Gregory inspires

In the feature on stage director Andre Gregory [“Repast Is Prologue,” March 20], Gregory made reference to a 1967 production of “Tartuffe,” staged while he was at the helm of the Inner City Cultural Center. He said, “It managed to offend just about everybody.... The kids loved it.” Guess what? I was one of the kids who saw that production. It was the first play I’d ever seen.

The opportunity arose as a result of a social experiment in which Franklin High School, and other L.A. city high schools, participated. From grades 10 to 12, our English curriculum was modified to include the study of two plays a year. After each we were bused downtown to see performances by the Inner City Repertory Company -- “Macbeth,” “Our Town,” “The Glass Menagerie,” “The Seagull” and “The Fantasticks,” in addition to “Tartuffe.” It’s no exaggeration to say that the experience changed my life. In the nearly four decades since, I’ve been an avid theater patron and a financial supporter of a similar student-outreach program offered by the San Diego Repertory Company. Andre Gregory played a role in this. I’m now an even bigger fan.

Lynne Timpani Friedmann

Solana Beach