- unitid
-
{"value"=>"24582", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*T-Vim 2018-003", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b22457278", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1980-2019", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1980/2019"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Joan Marcus photographs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"340 Boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"141.83 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"3,474,754 computer files", "unit"=>"computer_files"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"33.3 terabytes", "unit"=>"terabytes"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Billy Rose Theatre Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Joan Marcus is a prominent American theater photographer. The Joan Marcus photographs date from 1980 to 2019 and include images she took of hundreds of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and touring theatrical performances, as well as promotional portraits of actors, and other theater-related subjects. Photographic formats include black-and-white prints and negatives; color prints and negatives; color slides and transparencies; and digital image files."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Marcus, Joan", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Joan Marcus is an American theater photographer, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who graduated from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She has been based in New York City since 1986.</p> <p>In the 1970s, just after college, Marcus took a job printing photographs for Richard Braaten, the Kennedy Center staff photographer. Previously a hobbyist photographer, she thrived in the role, which introduced her to the theater world while deepening her technical skills. Marcus was promoted to chief production photographer at the Kennedy Center in 1985. The next year, she followed a touring production of <span class=\"title\">Lillian</span> to New York City to photograph it. There she met Adrian Bryan-Brown, a Broadway press representative, whom she would later marry. She relocated to New York City, and many other theatrical assignments soon followed. Fortuitous timing allowed Marcus and her friend and colleague, fellow theater photographer Carol Rosegg, to fill a void left by the retirement of noted performing arts photographer Martha Swope in the early 1990s. Marcus and Rosegg shared an office and studio space for decades.</p> <p>Marcus has photographed over a thousand major Broadway productions from the late 1980s onward, including <span class=\"title\">M. Butterfly</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Lion King</span>, <span class=\"title\">Phantom of the Opera</span>, <span class=\"title\">Les Misérables</span>, <span class=\"title\">Spamalot</span>, <span class=\"title\">Doubt</span>, <span class=\"title\">Jersey Boys</span>,<span class=\"title\"> Rent</span>, <span class=\"title\">Gypsy</span>, <span class=\"title\">Cabaret</span>, <span class=\"title\">Mamma Mia!</span>, <span class=\"title\">Angels in America</span>, <span class=\"title\">Book of Mormon</span>, <span class=\"title\">Dear Evan Hansen</span>, <span class=\"title\">Fun Home</span>, <span class=\"title\">Hamilton</span>, <span class=\"title\">Kinky Boots</span>, <span class=\"title\">Matilda</span>, <span class=\"title\">Shrek</span>, <span class=\"title\">Spring Awakening</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Wicked</span>.</p> <p>In 2014, Joan Marcus received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre award. As of 2026, Marcus continues to live and work in New York City.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Joan Marcus photographs, dating from 1980 to 2019, include images she took of hundreds of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and touring theatrical performances, as well as promotional portraits of actors, and other theater-related subjects. The collection comprises original and duplicate photographic slides, prints, transparencies, negatives, and digital images created by Marcus over the course of her career as a theater photographer.</p> <p>Productions of note include <span class=\"title\">M. Butterfly</span> (1988), <span class=\"title\">The Lion King</span>, <span class=\"title\">Phantom of the Opera</span>, <span class=\"title\">Les Misérables</span>, <span class=\"title\">Spamalot</span>, <span class=\"title\">Doubt</span>, <span class=\"title\">Jersey Boys</span>,<span class=\"title\"> Rent</span>, <span class=\"title\">Gypsy</span>, <span class=\"title\">Cabaret</span>, <span class=\"title\">Mamma Mia!</span>, <span class=\"title\">Angels in America</span>, <span class=\"title\">Book of Mormon</span>, <span class=\"title\">Dear Evan Hansen</span>, <span class=\"title\">Fun Home</span>, <span class=\"title\">Hamilton</span>, <span class=\"title\">Kinky Boots</span>, <span class=\"title\">Matilda</span>, <span class=\"title\">Shrek</span>, <span class=\"title\">Spring Awakening</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Wicked</span>. Marcus photographed many such popular productions repeatedly over the course of successive seasons, spanning years or decades.</p> <p>The collection is organized into two series: Series I holding Marcus' working files, which she called \"Assignments,\" and Series II, her negatives, which correspond to many of the assignments in Series I.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Joan Marcus photographs are arranged in two series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24582#c1621260'>Series I: Assignments</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1980-2019</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>89.54 linear feet (214 Boxes). 33.2 terabytes (3,473,053 computer files)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>\"Assignments\" is the term Marcus uses for her main work files. Files in this series are labeled with the name of the production, theater company, people, or events they document.</p> <p>The vast majority of images depict live performances of plays and musicals. Many staged publicity shots and cast portraits are also included. Some individual headshot portraits of actors, playwrights, and directors are present, as are occasional images of rehearsals, backstage scenes, and other theater-related events. Most productions were staged in New York City, though Marcus also occasionally documented performances in Washington, DC, and touring productions as they travelled regionally around the United States.</p> <p>Assignments files typically contain slides, prints, contact sheets, and digital image files. Occasionally, documents relating to shooting sessions or particular productions, such as: lab invoices; Marcus's handwritten notes; other correspondence; playbills; cast lists; or programs are found alongside photographs in these files. Many duplicate and similar images appear within a single file. Marcus's editing choices can frequently be discerned by markings on slide sleeves or notations on the backs of prints.</p> <p>In 2003 Marcus began using digital cameras. She was an early adopter of digital photography, making the transition from traditional analog processes gradually throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Assignments files from 2003 onward may include digital images. Digital image files become more prevalent among Assignments as the years progress.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24582#c1623094'>Series II: Negatives</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1980-2012</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>52.29 linear feet (126 Boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series II holds the negative strips and sheets corresponding to some prints and slides, especially those shot before the 2000s, found in Series I, which Marcus stored separately. Selection information and technical lab notes sometimes appear in these files. The vast majority of negatives were shot in black-and-white 35 millimeter format. A substantial quantity of black-and-white 120 millimeter film is included, while only a scant quantity of color or larger format negatives is present.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Purchased from Joan Marcus, 2018.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Heather Halliday</span> in <span class=\"date\">2021</span> and <span class=\"date\">2025</span>-<span class=\"date\">2026</span>.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Joan Marcus shared a studio with fellow theatre photograrpher Carol Rosegg throughout their careers. Though close colleagues, the two maintain separated businesses. The Carol Rosegg photographs are also held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Library for Performing Arts.</p>"}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Electronic records processed and incorporated into collection by Heather Halliday\n in", "date"=>"2026."}
- date_start
-
1980
- keydate
-
1980
- date_end
-
2019
- date_inclusive_start
-
1980
- date_inclusive_end
-
2019
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Joan Marcus photographs, *T-Vim 2018-003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}