The Bennack Theater at Emma Willard School

In April 2025, Emma Willard celebrated the grand opening of the Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts and, in so doing, also opened the doors to the new Bennack Studio Theater. This state-of-the-art showpiece for theatrical performance and arts education was made possible through the philanthropic vision of Mary Lake Polan ’61 and was named in honor of Frank A. Bennack, Jr., her husband. This generous gift to the Infinite Horizon campaign underscores Mary Lake and Frank’s shared passion for the performing arts and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of girls’ education.

“I left Emma Willard School in 1961 with a firm underlying belief that women could achieve and do whatever they want,” shared Mary Lake, who holds an MD, PhD, and MPH, in addition to being a published author, documentarian, and a practicing gynecologist at the Yale Medical School with endowed chairs at both the Yale and Stanford Schools of Medicine. “However, I also left with some of the most tremendously important friendships—those friendships that I developed when I was 14, 15, 16 years old have been with me my entire life!”

While Mary Lake was not an active participant in the performing arts while at Emma Willard—she was more drawn to the riding program the school had at the time and fox hunts the riding students could attend on Sunday mornings—she argues that the arts and arts education provide young people a critical window into the lives of other people and cultures.

“At a critical time in their development, students can have a view into other people’s lives, so that they might have some empathy and understanding beyond just their own experience and culture.”

It’s a perspective shared by Frank Bennack, who has spent his long career working in news and media as CEO of the Hearst Corporation: “Theatre and the performing arts provide a relief from an otherwise very complicated world. Throughout history, the worse the state of the world is, the higher the level of attention people pay to entertainment, sport, and art.”

Frank, who served long stints as chairman of both the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Paley Center for Media, notes with distinct pleasure that the creation of Emma Willard’s studio theater means there are now two Bennack Theaters: one at his wife’s alma mater and one at the Paley Center. Despite being different venues, one thing the two Bennack Theaters share in common is the commitment of space and resources to innovation and learning.

“We hope that young women will use Emma Willard’s Bennack Theater to explore beyond just performance,” states Mary Lake. “I believe students should have the opportunity to do the whole nine yards: writing plays, directing them, learning sound and lights, and stage setup. There is also a great deal of exploration in the non-verbal cues of communication, learning what tone of voice and posture and even eye contact tells us about someone’s emotional and mental state.”

Mary Lake’s appreciation and keen observation of human behavior have been developed over decades as a clinician and medical researcher. Her passionate pursuit of issues related to reproductive health has translated into more than 130 published works on topics from reproductive endocrinology to fictional works that address the stigma of in-vitro fertilization and other obstetric techniques.

“Unfortunately, this remains an oftentimes male-dominated world, and there is an ongoing need for competent women in leadership positions who can help demystify some of the biggest falsehoods that impact women and girls today,” explains Mary Lake of her work. “This is why Frank and I feel it’s so important to support Emma Willard and its mission of raising up leaders among young women.”

Having spent a storied career in the fast moving and hard hitting world of media, Frank reiterated Mary Lake’s point and layered in takeaways from his own experience: “I think exposing young women to the realities of the world outside your school is vitally important—it’s not all positive out there in the real world and only through experience do you learn how to talk to people, how to negotiate, how to navigate these complex spaces and places.”

Still, both Mary Lake and Frank are optimistic about the state of the world, believing the key to a bright future is for those with the means to pay it forward in any way they can.

“I always tell people: ‘I have no patience for people with deep pockets and short arms,’” jests Frank. “In all seriousness, educating women gives them control of their lives—and it is a special privilege for Mary Lake to make an investment in something like that.”

This article was originally written by Lori Ferguson for the Fall 2025/Winter 2026 edition of Signature magazine.

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