Mark Taper Forum The auditorium was renamed the Amelia Taper Auditorium after a $2 million gift from the S. Mark Taper Foundation. The Taper has presented innovative plays since its 1967-opening of "The Devils" from playwright John Whiting about the sexual fantasies of a 17th-century priest and a sexually repressed nun. The play received a great deal of protest from local religious leaders and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, although the production continued. The production of such plays as "Murderous Angels", "The Dream on Monkey Mountain", "Children of a Lesser God", "Savages", "The Shadow Box", "The Kentucky Cycle" and "Angels in
Vanessa Redgrave Miller-scripted TV movie "Playing for Time" (1980), a part for which she won an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress in 1981. The decision to cast Redgrave as Fénelon was, however, a source of controversy. In light of Redgrave's support for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Fénelon objected to her casting. Redgrave defended her stance in her 1991 autobiography, saying that "the struggle against antisemitism and for the self-determination of the Palestinians form a single whole." In 1984, Redgrave sued the Boston Symphony Orchestra, claiming that the orchestra had fired her from a performance because of her support of the PLO.