Found 14 collections related to Theatrical producers and directors -- United States

Morton DaCosta (born Tecosky), stage and film director and actor, was born 7 March 1914 in Philadelphia. A graduate of Temple University, Mr. DaCosta began his career as an actor and director in regional theatre in 1937. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1942 in THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH and his New York directing debut in 1949 with a revival of SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER. Among his many productions are PLAIN AND FANCY (1955), NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS (1955), AUNTIE MAME (1956) with which he made his film directing debut in 1958, and THE MUSIC MAN (1957). Mr. DaCosta died in 1989. The Morton DaCosta Papers consist of scripts and promptbooks, production materials, correspondence and personal papers documenting his life and career as a director and actor of stage and film. The papers span the years 1929 to 1978 and include such productions as THE MUSIC MAN, SARATOGA, NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS and AUNTIE MAME, among others. less

The Romney Brent papers document his career and contain correspondence, photographs and two scrapbooks. The collection is incomplete in that it contains only correspondence from his later years and photographs and scrapbooks from his early career. Correspondents include: Ilka Chase, Helen Hayes, Lillebil Ibsen, Alfred Lunt, Armina Marshall, Mary Martin, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Emlyn Williams and Peggy Wood. There is a large gap in the materials for the 1940s and 1950s. Some production photographs were separated to the Theatre Collection photo files. The photographs remaining in the collection are special appearances, the State Department sponsored tours and personal photographs. less

The Harold Clurman papers contain notebooks and journals, director's annotated scripts, manuscript drafts and annotated typescripts of Clurman's books, and photograph scrapbooks documenting his career as a director, critic and writer. The materials span from 1935 through 1978 and give an interesting look at Clurman's work and thought process as a director. Notebooks contain his ideas on plot and character development, as well as casting notes and ideas for plays which he directed, while the scripts contain his director's annotations and compliment the notebooks for research and study of Clurman's techniques as a director. Drafts and typescripts of Mr. Clurman's three books: On Directing; All People Are Famous; and Ibsen show these works as they evolved. Finally, the photograph scrapbooks give a pictorial representation of specific plays including AWAKE AND SING and foreign productions of THE ICEMAN COMETH and LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT. less

: Katharine Cornell was an American actress and producer. Guthrie McClintic was an American director and producer. They both worked the New York theater from 1915-1960. This collection includes correspondence, personal files, scripts, production materials, programs, photographs, scrapbooks and oversized items. less

Theatrical producer, Dwight Deere Wiman produced 56 plays and musicals in 26 years on Broadway making his most distinctive imprint in the musical comedy and revue fields. He was born on August 8, 1895 in Moline, IL, a direct descendant of John Deere, inventor of the steel plow and founder of what became Deere and Co., the farm equipment company and family business in Moline. After World War I service, graduation from Yale, and two years in the family business, Wiman and friends organized an independent film production company, Film Guild, in Astoria (Queens), 1920-1924. When that dissolved due to marketing difficulties, he formed a partnership in 1925 with William A. Brady, Jr. presenting 23 plays in New York of which 5 or 6, including Road to Rome, were profitable. That partnership ended on friendly terms in 1929 as only Wiman was interested in musical theater. From 1930 until his death on January 20, 1951, Wiman produced and occasionally directed his own shows including works by Paul Osborn, John Van Druten, Clifford Odets and others, and had a long association with Rodgers and Hart. During World War II he was director of entertainment for the Red Cross in Britain. Papers consist of draft and mimeo scripts by Marc Connelly, Howard Lindsay, Clifford Odets, Paul Osborn, Robert E. Sherwood, John Van Druten, and others; programs and playbills; press books; and miscellaneous production materials including set designs by Jo Mielziner. Represented are "Babes in Arms" (1937), "Command to Love" (1927), "The Gay Divorce" (1932), "I Married an Angel" (1938), "Letters to Lucerne" (1941), "The Little Show" (1929), "Morning's At Seven" (1939), "On Borrowed Time" (1938), "The Racket" (1927), "The Road to Rome" (1927), and many other titles. Also included are miscellaneous business records and correspondence, as well as several orchestrations by Frederick Loewe and Arthur Schwartz. A single 1922 contract is all that pertains to his film production company. There is no personal material in the collection. less

Theatrical director, producer, and performer Agnes Morgan (1879-1976) and her life partner Helen Arthur (1879-1939) were integral to the development of the theatre and dance productions at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. The Neighborhood Playhouse was founded as a theater in 1915 by sister philanthropists Alice Lewisohn Crowley (1883-1972) and Irene Lewisohn (1892-1944). Originally intended as a home for the Neighborhood Players, an amateur acting troupe for adults and children, the theater was housed in the Henry Street Settlement House and is considered one of the first to be given the designation "off-Broadway." By 1920 the theater had gone from amateur to professional and gained attention for its avant-garde and experimental work, as well as its popular revue The Grand Street Follies. The theater was under Arthur'smanagement from 1915 to 1927, and during this time Morgan was one of the theater's most significant directors. In 1940, Morgan became associate director of the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J., and retired from that position in 1972. She died in San Bernardino, Calif., in 1976. This collection documents the relationships that Morgan and her partner Helen Arthur had with many other dancers, actors, and artists in their New York circle and associated with the Neighborhood Playhouse theatre in New York City. Included in the collection are photographs, artworks, programs, correspondence, and other ephemera. Of particular note is a group of original fine art designs by dancer and artist Angna Enters, sent to Morgan and Arthur as holiday greetings in the 1930s. Also of note are numerous autographed portrait photos of leading actors and dancers of that period and a grouping of original costume designs for a production of Petrouchka at the Neighborhood Playhouse. less

The Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers are 351 linear feet and contain business and personal correspondence, scrapbooks, autographs, legal and financial papers, scripts, photographs, clipping files, and production materials documenting their work as theatrical agents, managers, and producers. The papers provide a history of the entertainment industry from the end of the 19th century through the middle of the 20th century. A number of family and personal papers are also included. less

Ewald Schindler (1891-1948) was a German-born actor, director, and producer of theatre and opera. After fleeing to Czechoslovakia and Italy during the rise of the Nazis, he immigrated to the United States in 1941, where he became director of the King-Smith Playhouse in Washington, D.C. and founded The Playhouse Studio, a school of drama, with Norwegian dancer Liljan Espenak. Additions to the Ewald Schindler papers date from 1899 to 1947 and contain letters, photographs, scrapbook pages, and personal ephemera that document Schindler's family and professional life. Scrapbook pages with clippings, photographs, and a program document Schindler's direction of The Green Cockatoo at the King-Smith Playhouse, dated 1942 to 1943. Correspondence is with Kurt Schindler, Liljan Espenak, and Mary Wigman, discussing family and professional issues. Photographs include individual portraits of the Schindler family as well as a cabinet card depicting Czech opera singer Emmy Destinn. Personal ephemera consists of a recitation book and Schindler's social security card. Correspondence and the recitation book are in German. less