- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Vim 2016-022", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"23974", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b21151450", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"circa 1880s-2016", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1880/2016", "certainty"=>"approximate"}
{"value"=>"1955-2014", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1955/2014"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Desmond Heeley designs and production files"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5.81 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"8 boxes, 1 oversized folder, 12 tubes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"id"=>"THE", "value"=>"Billy Rose Theatre Division"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Desmond Heeley (1931-2016) was a British-born costume and set designer for theater, ballet, and opera who worked internationally. Through original sketches, prints, production bibles, reference files, photographs, and correspondence, the Desmond Heeley designs and production files primarily document the North American portion of Heeley's career."}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Heeley, Desmond", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Desmond Heeley was born in England on June 1, 1931. He was adopted and raised in the English Midlands. As a child, he created displays for the windows of his family's store. In 1948, he became an apprentice designer at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company (now the Royal Shakespeare Theatre), where he worked with director Peter Brook. He went on to design sets and costumes at the Sadler Wells Theatre in London, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and England's National Theatre. Internationally, he has designed for the Vienna State Opera; Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theater; the National Ballet of Canada; the Australian Ballet: the Lyric Opera of Chicago; the Stuttgart Ballet; and La Scala in Milan. Heeley designed productions of <span class=\"title\">Brigadoon</span> and <span class=\"title\">South Pacific</span> for the New York Metropolitan Opera and <span class=\"title\">Theme and Variations</span> for the American Ballet Theatre. On Broadway, he won three Tony Awards for the 1968 production of <span class=\"title\">Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead</span> (one award each for costume and set) and the 2011 production of <span class=\"title\">The Importance of Being Earnest</span>. Other Broadway productions he worked on include <span class=\"title\">Amadeus</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Snow Maiden</span>.</p> <p>Heeley collaborated with playwrights, directors, and choreographers such as Tom Stoppard, Peter Hall, Brian Bedford, Joe Orton, John Cranko, Graham Greene, Gian Carlo Menotti, Michael Langham, and Tyrone Guthrie. His costumes have been worn by actors and dancers including Vivien Leigh, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margot Fonteyn, Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, and Judi Dench. He was known as a skilled painter and an inventive, detail-oriented designer who transformed mundane materials and found objects into glitteringly ornate environments and lushly elegant costumes. Heeley often used lighting and reflective elements to great dramatic effect.</p> <p>Apart from his paid performing arts work, Heeley also painted as a hobby throughout his life. Later in his career, Heeley taught theater design at New York University's Tisch School for the Arts. His partner, Lance Mulcahy (1931-1995), was an Australian-born musical theater composer who worked on Broadway. Heeley died on June 10, 2016 in New York City.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The bulk of the collection is comprised of Heeley's scenic and costume design drawings for theatrical, ballet, and opera productions. Though some of his productions were staged in Europe or Australia, many in this collection were staged in New York City, other cities in the United States, or Canada. Most scenic designs are graphite on tracing paper, Diazotype prints, or blueprints. The costume designs are primarily original drawings or paintings made with gouache, watercolor, graphite, or ink on paper. Costume and scenic designs are filed together in the case of productions for which Heeley designed both. Fabric swatches are occasionally attached to costume design sketches for some productions. A few drawings and sketches by other designers, most notably Oliver Messel, are also included in this section.</p> <p>Production files include production bibles of <span class=\"title\">Brigadoon</span>, <span class=\"title\">Amadeus</span>,<span class=\"title\">La Sylphide</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Snow Maiden</span>, and <span class=\"title\">South Pacific</span>, which hold scripts, set plans, contracts, and costume designs. An album of 19th Century postcards Heeley likely used for reference and inspiration is present. Other production files include a few production photographs and portraits of Heeley; notes; clippings; correspondence; and a file on a Christmas window display Heeley created for Tiffany & Co.</p> <p>Three publications about Heeley's work are included: a folio of <span class=\"title\">Amadeus</span> costume designs; <span class=\"title\">Dross into Gold</span>, a catalog of a gallery exhibition on Heeley; and a small folio of reproductions of Heeley's paintings of cats anthropomorphized as theatrical characters.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is divided into three groups: Designs; Production Files; and Publications. Files are arranged alphabetically by title.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by the Desmond Heeley Estate, 2016.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Heather Halliday</span>, <span class=\"date\">2016</span>.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatre@nypl.org.</p>"}
- dsc_type
-
combined
- date_start
-
1880
- keydate
-
1880
- date_end
-
2016
- date_inclusive_start
-
1880
- date_inclusive_end
-
2016
- date_bulk_start
-
1955
- date_bulk_end
-
2014
- extent_statement
-
5.81 linear feet (8 boxes, 1 oversized folder, 12 tubes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Desmond Heeley designs and production files, *T-Vim 2016-022. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}