- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 2008-002", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"18840", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b20477989", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1934-2004", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1934/2004"}
{"value"=>"1951-2004", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1951/2004"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Anne Croswell papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5.71 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"14 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"id"=>"THE", "value"=>"Billy Rose Theatre Division"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Anne Croswell was a lyricist and playwright whose works included <span class=\"title\">Ernest in Love</span> and <span class=\"title\">Tovarich</span>. The Anne Croswell papers chiefly date from 1951 to 2004, and document Croswell's writing for the stage and television, as well as her books, poetry, and popular songs. The collection holds Croswell's notes and drafts of her work in various stages of revision and a small amount of other records related to the production and publication of her work, as well as drafts of her unpublished memoir, <span class=\"title\">Booze, Breakdowns, and Broadway</span>."}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Croswell, Anne", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Anne Croswell (née Pearson, 1929-2011) was a lyricist and playwright. She wrote the lyrics for <span class=\"title\">Tovarich</span>, which was produced on Broadway in 1963 starring Vivien Leigh. In 1968, Croswell had another musical produced on Broadway, <span class=\"title\">I'm Solomon</span>, for which she wrote lyrics and co-wrote the book.</p> <p>Croswell often worked on musical adaptations of books and plays. She wrote the lyrics and book for <span class=\"title\">Ernest in Love</span>, a well-received musical version of <span class=\"title\">The Importance of Being Earnest</span>, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1960. She also provided lyrics for <span class=\"title\">Conrack</span>, an adaptation of Pay Conroy's <span class=\"title\">The River is Wide</span> that was first performed in 1987. Croswell's other work with the theater includes lyrics for <span class=\"title\">Bodo</span>, produced at the Goodspeed Opera in 1982, and the libretto for <span class=\"title\">Sidekicks</span>, a satire on corporate America, published by Workman Publishing in 1983. Croswell collaborated frequently with composer Lee Pockriss.</p> <p>In addition to her work for the theater, Croswell wrote for television and wrote lyrics for popular songs.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Anne Croswell papers date from 1934 to 2004 (bulk 1951-2004) and document her work as a lyricist and playwright. Television scripts, book manuscripts, and poetry are also present. The collection holds Croswell's notes and drafts of her work in various stages of revision, along with a small amount of other records related to the production and publication of her work.</p> <p>Biographical material consists of resumes and summaries of Croswell's career, and drafts of her memoir, <span class=\"title\">Booze, Breakdowns, and Broadway</span>, probably written in the late 1990s.</p> <p>Croswell's book manuscripts and poetry include works intended for publication as well as poems written for friends and family. The collection holds two of Croswell's unpublished books of poetry: <span class=\"title\">Songs of Addiction: From Aspirin to Zabaglione</span>, and a photocopy of <span class=\"title\">Who Says I Have to Be A Couple?</span>, with illustrations by Bill Charmatz. A small amount of correspondence with agents and publishers is present.</p> <p>Production files contain lyric drafts, script materials, and notes for plays and musicals that Croswell worked on. Files are present for Chips 'n' Ale (a musical adaptation of <span class=\"title\">She Stoops to Conquer</span>), <span class=\"title\">Conrack</span>, <span class=\"title\">Ernest in Love</span>, <span class=\"title\">I Have This Friend</span>, <span class=\"title\">Mother God Damn</span> (a musical adaptation of <span class=\"title\">The Shanghai Gesture</span>), <span class=\"title\">Sidekicks</span>, and <span class=\"title\">X-Rated Mother Nature</span> (featuring fact-based songs about animal mating habits). In addition to draft lyrics and script material, the <span class=\"title\">Conrack</span> files contain notes and suggested revisions from playwright Granville Burgess, and clippings of reviews. The <span class=\"title\">X-Rated Mother Nature</span> files include material related to a book of the same title that Croswell was writing with Priscilla Dunhill. The <span class=\"title\">Chips 'n' Ale</span> files consist entirely of photocopied scores with handwritten corrections. <span class=\"title\">Ernest in Love</span> material comprises a small number of clippings and royalty statements. The production files also hold unsorted script pages, lyrics, and notes, which include Croswell's notes on a potential musical adaptation of Edna Ferber's <span class=\"title\">Giant</span>.</p> <p>Scripts in the collection are for plays, musicals, and television shows that Croswell wrote or co-wrote, or supplied lyrics for. There are multiple versions of some scripts, and some copies have annotations or corrections. A few scripts are accompanied by relevant notes and correspondence, though most such material can be found in the production files. Scripts are present for <span class=\"title\">Bodo</span>; <span class=\"title\">Chips 'n' Ale</span>; <span class=\"title\">Conrack</span>; <span class=\"title\">Ernest in Love</span>; <span class=\"title\">Good Bye</span>, <span class=\"title\">Ava</span> by Richard Bissell; <span class=\"title\">I Have This Friend</span>; <span class=\"title\">I'm Solomon</span>; <span class=\"title\">Mother God Damn</span>; and <span class=\"title\">The United States Steel Hour</span> episode \"Huck Finn,\" among others. Scripts also contain the published score of <span class=\"title\">Ernest in Love</span>. The collection does not hold a complete script for <span class=\"title\">Tovarich</span>; only the first four scenes of Act I and some additional lyrics are present.</p> <p>Printed matter comprises programs and published scores of individual songs. Many of the scores are for Croswell's collaborations with composer Gershon Kingsley. Programs mostly date between 1960 and 1992, but also include a 1934 program for the Théâtre de Paris production of <span class=\"title\">Tovaritch</span>, the French play that the musical <span class=\"title\">Tovarich</span> was based on.</p> <p>The collection also holds a small number of handwritten scores of songs that Croswell wrote lyrics for, most of which do not pertain to musicals, along with correspondence regarding rights to some songs.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is arranged in six categories: Biographical Material, Book Manuscripts and Poetry, Printed Matter, Production Files, Scripts, and Songs. Production Files and Scripts are arranged alphabetically by production, with unsorted material arranged at the end.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Bill Rich, 2008.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Kit Fluker</span>, <span class=\"date\">2014</span>.</p>"}
- dsc_type
-
combined
- date_start
-
1934
- keydate
-
1934
- date_end
-
2004
- date_inclusive_start
-
1934
- date_inclusive_end
-
2004
- date_bulk_start
-
1951
- date_bulk_end
-
2004
- extent_statement
-
5.71 linear feet (14 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Anne Croswell papers, *T-Mss 2008-002. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}