- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 2001-006", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21631", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Lucille Lortel papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"49.61 linear feet; 37 vols. (150 boxes"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Billy Rose Theatre Division. <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498</span></div>"}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Lucille Lortel Papers, *T-Mss 2001-006, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Lortel, Lucille", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p> Producer, theater owner, actress and benefactor, Lucille Lortel, was born Lucille Wadler in New York City on December 16, 1900. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she had her first notable role in the Theatre Guild's production of George Bernard Shaw's <span class=\"title\">Caesar and Cleopatra</span>, starring Helen Hayes in 1925. Shortly after marrying the wealthy industrialist Louis Schweitzer in 1931, she retired from performing.</p> <p>In 1947, on the grounds of her home in Westport, Connecticut, she began the White Barn Theatre, a summer theater which continues to the present day. Here she introduced experimental, less-commercial works, including the American premieres of plays by writers such as Sean O'Casey, Edward Albee, Jean Genet, Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Yukio Mishima, and Paul Zindel.</p> <p>Her first Off-Broadway production was <span class=\"title\">A Sleep of Prisoners</span> by Christopher Fry at the St. James' Episcopal Church in New York City in 1951. In 1955, Miss Lortel's husband purchased the Theatre de Lys in Greenwich Village for her, where her revival of <span class=\"title\">The Threepenny Opera</span> by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht ran for almost 7 years. It was also at her Theatre de Lys, which was renamed the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 1981, that she initiated the ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy) Matinee Series in 1956. For 20 seasons, she presented works selected on the basis of innovation and originality. In 1998, Miss Lortel created the Playwrights' Sidewalk, a walk of fame for playwrights, outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre.</p> <p>In a career spanning more than 50 years, Lucille Lortel produced more than 500 shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at the Library of Congress, at her White Barn Theatre and at other venues. Among the highlights of her productions are the Off-Broadway premiere of Athol Fugard's <span class=\"title\">The Blood Knot</span>, Sean O'Casey's <span class=\"title\">Cock-a-Doodle Dandy</span>, <span class=\"title\">I Knock at the Door</span> and <span class=\"title\">Pictures in the Hallway</span>, Jean Genet's <span class=\"title\">The Balcony</span>, Lee Blessing's <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span>, Mbongeni Ngema's <span class=\"title\">Woza Albert!</span> and <span class=\"title\">Sarafina!</span>, Win Wells' <span class=\"title\">Gertrude Stein and a Companion</span>, Jane Anderson's <span class=\"title\">The Baby Dance</span>, and Larry Kramer's <span class=\"title\">The Destiny of Me</span>. <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span> by Lee Blessing was her last Broadway production. Because of her belief in the play, Miss Lortel also produced it at the Library of Congress, co-produced it in London and took it to Moscow in 1989.</p> <p>She received numerous awards, including 5 Tony nominations, an Emmy award, honorary doctorates from the University of Bridgeport, Fairfield University, and the CUNY (City University of New York) Graduate School, where the Lucille Lortel Distinguished Professorial Chair in Theatre was the first theatrical chair named for a woman. In 1986, the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers established the annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway.</p> <p>Her donations to many institutions and organizations included the Lucille Lortel Fund for New Drama at Yale University; the first play to be sponsored by this fund was August Wilson's <span class=\"title\">Fences</span>, which later won the Pulitzer Prize. Miss Lortel also endowed a playwriting fellowship in her name at Brown University. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' TOFT (Theatre on Film and Tape) room is also named for her.</p> <p>Lucille Lortel died at the age of 98 after a brief illness on April 4, 1999. For additional biographical material, see <span class=\"title\">Lucille Lortel: A Bio-Bibliography</span> by Sam McCready (Greenwood Press, 1993).</p>"}
{"value"=>"<div class=\"head\">Lucille Lortel Chronology</div> <ul class=\"chronlist\"> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1900</span> <span class=\"event\">Born in New York City on December 16</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1921</span> <span class=\"event\"> Graduates from American Academy of Dramatic Arts</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1924</span> <span class=\"event\"> Adopts the stage name Lucille Lortel</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1925</span> <span class=\"event\"> Makes has her first notable role in the Theatre Guild's production of George Bernard Shaw's <span class=\"title\">Caesar and Cleopatra</span> in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1928</span> <span class=\"event\">Stars opposite Sessue Hayakawa in <span class=\"title\">The Man Who Laughed</span> at the Palace Theatre in New York City</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1929</span> <span class=\"event\">Reprises her role with Sessue Hayakawa in <span class=\"title\">The Man Who Laughed Last</span>, 1 of the first talking pictures</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1931</span> <span class=\"event\"> Marries chemical engineer Louis Schweitzer</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1947</span> <span class=\"event\">The White Barn Theatre in Westport, Connecticut opens with a reading of <span class=\"title\">Painted Wagon</span> on July 27th</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1951</span> <span class=\"event\">Co-produces Christopher Fry's <span class=\"title\">A Sleep of Prisoners</span> at the St. James' Episcopal Church in New York</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1954</span> <span class=\"event\">Productions begin at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1955</span> <span class=\"event\">Acquires Theatre de Lys in New York City</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1955</span> <span class=\"event\">Co-produces a revival of <span class=\"title\">The Threepenny Opera</span> at the Theatre de Lys</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1956</span> <span class=\"event\"> Tony and Obie (Village Voice Off-Broadway Award) Awards given to <span class=\"title\">The Threepenny Opera</span></span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1956</span> <span class=\"event\"> Begins the ANTA Matinee Series at the Theatre de Lys in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1957</span> <span class=\"event\">Co-produces Charles Morgan's <span class=\"title\">The River Line</span> at the Carnegie Hall Playhouse in New York in January</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1957</span> <span class=\"event\">Co-produces her first Broadway production, Sean O'Casey's <span class=\"title\">I Knock at the Door</span>, at the Belasco Theatre in New York City in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1960</span> <span class=\"event\">Co-produces Genet's <span class=\"title\">The Balcony</span> at the Circle in the Square in New York in March</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1960</span> <span class=\"event\"> \"Obie\" awarded to <span class=\"title\">The Balcony</span></span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1962</span> <span class=\"event\"> Receives the first Margo Jones Award on February 18</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1962</span> <span class=\"event\">Given the honorary title \"The Queen of Off-Broadway\" by <span class=\"title\">Washington Post</span> theater critic, Richard L. Coe</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1964</span> <span class=\"event\">Co-produces American premiere of Athol Fugard's <span class=\"title\">The Blood Knot</span> at the Cricket Theatre in New York in March</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1971</span> <span class=\"event\"> Death of her husband, Louis Schweitzer on September 19th</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1973</span> <span class=\"event\">Associate producer of the revival of Tennessee Williams' <span class=\"title\">A Streetcar Named Desire</span> at the St. James' Theatre in New York in October</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1975</span> <span class=\"event\">Conclusion of ANTA Matinee Series. Honored by the City of New York on the 20th anniversary of her acquisition of the Theatre de Lys on December 1st</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1977</span> <span class=\"event\"> Begins the sponsorship of the Senior Concert Orchestra's Annual Concert in honor of her brother, the violinist Waldo Mayo</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1980</span> <span class=\"event\"> Actors' Fund Benefit celebrating the 25th anniversary of Theatre de Lys in September</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1981</span> <span class=\"event\"> Lucille Lortel Theatre Gallery opens in the Museum of the City of New York in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1981</span> <span class=\"event\"> The Theatre de Lys becomes the Lucille Lortel Theatre in November</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1983</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces Lanford Wilson's <span class=\"title\">Angels Fall</span> at the Longacre Theatre in New York and the play receives a Tony nomination</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1983</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces the premiere of the Samuel Beckett trilogy: <span class=\"title\">Ohio Impromptu</span>, <span class=\"title\">Catastrophe</span>, and <span class=\"title\">What Where</span> at the Harold Clurman Theatre in New York in June</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1983</span> <span class=\"event\">Tony nomination for Angels Fall</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Presented with the Lee Strasberg Lifetime Achievement in Theatre Award in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces William M. Hoffman's <span class=\"title\">As Is</span>, which is nominated for a Tony in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Establishes the Lucille Lortel Fund for New Drama at Yale University in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts by the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Lucille Lortel Theatre Library Wing dedicated at the Westport Public Library, Connecticut in July</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Receives the \"Players Salute\" at The Players Club on November 24th</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1985</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces Athol Fugard's <span class=\"title\">Blood Knot</span>, which is nominated for a Tony in December</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1986</span> <span class=\"event\"> The League of Off-Broadway Theatres establishes the Lucille Lortel Annual Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway in her honor in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1986</span> <span class=\"event\"> Receives the George M. Cohan Award from the Actors' Guild of America in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1987</span> <span class=\"event\"> Awarded honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fairfield University, Connecticut in May</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1987</span> <span class=\"event\"> Recipient of the Connecticut Arts Award on June 19th</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1988</span> <span class=\"event\"> Awarded an Emmy for the l987 televised production of <span class=\"title\">Gertrude Stein and a Companion</span></span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1988</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces Mbongeni Ngema's <span class=\"title\">Sarafina!</span> at the Cort Theatre in New York and play receives Tony nomination in January</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1988</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces Lee Blessing's <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span> at the Booth Theatre in New York and play receives a Tony nomination</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1989</span> <span class=\"event\"> The Lucille Lortel Distinguished Professorial Chair in Theatre inaugurated at the City University of New York in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1989</span> <span class=\"event\"> Inducted into The Players Club in New York in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1990</span> <span class=\"event\"> Inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in January</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1990</span> <span class=\"event\"> Given the Actors' Fund Medal in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1990</span> <span class=\"event\"> Opening of the Lucille Lortel Room of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in November</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1991</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces Jane Anderson's <span class=\"title\">The Baby Dance</span> at the Lucille Lortel Theatre</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1992</span> <span class=\"event\"> Receives the Christopher Lifetime Achievement Award</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1992</span> <span class=\"event\"> First recipient of the Sean O'Casey Award in June</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1992</span> <span class=\"event\"> The White Barn Theatre Museum inaugurated with a dedication and exhibition: <span class=\"title\">A Celebration of Sean O'Casey</span> in September</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1992</span> <span class=\"event\"> The first annual Lucille Lortel Graduate Reading Series commences at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in October</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1992</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces Larry Kramer's <span class=\"title\">The Destiny of Me</span> at the Lucille Lortel Theatre</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1993</span> <span class=\"event\"> Receives honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from CUNY</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1993</span> <span class=\"event\"> Publication of <span class=\"title\">Lucille Lortel: A Bio-Bibliography</span> by Sam McCready</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1995</span> <span class=\"event\"> Co-produces <span class=\"title\">Mrs. Klein</span> at the Lucille Lortel Theatre</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1996</span> <span class=\"event\"> Inauguration of the Lucille Lortel Fellowship in Playwriting at Brown University in April</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1996</span> <span class=\"event\"> Awarded the Helen Hayes Award at the 14th Annual Helen Hayes Awards Gala at St. Clare's Hospital in November</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1996</span> <span class=\"event\"> Recipient of the Erwin Piscator Award</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1997</span> <span class=\"event\"> Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the White Barn Theatre in August</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1997</span> <span class=\"event\"> Receives the League of Professional Theatre Women/NY's Lifetime Award in October</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1998</span> <span class=\"event\"> Dedication and celebration of the Playwrights' Sidewalk on October 26th</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1999</span> <span class=\"event\">Lucille Lortel dies on April 4th</span></li></ul>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The papers of Lucille Lortel relate the details of Miss Lortel's life and career from her teen years to her death in 1999. The papers include correspondence, production files, scripts, programs, production photographs, personal and family photographs, organization files, clippings, ephemera and scrapbooks. Miss Lortel's life spanned the century and her papers encompass many aspects of her personal history, as well as the history of Off-Broadway and of her regional theater in Connecticut. Miss Lortel is credited with creating the Off-Broadway movement and providing a forum for avant-garde and experimental works at her Theatre de Lys. Both the ANTA Matinee Series at the Theatre de Lys and her White Barn Theatre brought works by Genet, O'Casey and Fugard to a wider audience. Many of these productions are represented in the collection by correspondence, programs, photographs and clippings. Over the years Miss Lortel also worked closely with several non-profit theaters as a donor and mentor. Her affiliations with the Circle in the Square, Circle Repertory Company, Goodspeed Opera House, Yale Repertory Theatre, and other theater companies are documented in the organization files.</p> <p>The collection also contains information about Miss Lortel's husband, Louis Schweitzer, her mother, Anna Mayo Wadler, her brothers, Seymour Wadler and Waldo Mayo, and her sister Ruth Wadler Cugat. Louis Schweitzer's papers include some correspondence (mostly with Miss Lortel), clippings and a few documents relating to his work with the Vera Institute of Justice. Waldo Mayo's files contain programs, clippings and writings which detail his early career as a violinist in the United States and Europe. Ruth Wadler Cugat and her husband, Francis Coradal-Cugat were artists, and some examples of their work can be found in the collection.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Lucille Lortel papers are arranged in eleven series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c315837'>Series I: Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1921-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>6.5 linear feet (16 boxes 9 folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains letters from Miss Lortel's business associates and friends, about both personal and business matters.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c316111'>Series II: Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1945-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>8.4 linear feet. (20 boxes 8 folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is divided into 5 sub-series: Affiliated, ANTA Matinee Series, Off-Broadway, Broadway, and Library of Congress. While the affiliated productions are arranged alphabetically, the others are arranged chronologically.</p> <p>Included are Affiliated productions with which she was involved as the owner of the Theatre de Lys, the ANTA Matinee Series, which were innovative works performed at the Theatre de Lys on days when the Theatre was dark, and over 20 Off-Broadway productions, from Miss Lortel's first Off-Broadway venture, Christopher Fry's <span class=\"title\">A Sleep of Prisoners</span> at St. James' Episcopal Church in 1951, through <span class=\"title\">Mondays at the Lortel</span> in 1997. Her 7 Broadway productions are also documented from Sean O'Casey's <span class=\"title\">I Knock at the Door</span>'s premiere at the Belasco Theatre in 1957, through Lee Blessing's <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span> at the Booth Theatre in 1987. Finally, materials for the 19 productions Lucille Lortel presented annually at the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium (Washington, D.C.) from 1960 to 1988, beginning with Sean O'Casey's <span class=\"title\">Time to Go</span> and Paul Vincent Carroll's <span class=\"title\">The Coggerers</span>, through <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span> by Lee Blessing are contained in this series. The subject matter of <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span> made it especially appropriate for presentation in Washington, D.C.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c316526'>Series III: White Barn Theatre</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1947-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>6.8 linear feet. (16 boxes 23 folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is devoted to the White Barn Theatre, situated on Miss Lortel's estate in Westport, Connecticut. Included in this series are three sub-series: General, Production and the White Barn Theatre Museum. These papers provide a valuable window into the beginning of a theatrical experiment showcasing new plays and undiscovered talent. Included are programs, correspondence, clippings, contracts, production materials, scripts, financial information, publicity materials and architectural plans.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c317015'>Series IV: Organizations A-Z</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1935-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>6.6 linear feet. (16 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The organization files include correspondence, minutes, printed matter, guest lists, invitations, programs, awards and certificates, and clippings. The files span the years 1935 to 1999 and represent many organizations with which Miss Lortel had a long relationship, either as a donor and/or as a board member or artistic advisor. Also included are organizations which honored Miss Lortel in some way. Organizations include numerous theater-related groups and academic institutions. The earliest material is found in the ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy) files (1935-1966). Papers include correspondence and printed matter, and copies of ANTA's newsletter (<span class=\"title\">Chapter One</span>). Other organizations which are well-represented include Actors' Equity, Actors' Fund of America, American Theatre Wing, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Brown University, Circle in the Square, Circle Repertory Company, CUNY Graduate Center, Columbia University, Drama League, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Fairfield University, Goodspeed Opera House, League of Professional Theatre Women, Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, Museum of the City of New York, New Dramatists, The New York Public Library, New York University School of the Arts, O'Casey Theater Company, The Players, New York Shakespeare Festival, Roundabout Theatre, St. Clare's Hospital, Signature Theatre Company, University of Bridgeport, Westport Public Library, and Yale School of Drama.</p> <p>Miss Lortel's relationship with the academic community is reflected in the organizational files. The Lucille Lortel Professorial Chair in Theatre was established at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center in 1989 and the university awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in 1993. She also received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Bridgeport in 1985 and Fairfield University in 1987. In 1996 she created the Lucille Lortel Fellowship in Playwriting at Brown University. Her correspondents at Brown included Paula Vogel and Vartan Gregorian. Miss Lortel also had strong ties to the Yale School of Drama (1966-1998) where she established the Lucille Lortel Fund for New Drama at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985. The first new play to be presented with the gift was August Wilson's <span class=\"title\">Fences</span>. It was also at Yale that Miss Lortel first saw Lee Blessing's <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span>, which she took to Broadway, London and Moscow during 1988-1989. Lloyd Richards, Dean of the Yale School of Drama, and Artistic Director of the Yale Repertory Theatre was a frequent correspondent. The files for New York University Tisch School of the Arts (1981-1998) document the establishment of the Lucille Lortel Graduate Readings in 1992. Miss Lortel's relationship with The New York Public Library (1980-1998) includes her funding of the Lucille Lortel Room for the viewing of tapes in the library's Theatre on Film and Tape, and the library's screening of her biographical film <span class=\"title\">The Queen of Off-Broadway</span> and mounting an exhibition of her career. The files for the Museum of the City of New York (1968-1997) document Lucille Lortel's work with the Theatre Collection there and her contributions to the Museum including the opening of the Lortel Gallery in 1981. Unrelated to her theatrical pursuits, Miss Lortel funded a scholarship in memory of her brother Waldo Mayo at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. The files (1983-1989) contain letters from recipients telling Miss Lortel about themselves and their studies. At Columbia University she also funded the Meyer Berger Award, a journalism award initiated by her husband Louis Schweitzer. Some of the Connecticut organizations included the Westport Historical Society, the Westport Public Library and the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. From the 1960s through the 1990s Miss Lortel had an ongoing relationship with many theater companies and organizations in New York and Connecticut. The files include correspondence with many notable theatrical personalities, including Nedda Harrigan Logan and Tom Dillon (Actors' Fund), Isabelle Stevenson (American Theatre Wing), Julia Hansen (Drama League), Shivaun O'Casey (O'Casey Theater Company), Michael Price (Goodspeed), George White (Eugene O'Neill), Barry Grove and Lynne Meadow (Manhattan Theatre Club), and Tanya Berezin (Circle Rep). The Signature Theatre Company file includes letters from a March 1997 tribute to Miss Lortel and Horton Foote. Writers include Horton Foote, Julie Harris, Ellen Stewart and George C. Wolfe.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c317278'>Series V: Lucille Lortel Theatre/Theatre de Lys</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1952-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>.5 linear feet (1 box 8 folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is devoted to Miss Lortel's theater, located in Greenwich Village, New York City.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c317302'>Series VI: Lucille Lortel Awards</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1986-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.1 linear feet. (2 boxes 15 folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The files for the Lucille Lortel Awards include correspondence, invitations, programs, guest lists, press materials, clippings and some scripts documenting the annual awards. The awards, created by Miss Lortel in 1986 in response to a request from the League of Off-Broadway Theatres, honor outstanding achievement Off-Broadway. No awards were presented in 1990.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c317341'>Series VII: Personal Papers.</a></div>\n<div class='series-extent'>5.8 linear feet (14 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> These papers give an insightful overview of Miss Lortel's private and social life from her childhood through her final years. The Appointment and Address books reflect Miss Lortel's personal and professional engagements, interests, and contacts; in some cases the books are in her own handwriting. The Personal A-Z sub-series includes material on her early career, homes, travel, personal projects, and ephemera such as passports and driver's licenses. Family Correspondence includes letters to and from her immediate family, as well as cousins and in-laws. Family Papers contains documents, clippings, ephemera, and other memorabilia from Miss Lortel's husband, Louis Schweitzer, her mother Anna Mayo Wadler, sister Ruth Wadler Cugat, and brother-in-law Francis Coradal-Cougat, her brothers Waldo Mayo and Seymour Wadler, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and cousins.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c317512'>Series VIII: Clippings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1921-1999</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>.5 linear feet. (1 box 4 folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Clippings document Miss Lortel's career and some personal pursuits from her earliest performances through her death in 1999. The clippings in this series are \"general\" in their topics. Clippings related to specific productions, organizations, the White Barn Theatre, or the Lortel Awards are located in those series.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c317527'>Series IX: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>ca. 1902 - 1998</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>10.7 linear feet (26 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The photographs are divided into 9 sub-series, documenting most aspects of Miss Lortel's personal and professional life.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c318125'>Series X: Oversize Materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1925-1996</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.71 linear feet (2 oversized flat boxes 1 additional box)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains awards and citations to Lucille Lortel, artwork, photographs, window cards and posters for Affiliated, ANTA Matinee Series, Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions. Among the artwork is a watercolor painted by Sidney Kingsley. Also included is an autographed poster for the Circle Repertory Company production of <span class=\"title\">Prelude to a Kiss</span>, Helen Hayes Theatre (New York, N.Y.).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21631#c318153'>Series XI: Scrapbooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1918-1988</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>37 vols</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The scrapbooks consist of 37 volumes of clippings, programs, invitation, fliers, season lists, and a few photographs documenting the ANTA Matinee Series, the White Barn Theatre and 1 volume documenting the career of Waldo Mayo. Some of the early White Barn and ANTA scrapbooks include sign-in pages for guests. Waldo Mayo's scrapbook includes portraits of the violinist, programs, clippings and publicity materials documenting his concerts in the United States and Europe.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Series I: Correspondence <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - General</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Individuals A-Z</li></ul></li> <li>Series II: Productions <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - Affiliated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - ANTA</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Off-Broadway</li> <li>Sub-series 4 - Broadway</li> <li>Sub-series 5 - Library of Congress</li></ul></li> <li>Series III: White Barn Theatre <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - General</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Productions</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - White Barn Theatre Museum</li></ul></li> <li>Series IV: Organizations A-Z</li> <li>Series V: Lucille Lortel Theatre / Theatre de Lys <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - General files, A-Z</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Playwrights' Sidewalk</li></ul></li> <li>Series VI: Lucille Lortel Awards</li> <li>Series VII: Personal Papers <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - Appointment Books and Address Books</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Personal files, A-Z</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Family Correspondence</li> <li>Sub-series 4 - Family Papers</li></ul></li> <li>Series VIII: Clippings</li> <li>Series IX: Photographs <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - Productions</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - White Barn Theatre</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Organizations, A-Z</li> <li>Sub-series 4 - Lucille Lortel Theatre / Theatre de Lys</li> <li>Sub-series 5 - Lucille Lortel Awards</li> <li>Sub-series 6 - Personal, A-Z</li> <li>Sub-series 7 - Personal - Family</li> <li>Sub-series 8 - Portraits</li> <li>Sub-series 9 - General</li></ul></li> <li>Series X: Oversize Materials</li> <li>Series XI: Scrapbooks</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Audiovisual materials separated from archival collections are cataloged individually and can be found in the Library catalog. Search CATNYP, The New York Public Library catalog.</p> <p> <ul class=\"list\"> <div class=\"head\">*T-Cabinet</div> <li>Woodblock of \"Fairweather\" property</li> <li>Glass <span class=\"title\">Threepenny Opera</span> commemorative ashtray</li> <li>University of Bridgeport, President's Club, plaque, 1978</li> <li>White Barn Theatre, lapel pin</li> <li>Photograph buttons (4) - 2 of Miss Lortel alone, Miss Lortel and Molly Picon, Miss Lortel and father (?)</li> <li>Production pins: <span class=\"title\">The Baby Dance</span>; <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Woods</span></li></ul> <ul class=\"list\"> <div class=\"head\">Scripts</div> <li>Saroyan, William script - <span class=\"title\">The man with the heart in the Highlands</span>; includes Saroyan, William - letter, handwritten \"To Anyone Thinking of Buying This Manuscript,\" 6/3/1939 (NCOF+ 02-5635)</li></ul> <ul class=\"list\"> <div class=\"head\">Audio Materials to Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound</div> <li>1 record - 33 1/3 r.p.m. - \"Rain Your Love on Me\" from <span class=\"title\">Now Is the Time</span> by Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford</li> <li>Adams, Joey - <span class=\"title\">Roast of the Town</span> 1986</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Advice from a Caterpillar</span> - 2 tapes: radio ad 3/14/1991; WQXR spot 3/18/1991</li> <li>Bach, Beethoven, Copland, Liszt compilation</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">A Betrothal</span> - chamber musical by Lanford Wilson 11/13/1989</li> <li>Bierman, Bernard - \"Three Songs\" - ca. 4/1993</li> <li>Brown University - 2 tapes 4/26/1996</li> <li>\"The Butler's Song\" - from <span class=\"title\">So Long, 174th Street</span>, sung by George Irving</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Camping with Henry and Tom</span> - John Cunningham on Casper Citron WOR 3/25/1995; Robert Prosky on CBS Radio 3/30/1995</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Candy Is Dandy</span> - White Barn Theater - 9/4-5/1993</li> <li>Canty, J.W. - Music and lyrics by Paul Jabara; sung by Donna Summer - 5/17/1990</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Catholic School Girls</span> - WOR interview, Lucille Lortel and Haila Stoddard</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Destiny of Me</span> - Carol Shelley on Casper Citron WOR - 2/6/1993</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">An Evening with Molly Picon</span> - White Barn Theater 8/26/1978</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Exchanges</span> - Play by Douglas MacLeod</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Glasshouse</span> - 5 tapes (music cues) 3/10/1981</li> <li>Hildegarde - \"Twenty-Two\" - 1986</li> <li>Kelly, Nancy & Council of the Living Theatre - 7/22/1963</li> <li>Kramer, Larry - on WMXV, Mix 105 1/31/1993</li> <li>Le Noire, Rosetta - Tribute - 4/19/1996</li> <li>Lenya, Lotte - Memorial Service 10/18/1982</li> <li>Lortel, Lucille - <span class=\"title\">All Things Considered</span> - 6/5/1988</li> <li>Joy Behar interview 1/14</li> <li>Bill Boggs interview - 3/15/1985 with Hildegarde and Jan McArt - ca. June/1989</li> <li>Hong Kong radio interview with Ruth K. Hill - 6/14/1988 with Corinne Jacker - 2 tapes; from 3/4 in. video - 1/5/1982 by Blanche Marvin</li> <li>Jack O'Brien interview - WOR - 3/25/1981</li> <li>Players Tribute - 11/24/1985, 2 tapes</li> <li>Players Tribute - 11/24/1985 edited version, 3 tapes</li> <li>Players Tribute - 11/24/1985 master</li> <li>Radio program - 6/25/1983</li> <li>Showbiz Today - CNN cable - 4/2/1985; Barry Gray WMCA - 4/10/1985</li> <li>Spotlight interview - 2 tapes - 10/23/1970 [1 undated]</li> <li>Univ. of Bridgeport - Honorary Doctorate - 5/10/1985</li> <li>Univ. of Bridgeport - CT Patron of the Arts Award - 4/13/1991</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Variety Tonight</span> - 5/31/1985</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Voice of America</span> - 2/25/1971</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Voice of America</span> - Martin Bush interview - 8/21/1988</li> <li>WEVD radio - interview - 5/24/1993</li> <li>WMCA interview - 3/28/1982</li> <li>Lucille Lortel Awards - The Players - 4/22/1987</li> <li>Gallagher's - 4/1/1991</li> <li>Blanche Marvin BBC radio report - 1997</li> <li>Maryanna McConnell Sings with Bernie Wayne</li> <li>Mayo, Waldo - Memorial, 6 tapes - 9/16/1976 Playing violin with Lew White, Theodore Cello Conducting Capitol \"Family\" - 9-12/1935</li> <li> The New York Public Library - undated</li> <li>\"Now That I Have Everything\" - by Ervin Drake, sung by Margaret Whiting</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Oh Boy!</span> - 3 tapes New Princess Theater Co. Park Royal Th. - 12/1/1979</li> <li>Piscator Awards - 3/20/1996</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Stevie Wants to Play the Blues</span> - 2 tapes 3/6/1990</li> <li>Theater Hall of Fame</li> <li>Theater Hall of Fame - 3/29/1982</li> <li>Theatre World Award - 2 tapes - 6/6/1985</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Tooth of Crime</span> - 2 copies possibly New York pdn. 1996?</li> <li>Ullman, Liv - Players Tribute - 4/21/1996</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">A Walk in the Park</span> - musical by Chas. Kuralt</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">We Have Something to Say: The New Songs of Bernard Bierman</span></li> <li>\"<span class=\"title\">When Your Lover Has Gone</span>\" - Maryanna McConnell</li> <li>White Barn - 7/9/1987</li> <li>Women's Project Exceptional Achievement Award - 3/24/1986; George. M. Cohan Award - 5/18/1996</li></ul></p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photocopying prohibited.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1902-2000", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1902/2000"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1902
- date_inclusive_end
-
2000
- acqinfo
-
{"accession_number"=>"THE 2001-006"}
{"date"=>"2001", "source"=>"Lortel, Lucille", "method"=>"Gift", "extent"=>"49.61 o", "value"=>"Gift, Lortel, Lucille, 2001"}
- altformavail
-
{"value"=>"<p>Scrapbooks are also available on microfilm: The Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; service copy number: *ZC-606</p>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The papers of Lucille Lortel relate the details of her life and career from teen years to her death in 1999, and include correspondence, production files, scripts, programs, production photographs, personal and family photographs, organization files, clippings, memorabilia, and scrapbooks. Lucille Lortel's life spanned the twentieth century, so in addition to providing details of her family and personal life her papers encompass many aspects of the theatrical history of her era. Lortel is credited with fostering the Off-Broadway movement and providing a forum for avant-garde and experimental work at her Theatre de Lys. Lortel's productions at the White Barn and the ANTA Matinee Series at the Theatre de Lys brought works by Jean Genet, Sean O'Casey, Athol Fugard, and others to a wider audience. Many of these productions are represented in the collection by correspondence, programs, photographs and clippings. Over the years Lortel also worked closely with several non-profit theaters as a donor and mentor. Her affiliations with Circle in the Square, Circle Repertory Company, Goodspeed Opera House, Yale Repertory Theatre, and other companies are documented in the organization files."}
- keydate
-
1902
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Lucille Lortel Papers Processing Staff.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1902
- date_end
-
2000