Der Bettler'' almost single-handedly gave birth to [[Expressionism]] in [[Expressionism (theatre)|the theatre]] and ultimately [[German expressionist cinema|in motion picture]]s as well. In 1920, Reinhardt established the [[Salzburg Festival]] by directing an open air production of [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]]'s [[Jedermann (play)|acclaimed adaptation]] of the ''[[Elckerlijc|Everyman]]'' Medieval [[mystery play]] in the square before the Cathedral with the Alps as a background. This remains an annual custom at the Salzburg Festival to this day.

Toby Cole and [[Helen Krich Chinoy]] have dubbed Reinhardt, "one of the most picturesque actor-directors of modern times", and write that his eventual arrival in the United States as a [[refugee]] from the imminent [[Anschluss|Nazi takeover of Austria]] followed a long and distinguished career, "inspired by the example of social participation in the [[Theatre of ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] and [[Medieval theatre]]s", of seeking, "to bridge the [[Fourth Wall|separation]] between actors and audiences".<ref>Edited by Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy (1970), ''Actors on Acting: The Theories, Techniques, and Practices of the World's Great Actors, Told in Their Own Words'', Crown Publishers. p. 294.</ref>

In 1935, Reinhardt directed his first and only [[motion picture]] in the [[United States]] through [[Warner Brothers]], the [[German expressionist cinema|Expressionist film]] adaptation of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', starring [[Mickey Rooney]], [[Olivia De Havilland]], and [[James Cagney]]. The film was banned by the [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|Ministry of Propaganda]] in an infamous example of [[censorship in Nazi Germany]]. This was due not only to [[Joseph Goebbels]]' belief that Expressionism was [[degenerate art]], but even more so due to the [[Jewish]] ancestry of director Max Reinhardt, [[Classical music]] composer [[Felix Mendelssohn]], and soundtrack arranger [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]; whose work was already banned by Goebbels as allegedly [[degenerate music]].<ref name="forbiddenmusic/reinhardt-circus">{{cite web |title=Max Reinhardt – music, theatre, circus |url=https://forbiddenmusic.org/2013/08/18/max-reinhardt-music-theatre-circus/ |website=Forbidden Music |access-date=14 October 2023 |date=18 August 2013}}</ref>

Reinhardt also founded the highly influential drama schools [[Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch"]] in Berlin, [[Max Reinhardt Seminar]], the Max Reinhardt Workshop ([[Sunset Boulevard]]),<ref name="BritannicaReinhardt">{{cite web |title=Max Reinhardt |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Reinhardt|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=14 October 2023|date=5 September 2023}}</ref> and the Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop. Even though Reinhardt did not live long enough to witness the end of [[Nazism]] in 1945, his formerly expropriated estate at [[Schloss Leopoldskron]] near Salzburg was restored to his widow and his legacy continues to be celebrated and honoured in the modern [[Germanosphere]] for his many radically innovative contributions to the [[performing arts]].