- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"33.47 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"26 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 1998-007", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21799", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1968-1997", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1968/1997"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1968
- date_inclusive_end
-
1997
- keydate
-
1968
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Howard Crabtree papers and designs"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</span> <span class=\"subarea\">Billy Rose Theatre Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"><span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
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{"value"=>"The Howard Crabtree Papers and Designs document Crabtree's life from his high school days to a career in Off-Broadway that featured his unique costume designs."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p> Howard Crabtree Papers and Designs, *T-Mss 1998-007. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Crabtree, Howard", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Howard Crabtree was born on November 5, 1954 in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Named after his father, Crabtree's childhood nickname \"Bud\" or \"Buddy\" became part of his stage name for many years. He earned the distinction \"most musical\" in his senior high school class, and attended college for a year (1973-1974) at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City. Crabtree stayed in Kansas City for the next two years working with the Missouri Dance Theatre as a dancer and choreographer. In November 1976 he and his first significant boyfriend, Troy Sharp, moved to Las Vegas for more career opportunities. An ensemble role in <span class=\"title\">Folies Bergère</span> soon followed. The costumes and classic Vegas showgirls he encountered there had a lasting impression and their influence can be found in his productions.</p> <p>After moving to New York City with another boyfriend (Buddy Vest), Crabtree worked in restaurants while going to auditions. In the summer of 1978 he had two roles at the Gateway Playhouse on Long Island – in the chorus for <span class=\"title\">Pippin</span>, and as Rocky in <span class=\"title\">The Rocky Horror Show</span>. Six months later, in March 1979, he moved to Canada to pursue ballet. He joined the City Ballet of Toronto, and stayed with this company for the next five seasons. In addition to being a principal dancer, Crabtree choreographed many pieces, and designed costumes for productions such as <span class=\"title\">The Nutcracker</span>, <span class=\"title\">Peter and the Wolf</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Alice in Wonderland</span>.</p> <p>During the mid-1980s, Crabtree returned to New York and worked in the wardrobe departments of several Broadway shows. While working backstage at <span class=\"title\">La Cage aux Folles</span>, he and a friend, Drew Geraci, created a cabaret act called <span class=\"title\">Howard and Drew Meet the Invisible Man</span>. This was Crabtree’s first club act, and they earned rave reviews for their performances at Don’t Tell Mama's. The director of <span class=\"title\">Howard and Drew</span> was Mark Waldrop, with whom Crabtree formed a partnership under the name Figment Productions in 1988. The two of them began work on <span class=\"title\">Whatnot</span>, in which four actors, including Crabtree, played a multitude of roles in a variety show. This show opened the 1990 season for the Off-Off Broadway organization Musical Theater Works, at the Theater at Saint Peter's Church.</p> <p>The next show conceived by Crabtree and Waldrop was <span class=\"title\">When Pigs Fly</span>, a cabaret extravaganza with seven performances at the Duplex Bar in June 1991. This prepared them for the larger scale production that followed called <span class=\"title\">Whoop-Dee-Doo of ’92</span>, which had a brief engagement at the Actor's Playhouse on Sheridan Square. After refining the libretto, and shortening the work's name to <span class=\"title\">Whoop-Dee-Doo!</span>, the revue returned to the Actor's Playhouse for eight months in 1993-94 and then went on the road to Boston. During this time period, Crabtree and his companion, Danny Gates, moved from Manhattan to a farmhouse in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They hosted weekend-long drag parties for their New York friends, and used the property's barn as a workshop to develop new costumes.</p> <p>The success of <span class=\"title\">Whoop-Dee-Doo!</span> led to an even more outrageously designed show that built upon, and used the same title as the earlier cabaret act <span class=\"title\">When Pigs Fly</span>. Unfortunately, Crabtree's health was in decline due to AIDS, and this forced him to have a reduced role in working on the show. All of his strength went into building the costumes, and he died a few days after completing them, on June 28, 1996. The show lived on after him, though, by playing on Off-Broadway for two years and winning several awards.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Howard Crabtree Papers and Designs contain personal papers, designs, and patterns for the costumes he created for Off-Broadway and cabaret shows. Crabtree kept a record of his personal life through diaries, scrapbooks, and correspondence. These items document what life was like for a struggling actor in the 1980s, and offer an intimate look at living with AIDS. The only information about his childhood is found in diary entries that reflect on experiences he had while growing up. Other parts of his diaries and scrapbooks document his early professional activities, which come to life through photographs, drawings and other designs.</p> <p>Crabtree's patterns and designs form a significant part of this collection. The materials he used to create costume patterns range from newsprint, to tissue paper, to muslin. Many of his designs are line drawings of characters in either pencil or ink, with some final versions in color. There are no completed costumes in the collection, although some folders of patterns include a fabric mock-up of what the final piece would look like.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Howard Crabtree papers and designs are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21799#c477212'>Series I: Personal,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1971 - 1997</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.25 linear feet (3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> The majority of this series documents Crabtree’s personal life during the 1970s and 1980s. He began keeping a diary in high school and continued to do so until at least 1988. In 1992 he went back to the first book and copied it using a word processor, adding bold-faced comments as he typed. These diaries are significant because they address his insecurities, which range from succeeding in show business to being gay, and they detail what his life was like before and after contracting AIDS. The correspondence found here is sparse, although there are several letters apiece from the significant men in his life. This series also includes photographs, and more notably, three of his high school yearbooks.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21799#c477265'>Series II: Productions,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1970 - 1996</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.5 linear feet (6 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Production Files series consists of materials such as correspondence, libretti, notes, and promotional items related to Crabtree’s productions. Most of this series dates from the mid-1980s to 1996, although there are a few folders of his work in ballet – including designs for <span class=\"title\">Peter and the Wolf</span>. Note that the City Ballet of Toronto moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1983, and performed under a new name – the Atlantic Ballet Company. The most extensively documented production is <span class=\"title\">Whatnot</span>, for which there are numerous drafts of the libretto, as well as designs, and notes dealing with auditions and potential theater locations. Other folders of significance are the notebooks for <span class=\"title\">Whoop-Dee-Doo!</span> and <span class=\"title\">When Pigs Fly</span> that contain information about costumes – the materials required, and construction instructions.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21799#c477379'>Series III: Designs and Patterns,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1979 - 1995</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>28.38 linear feet (16 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> Crabtree's costume designs and patterns make up this series, from his ballet productions through <span class=\"title\">When Pigs Fly</span>. Many of the patterns are full size and folded in order to fit inside the folders. They often contain the original envelope that Crabtree used, which may include a drawing of the costume, or relevant information about the production. In addition to Crabtree's Off-Broadway productions, this series contains evidence of his work on other shows; the amount of information about these shows varies – many were short-lived cabaret acts. Boxes 15 and 16 contain patterns from unidentified productions.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21799#c477582'>Series IV: Oversized Materials,</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1968 - 1983</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.34 linear feet (1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> This series consists of two folders of Crabtree's personal materials, notably a scrapbook that complements much of the material found in Series I. It covers his early career and features correspondence from both friends and boyfriends.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is organized into four series. They are:</p> <p> <ul> <li>Series I: Personal Papers, 1971-1997, undated</li> <li>Series II: Production Files, 1970-1996, undated</li> <li>Series III: Designs and Patterns, 1979-1995, undated</li> <li>Series IV: Oversized Materials, 1968-1983, undated</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p> Howard Crabtree's estate donated the Howard Crabtree Papers and Designs to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 1998.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Anastasia Karel; Machine-readable finding aid created by Anastasia Karel.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
33.47 linear feet (26 boxes)
- date_start
-
1968
- date_end
-
1997