Jessie Bonstelle (born Laura Justine Bonesteel; November 18, 1871[1][2] – October 14, 1932) was an American theater director, actress, and drama company manager.

Later she became a director, managing many stock companies, directing Broadway productions and training many young performers who went on to be famous actors.

[6] Bonstelle's mother, who herself had wanted to be an actress, home-schooled her in reading, writing, singing, dancing, and even in reciting Shakespeare.

Around the age of ten Jessie auditioned for critic Thomas Keane, and with his encouragement she left on tour with a production of Bertha, the Beautiful Sewing Machine Girl, a melodrama.

[3][4] After the death of her parents in 1890, Bonstelle went to New York City, and in 1891 she joined the company of Fanny Janauschek, with whom she toured for a season.

[3] Happily married, together they worked in Philadelphia's Forepaugh Stock Company for two years, before moving to Rochester, where Bonstelle played various roles and became an established leading lady.

Bonstelle did her own research to inform the creation of the play, traveling to Boston to view personal papers provided by Alcott's family and talking to her friends.

[4] Backed by a syndicate led by a patron of hers,[11] she bought a former synagogue on Woodward Avenue, Temple Beth El, for $500,000 and commissioned C. Howard Crane to renovate it.

A fund of over $200,000 was raised by donations from the public and Bonstelle made an agreement with local authorities to make the playhouse the city's unofficial premier theater.

[13] In her plan for the theater she emphasized the importance of providing the public with the best drama, including both classics and modern works, and improving young people's knowledge of dramatic literature.

Bonstelle used it in an effort to improve understanding and co-operation between the church and the theater, holding multi-denominational religious services there during Lent, and she stated that her plays, while avoiding being preachy, were intended to have a positive moral influence on the audience.

[16][17] On October 16, her body lay in state at the theater and the New York Times reported that twenty-five thousand people went to see her bier.

[4] Though it closed in 1933, a year after her death, due to the rise of the movie industry and the Depression, it was purchased by Wayne State University in 1956 for the use of its theater department.

[12] Bonstelle's approach gained nationwide attention and she was interviewed by authorities from other cities which wanted information about her plan.