Youth theater production of the play "Flight." In the depression of the 1930's a federal stimulus stimulus program was created, the WPA. The Works Projects Administration (WPA) funded theaters, art and inspired lots of classic reminders of a wounded USA struggling colorfully to come out of the Depression. History: The Heckscher Theatre opened in 1922 under the auspices of the Heckscher Foundation for Children. Originally intended to house free productions for orphans and sick children, the Heckscher went on to produce W.P.A. Federal Theatre Project's Theatre for Youth program in the 1930s.