The Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre was officially completed in 1939, but no plays were staged there until 1944, when book reviewer, Shakespeare scholar and associate director of libraries in charge of acquisitions James Sandoe was asked to direct a play. Because the University Theatre was occupied by the Department of the Navy due to the war effort, Sandoe, also influential in developing the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, decided to stage "Romeo and Juliet" in the outdoor theater. The event was so popular that it was followed by "The Merchant of Venice" in 1945 and "Henry IV, Part I" in 1946.