Question: John Kenley, was an American theatrical producer who pioneered the use of television stars in summer stock productions, his Kenley Players company was described by Variety as "the largest network of theaters on the straw-hat circuit.", it was an Equity summer stock theatre company which presented hundreds of productions featuring Broadway, film, and television stars in Midwestern cities between 1940 and which year?

full_context: Document 1: American Theater Hall of Fame: The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new "Theater Hall of Fame" would be located in the Uris Theatre (then under construction, now the Gershwin). James M. Nederlander and Gerard Oestreicher, who leased the theatre, donated the space for the Hall of Fame; Arnold Weissberger was another founder. Blackwell noted that the names of the first honorees would "be embossed in bronze-gold lettering on the theater's entrance walls flanking its grand staircase and escalator." The first group of inductees was announced in October 1972.
Document 2: Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company: Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 non-profit theatre company in Atlanta, GA co-founded by Tony-winning Broadway director Kenny Leon and Jane Bishop in 2002. True Colors Theatre Company had their inaugural season in 2003-2004 under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Kenny Leon. True Colors Theatre Company produces world premiere plays by diverse playwrights as well as a commitment to preserving African-American classics. There is no permanent theater space for the company, they have dubbed themselves a "moveable feast", presenting plays at the Southwest Arts Center, Theatrical Outfits Balzer Theatre, Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center and the Rialto Center.
Document 3: Mountain Playhouse: Mountain Playhouse is Pennsylvania's oldest professional summer stock theatre company and is located in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. Housed in a restored 1805 gristmill, the theatre was founded by James Stoughton in 1939. It produces musicals, farces, and dramas each summer and also hosts productions by Theatreworks USA. As stated on its website, the theatre employs "actors from Actors' Equity Association, directors from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and musicians from the American Federation of Musicians." Mountain Playhouse has employed many actors from the nearby Pittsburgh theatre scene, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
Document 4: Summer stock theatre: Summer stock theatre is any theatre that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock theatres frequently take advantage of seasonal weather by having their productions outdoors or under tents set up temporarily for their use.
Document 5: 1919 Actors' Equity Association strike: The 1919 Actors' Equity Association (AEA or “Equity”) strike officially spanned from August 7, 1919 to September 6, 1919. The AEA had, only a few weeks prior, become affiliated with the AFL and called the strike against the Producing Managers’ Association on August 7. Before the strike, many actors were required to give hundreds of hours of free rehearsal time, pay for their own travel and costume expenses, and could be fired immediately for not playing their roles to their managers' satisfaction. Between August 7 and September 6, hundreds of actors walked out of theaters predominantly in New York City and Chicago. As the strike gained support, other laborers in the industry walked out with them, including musicians and stagehands. During negotiations on September 6, 1919, the managers gave the actors all of their demands after losing millions of dollars.
Document 6: Music Circus: Actor and adventurer St. John Terrell was born in Chicago, Illinois. He started in show business with a carnival act and later starred on the radio show "Jack Armstrong, All American Boy". Referred to as "Sinjun", he served in the Philippines with the USO. When a visiting touring company of an Irving Berlin musical needed performing space, Terrell suggested bulldozing a large pit for a stage in the center and audience on sloping and rising seating all around covered by a tent. This became the genesis to his original New Jersey Music Circus in 1949. Although rejected by the USO, he used his back pay, war bonds and loans after the war, to do it himself. Inspired by Greek amphitheaters, audience members sat in folding chairs no further back than 15 or 16 rows. Although a full orchestra was used, the sets were simple and low to keep sight lines clear. Props were carried on and off by stagehands, in clear view, running up and down aisles. Within 8 years, 30 separate canvas-topped theatres had opened in the US.
Document 7: Jenny Wiley Theatre: Jenny Wiley Theatre is a non-profit organization that puts on productions of classic Broadway musicals, comedies, historical dramas and holiday productions at both the Jenny Wiley Amphitheatre, located within the Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, and surrounding venues. The theater's first musical was "South Pacific", performed in the summer of 1965. Some theater alumni have later achieved success in television, film and national theater. These include: Michael Cerveris, who won two Tony awards, one for his performance in "Tommy" in 1994, and one for his performance in "Assassins" on Broadway; Christine Johnson, Nettie Fowler in the original Broadway cast of "Carousel"; Sharon Lawrence from ABC's "NYPD Blue" and "Desperate Housewives"; James Barbour, who played the Beast in Disney's Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast" and was Tony-nominated for his role as Mr. Rochester in the musical, "Jane Eyre"; Jim Varney, "Ernest Goes to Camp"; Tommy Kirk, "Old Yeller"; Ron Palillo, "Welcome Back, Kotter"; Eileen Bittman Barnett, "Days of Our Lives"; Cynthia Bostick, "As the World Turns"; Lawrence Leritz, "Broadway and Beyond"; Jeff Silbar, composer of "The Wind Beneath My Wings"; Randy Jones of the Village People singing group; and Paige Davis, host of TLC's "Trading Spaces".
Document 8: Combination company: A combination company was a theatrical touring company which performed only one play. Unlike repertory companies, which performed multiple plays in rotation, combination companies used more elaborate and specialized scenery in their productions. Repertory theatre had been popular in the United States through the 19th century, and it is not clear how the combination system originated. Combination companies contributed to the early success of Broadway theatre, as most combination companies began their tours in New York City. Combination companies were fueled by stars. The Star agenda or star system that had been set in place in mid 19th century America helped greatly in the development of the combination company. The idea of celebrity was at full force and people would flock to theater houses to see their favorite stars perform. Stars made famous in New York would travel to stock theaters and perform limited engagements there. “The engagements of the first important stars… were rare and special events”(Poggi 4). Audiences would come in from all over to sold out performances at playhouses and see their favorite stars. The Stock companies would cancel their normal repertory programs for a few nights to allow for the show of the star. The star would be supported by the local company of actors in the play, which proved to be very frustrating to them (Poggi 5). After the star left, the company returned to its repertory schedule as per usual. Yet annoyed by the lack of talent from regional companies, the stars began to search for companies to tour with them. They began to tour with two or three actors, and then eventually whole companies would tour with them and they would perform a repertory of plays (Wilmeth 200-201). This switch to companies that support the stars for the whole tour was one more step in the transition from stock companies to combination companies.
Document 9: Bart Whiteman: Bart Whiteman (1948-March 14, 2006) was a Washington, D.C. theatre actor, director, and producer. He founded the Source Theatre in 1977 and served as its artistic director until 1986. He was influential in defining theatre in Washington as well as reviving 14th Street. According to Christopher Henley, artistic director of the "Washington Shakespeare Company", "Bart was one of the half-dozen or so of the most seminal influences on and pioneers of what theatre in D.C. was and has become. He was part of that synergy -- along with Joy [Zinoman, founding artistic director of the "Studio Theatre"] and Tony Abeson [founder and director of the Washington Theatre Laboratory] -- that really began the small professional theatre movement in D.C. in the late 1970s." Trey Graham of the Washington City Paper said that the richness and diversity of modern-day Washington theatre "had a lot to do with his role as evangelist and cattle prod and crazy-ass visionary." Whiteman left the Source Theater after an incident in which it produced "Fool for Love" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" without paying royalties. Later, he became a theater teacher at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee and wrote editorials and theater reviews for "The Chattanoogan" in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Document 10: Saint Vincent Summer Theatre: Saint Vincent Summer Theatre is a professional theatre company that is associated with Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1969 by Father Tom Devereux, O.S.B., the company was originally composed entirely of St. Vincent students putting together a six-show season. The company grew in popularity over the years and eventually joined Actors' Equity Association in 1985. Joe Reilly was the artistic director of the theatre for many years, and after his death in 2009, his daughter Colleen Reilly succeeded him as Artistic Director. Father Bonaventure Curtis, O.S.B., has served as Executive Director and Executive Producer of the Theatre since 2009. Since 2014, the Artistic Director is Gregg Brandt. The company has employed many prominent actors from the nearby Pittsburgh theatre scene, as well as professional actors from New York City. Among prominent actors, television and film actor Stuart Pankin has acted in many productions with the company.
Document 11: John Gore (theater producer): John Gore (born 1962) is the sole owner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The John Gore Organization formerly known as Key Brand Entertainment, Inc. (KBE), a leading developer, producer, and distributor of live theatre in North America. Gore founded KBE in 2004 to develop theatrical properties in the US. Broadway Across America (BAA) was acquired in January 2008, from the music company Live Nation, while the e-commerce theatre website Broadway.com was acquired in December 2010, from Hollywood Media Corp. In 2008, Broadway Across America and Broadway Across Canada sold over 6.4 million tickets throughout its 40 theatres in the United States and Canada.
Document 12: Shiki Theatre Company: Shiki Theatre Company (劇団四季 , Gekidan Shiki , Lit. Four Seasons Theatre Company) is one of Japan's best-known and largest theatre companies. Shiki Theatre Company employs over 800 actors and staff, and stages about 2800 performances a year. Shiki Theatre Company operates nine theaters for their exclusive use. Originally, they staged classic plays by Jean Anouilh or Jean Giraudoux. However, in the late 1970s, they found success by staging western musicals and plays.
Document 13: Kenley Players: The Kenley Players was an Equity summer stock theatre company which presented hundreds of productions featuring Broadway, film, and television stars in Midwestern cities between 1940 and 1996. "Variety" called it the "largest network of theaters on the straw hat circuit." Founded by and operated for its entire lifespan by John Kenley, it is credited with laying the groundwork for Broadway touring companies.
Document 14: John Kenley: John Kenley (February 20, 1906 – October 23, 2009) was an American theatrical producer who pioneered the use of television stars in summer stock productions. In 1950, he was the first producer to desegregate live theater in Washington, DC. In 2004 he was made an Honorary Life Member of Actors' Equity for his contributions to American theater. His Kenley Players company was described by Variety as "the largest network of theaters on the straw-hat circuit."
Document 15: H. Wesley Kenney: Harold Wesley Kenney, Jr. (January 3, 1926 – January 13, 2015), was an American television producer and director whose career extended from the medium's formative years in the early 1950s, into the 2000s, and included thousands of episodes, both primetime and daytime, as well as five Emmy wins and eight nominations. He was frequently billed as Wes Kenney.
ground_truth: 1996