- unitid
-
{"value"=>"29939", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 2019-014", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b22279054", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1897-1967", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1897/1967"}
{"value"=>"2004", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"2004"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Neighborhood Playhouse records"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"23 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"7.88 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Billy Rose Theatre Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"This collection consists of correspondence, administrative documents, and production materials related to the early years of The Neighborhood Playhouse and its founders, sisters Alice Lewisohn Crowley and Irene Lewisohn."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"Multiple languages"}
{"value"=>"Majority English, with some German, French, and Spanish."}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Neighborhood Playhouse (Organization : New York, N.Y.)", "type"=>"corpname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Neighborhood Playhouse was founded as a theater in 1915 by sister philanthropists Alice Lewisohn Crowley (1883-1972) and Irene Lewisohn (1892-1944). Originally intended as a home for the Neighborhood Players, an amateur acting troupe for adults and children, the theater was housed in the Henry Street Settlement House and is considered one of the first to be given the designation \"off-Broadway.\" By 1920 the theater had gone from amateur to professional and gained attention for its avant-garde and experimental work, as well as its popular revue <span class=\"title\">The Grand Street Follies</span>. The theater was under the management of Helen Arthur from 1915 to 1927, and during this time Agnes Morgan was one of the theater's most significant directors.</p> <p>The theater closed in 1927 but reopened the next year as the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. The sisters placed the direction of the school under Rita Wallach Morgenthau, and its first class of nine students was taught by Agnes DeMille, Louis Horst, Laura Elliott, and Martha Graham. In 1935, Sanford Meisner joined the faculty and developed the Meisner technique of acting. The school has an extensive list of alumni, including Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Grace Kelley, Gregory Peck, and Sydney Pollack. In 2018 the New York City Council recognized the school with a proclamation honoring its 90th anniversary. Still active, the school is currently located at 340 East 54th Street.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>This collection focuses on the early years of the theater and school, with particular attention given to founders the Lewisohn sisters, with some materials that relate to Helen Arthur and Agnes Morgan. Personal correspondence is mostly to and from Irene Lewisohn, with a significant portion of it related to World War II refugee and relief efforts. A selection of the sisters' writings is included, with special emphasis on Alice Lewisohn Crowley's book <span class=\"title\">The Neighborhood Playhouse: Leaves From a Theatre Scrapbook</span>. Administration files for the early days of the Playhouse include meeting minutes, financial records, correspondence, design and construction information, a guest book, and box office tallies. Production information, both for Neighborhood Playhouse and other theaters, includes sheet music, photographs, playbills, rehearsal schedules, illustrations, and related correspondence. Materials related to a 1940 exhibit about the Playhouse at the Musuem of Costume Art are also included.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Neighborhood Playhouse records are arranged in five series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/29939#c1599238'>Series I: Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1913-1959 [bulk 1938-1943]</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.5 linear feet (6 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Consists of correspondence, mostly to and from Irene Lewisohn, concerning the Neighborhood Playhouse, her work with relief and refugee organizations, and personal matters. Original folder titles are maintained and the series is presented in received, alphabetical order.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/29939#c1599336'>Series II: Irene and Alice Lewisohn's Personal Papers and Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1897-1957</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.42 linear feet (1 box)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Consists of personal papers, photographs, and writings by Irene and Alice Lewisohn. Order is chronological.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/29939#c1599353'>Series III: Neighborhood Playhouse Records</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1915-1942, 2004</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.33 linear feet (4 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Consists of material related to the running of the Neighborhood Playhouse Theater, such as minutes, financial reports, constitution and by-laws, notes, material from the 1940 exhibit at the Museum of Costume Art, and a guestbook from the theater. Order is chronological.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/29939#c1599384'>Series IV: Growing Into Theatre: the Neighborhood Playhouse Story</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1941-1962</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.67 linear feet (4 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Consists of material related to the book <span class=\"title\">Growing Into Theatre: the Neighborhood Playhouse Story</span>, written by Alice Lewisohn Crowely. This includes drafts, typescripts, and correspondence. Order is chronological.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/29939#c1599408'>Series V: Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1907-1967 [bulk 1907-1939]</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.83 linear feet (10 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Consists of material related to productions by the Neighborhood Playhouse. While mostly photographs, this series also contains scripts, playbills and programs, correspondence, advertisements, cast notes, sheet music, set design drawings, and other artwork. Series is presented in received, chronological order.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, October 2019.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Stacey Ference</span> in <span class=\"date\">2020</span>.</p>"}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Set design drawings in box 23 added by Allison Hughes in", "date"=>"2025."}
- date_start
-
1897
- keydate
-
1897
- date_end
-
2004
- date_inclusive_start
-
1897
- date_inclusive_end
-
2004
- extent_statement
-
7.88 linear feet (23 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Neighborhood Playhouse records, *T-Mss 2019-014. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}