{"value"=>"<p>Stuart Ostrow's Chronological files are comprised of day-to-day files Ostrow maintained on his computer between 1984 and 2002. They consist mainly of outgoing letters to friends and collaborators and act as a de facto diary. They offer great insight into Ostrow's thoughts, professional activities, and personal life. These letters tell the story of being a hands-on producer: lining up funding, stars, and venues; handling the creators; creating industry buzz; promoting the production in the press; and most of all keeping all those pieces in place. Throughout the period covered in Chronological Files, Ostrow was often developing multiple projects at one time, so files on a particular play or musical may be spread out over several years.</p> <p>The letters are all outgoing, but outgoing emails from 2000 and 2001 often include incoming emails. Ostrow's letters mainly deal with theatrical productions he and his friends were working on, or considering working on, including <span class=\"title\">1040</span>, <span class=\"title\">La Bête</span>, <span class=\"title\">Doll</span>, <span class=\"title\">Face Value</span>, <span class=\"title\">M. Butterfly</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Sweet Smell of Success</span>. Other documents related to productions include proposals, agreements, contracts, budgets, royalty statements, and notes. Ostrow's letters also cover more general theatre industry topics such as theatrical organizations, special events, conferences, and new publications on theatre. Of particular interest are Ostrow's letters regarding the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, for which he served on the jury.</p> <p>Ostrow's memoir, <span class=\"title\">A Producer's Broadway Journey</span>, is also documented extensively in his chronological files, with correspondence, proposals, drafts, and excerpts. There are drafts of individual chapters as well as the bibliography, index, and titles page. Ostrow's second book, <span class=\"title\">Thank You Very Much: The Little Guide to Auditioning for the Musical Theatre</span>, is documented less extensively, with drafts of the book and letters to prospective publishers.</p> <p>Ostrow's teaching career at the University of Houston is a major subject in his files from 1995 to 2002. In addition to discussing his classes and the productions at the University of Houston Musical Theatre Lab in his letters, they are documented with syllabi, course notes, assignments, lecture notes, scripts, and programs. The process of establishing and managing the Institute for Advanced Study of Musical Theatre (IASMT) dominates Ostrow's files from 1999 to 2001.</p>"}