Found 47 collections related to Off-Broadway theater

Richard John Hughes, Jr. (1924-1996) was a stage manager, director, set designer, and actor in regional theatre, touring companies, and off-Broadway productions. The Richard Hughes collection dates from 1942 to 1993 and documents his training at the University of Texas, his participation in regional theatre and off-Broadway productions, and his work as production stage manager for the national tours of Man of La Mancha, Lovely Ladies-Kind Gentlemen, Irene, and Pippin. less

Seymour Syna (1929-2000) was an American theater critic and educator. He wrote reviews for Backstage, New York Tribune, New York Theatre Review, East Village Other, and Wisdom's Child, and became the on-air theater critic for WNYC-TV. The Seymour Syna papers (1948-1983) document Syna's early career as a director of summer stock, regional, and school productions; and his later career as an educator and theater critic. The papers contain correspondence, posters, programs and press releases, scripts, and writings. less

Paul Lipson (1913-1996) was an American actor best known for portraying Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. The Paul Lipson papers (1932-1996) consist of production files, scripts, and a scrapbook that document Lipson's career acting in summer stock, Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions, with a particular focus on Fiddler on the Roof. There is a small amount of posthumous material consisting of a program and sound recording from his memorial service. less

Charles Busch (1954- ) is a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, actor, and drag performer best known for his Tony-nominated Broadway production, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. The Charles Busch papers date from 1967 to 2015 (bulk dates 1984-2014) and consists of correspondence, screenplays, scripts, and writings from Busch's career as a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and performer. less

Lamb's Theatre Company was an Off-Broadway production company and resident theatre in New York City between 1978 and 2006. The Lamb's Theatre Company records date from 1985 to 1996 and contain scripts, contracts, photographs, correspondence, programs, and other materials that document eleven of the company's productions in the Little Lamb's Theatre. less

The Danny Apolinar Papers document the career of Danny Apolinar, lyricist, composer, pianist, nightclub entertainer and illustrator. The materials date from 1946-2000 (bulk dates 1957-1993) and include professional correspondence, legal and financial papers, production and promotional materials, scripts, photographs, scores, scrapbooks, clippings, programs, and posters designed by Danny Apolinar. There are no personal records in the collection. less

The Theatre Guild United States Steel Hour Records are comprised of correspondence, financial records, casting, rehearsal, and recording notes, as well as some scripts for productions that were telecast as part of The United States Steel Hour television series. The United States Steel Hour, which was a continuation of the Guild's earlier radio anthology series, Theatre Guild of the Air (1945-1953), ran for two seasons (1953-1955) on the ABC Television Network. In 1955, it moved to the CBS television network, where it remained through 1963. less

Gerome Ragni (1935-1991) was a stage actor and musical theater lyricist and librettist active from the 1950s through the 1980s, who achieved renown as one of the authors and original stars of the musical, Hair (1968). Born Jerome Bernard Ragni in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he attended suburban Scott Township High School, where he appeared in various school productions. In 1954, Ragni made his professional stage debut in a Washington D.C. production, Shadow and Substance. His acting career was put on hold when Ragni enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1955. Following his years in the Air Force, Ragni moved to New York and found work in the rapidly growing Off-Broadway theater community. In 1964, he met fellow actor James Rado, who would become a major figure in Ragni's personal and professional life. In 1965, Ragni and Rado began writing a rock musical that would depict contemporary life in New York's East Village, the hippie movement, the anti-Vietnam war protests, and the generation gap, symbolized in a central metaphor of long hair. In early 1967 they teamed up with Canadian composer, Galt MacDermot, who provided the music for their book and lyrics. Ragni and Rado's original intent with Hair was to introduce the uptown Broadway world to that other world downtown and they tried to interest mainstream musical theater producers, such as David Merrick and Hal Prince, but Joseph Papp, head of the Off-Broadway Public Theater, with whom Ragni had worked previously, was the only one interested in the project. Hair opened at the Public Theater on October 29, 1967, with Ragni in one of the lead roles, Berger. The Off-Broadway production was a critical and financial success and produced a cast album. Michael Butler, the heir to a Chicago fortune, decided to finance and produce the transfer of the show to Cheetah, a disco nightclub in the theater district in December of 1967 and eventually to Broadway. Ragni, Rado and McDermot made significant revisions to the show, writing several new songs and a largely new book. This new version of Hair opened on Broadway on April 19, 1968 to enthusiastic reviews and became phenomenally popular with audiences, running for 1,750 performances. A national tour and sit-down productions of the show played in other major US cities, as well as productions in dozens of other countries and in many different languages In 1979, Hair was made into a film directed by Milos Forman. Its hit songs, such as "Aquarius" and "Let the Sun Shine In" have been covered by many singers. After their success with Hair, Ragni and Rado played themselves in Lions Love (1969), a film by Agnes Varda about Hollywood celebrity. Ragni's next Broadway musical, another collaboration with Galt MacDermot, Dude (1973), was not successful critically or commercially. In the 1980s, the Hair trio of Ragni, Rado, and MacDermot reunited for another musical, YMCA (also titled Sun) which was not produced. The Gerome Ragni papers consist mainly of professional files pertaining to theater and film projects written by Gerome Ragni, or in which he appeared as an actor. There are items from productions Ragni acted in during school and later in New York, such as Hamlet (1964), Hang Down Your Head and Die (1964), The Knack (1964) and Viet Rock (1966) but the majority of the material in this collection pertains to the original Broadway production of Hair (1968). There is also some material on subsequent projects with which Ragni was involved, including the show, Dude (1973), and the film, Lions Love (1969). This collection also contains personal items, including correspondence with Ragni's family and friends and documents on his Air Force service. The strength of this collection is its extensive coverage of the many productions Hair in the United States and internationally, represented here with photographs, programs, posters and press materials. The collection includes material as early as 1952, when Ragni was in high school and as late as 1984. less

Tommy Brent was the theatrical press agent for The Immoralist, the first production staged at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, an Off-Broadway playhouse located at 330 Bowery in New York City. The Tommy Brent press files on The Immoralist, dated 1963, contain programs, press releases, talent biographical sketches, advertisement drafts, press invitation lists, reviews, correspondence, and notes that document Brent's promotion of the production. Correspondence discusses promotional agreements, while notes outline Brent's contact with print, radio, and television reviewers. less

The Julia Seaman Price papers (1951-1973) contain correspondence, notes, newspaper articles, and theater programs that Price compiled in preparation of her book, The Off-Broadway Theater (1962). Correspondence consists of Price's letters requesting copies of original scripts and information about productions, and replies she received. Replies include letters from Gene Feist, Barrie Stavis, and other playwrights. Her research notes concern Off-Broadway productions from the 1930s to the 1950s. Theater programs and souvenir booklets for 1950s Off-Broadway plays are present. There are also programs and souvenir booklets from films and theater productions in Chicago and Washington, dating from the 1950s to 1973. less

The Jane and Gordon Connell papers date from 1923-2015, and are comprised of correspondence, music scores, photographs, reviews, scripts, theatre programs, audio recordings, and videos showcasing the careers of the couple. The collection's focus is predominantly on the Connells' professional lives and the theatre, radio, and television productions in which they performed. less

Elizabeth Swados (1951-2016) was a theater composer, musician, director, writer, poet, and illustrator. The Elizabeth Swados papers, Additions (1950-2015) document her career and works through scripts, scores, contracts, photographs, publicity materials, posters, artwork, and audio and moving image recordings. less

Transcripts of interviews conducted by Gerald M. Berkowitz, author and retired theater professor, for his book New Broadways . The collection documents, through these interviews, regional theater in the United States in the latter part of the 20th century. less

Adam Berger, artist. Consists of 52 portraits, in various medium including crayon, pastel, ink and wash, all identified on the back, most signed. The subjects, who were connected to avant garde theater in New York City in the main, are: Anthony Harvey (1), Al Carmines (3), Betty Williams (5), Robert Wilson (3), Lamar Alford (2), Richard Barr (5), his dog (1), Roger Morgan (3), Joseph Papp (1), John Guare (5), Tom Eyen (3), Ellen Stewart (3), Jean Claude van Italie (4), Joe Chaikin (3), Richard Foreman (1), Charles Ludlam (5), James Purdy (1) and Richard Flagg (3). Also includes one promotional poster. less

Elizabeth McCann (1931-2021) was a Broadway theater producer who came to prominence in the 1970s with her company McCann & Nugent Productions. The Elizabeth McCann papers, which date from 1979 to 2017, primarily document McCann's later solo producing career. The collection holds files of correspondence, casting notes, programs, marketing materials, press clippings, budgets, and financial information relating to many of the plays McCann produced. less

Edward Gallardo (1949-2019) was an American writer, lyricist, and actor of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan descent born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Gallardo's best-known play, Simpson Street, was performed throughout the United States and toured in Spain, Puerto Rico, Columbia, and Mexico. Gallardo's papers date from 1910 to 2020 and chronicle mostly his work as an actor and writer through contracts, correspondence, notebooks, photographs, scrapbook albums, script drafts, and audio and video recordings. less

The Brooks Atkinson papers contain correspondence, awards, personal papers, photographs, ephemera, scrapbooks, datebooks, clippings and subject files and document his life and career as a drama critic for the New York Times. The papers span the years 1904-1980. Significant in the correspondence are letters from notables figures of the theater community including writers, actors, scholars and other journalists. Included in these are Sean O'Casey, Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder, Eugene and Carlota O'Neill, Robert W. Anderson, Maxwell Anderson, Clifford Odets, Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, to name a few. less

Karen Sunde (born 1942) is an American playwright and actress. Sunde began writing for the stage in the late 1970s, and her plays have been produced Off-Broadway, in regional theaters, and internationally. In addition to plays, screenplays, and radio drama, Sunde is the author of five Kabuki adaptations of classic Shakespeare and Greek drama. The Karen Sunde papers date from 1963 to 2008 and contain biographical information and production files with scripts, programs, clippings, fliers, and photographs documenting the production of Sunde's plays, including Kabuki plays and radio plays. Materials are in English, Japanese, and German. less

The Manhattan Theatre Club was founded in 1970 by Albert E. Jeffcoat, Margaret Kennedy, Philip Barber and A. Joseph Tandet. In 1972, Lynne Meadow was hired as Artistic Director. In 1975, Barry Grove was hired as Managing Director. Due to their working relationship, one of the most long-standing in the non-profit community, the Manhattan Theatre Club produces "works of the highest quality by both established and emerging American and international playwrights" (website quote)-e.g. Bad Habits, Crimes of the Heart, Ain't Misbehavin', The Singular Life of Alfred Nobbs, and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune. Correspondence with financial and theatre related agencies, artistic personnel connected with both proposed and produced productions, and with Manhattan Theatre Club staff makes up a considerable portion of this collection. This collection also contains papers that illustrate the practical business of running a theater company such as literary office reports, meeting minutes, and guidelines, as well as a significant amount of production related material including casting information, production reports, programs, and general publicity. less

Mac Wellman is an American-born playwright and poet. He is best known for his plays Terminal Hip, Bad Penny, Crowbar and Sincerity Forever, for which he won Obies in 1990 and 1991. The Mac Wellman papers include scripts, productions materials, poetry and prose, legal and financial papers, photographs and published materials. less

Martin "Marty" Pakledinaz (1953-2012) was an American costume designer known for his work in Broadway and Off-Broadway theater, opera, and dance. His designs, dated 1981 to 2011, contain costume bibles and production files for over thirty-five productions. Focusing primarily on his work in New York City, the collection showcases the evolution of Pakledinaz's creative process and style throughout his career. less

The Actors Company Theatre (TACT) was an Off-Broadway theatre company. Founded by a group of stage veterans, TACT focused on the production of lesser-known and underperformed plays of literary merit. The collection consists of production and dramaturgy files, financial records, photographs and office files. Materials are related to the operation of TACT, including business and financial documents, and its various productions and events.  less

Dixie Sheridan (née Massad, 1943- ) is an acclaimed photographer for Off-Broadway and Off Off-Broadway productions. The Dixie Sheridan photographs, dating 1982 to 2017 (bulk dates, 1997 to 2015), reflect her photographic work for Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, the Powerhouse Summer Theater Program, and of individuals. less

The Carole Shelley papers, dated 1940s to 2016, document the career of character actor Carole Shelley (1939-2018). Her collection contains correspondence, production scripts, notes, photographs, posters, costume sketches, scrapbooks, animation cels, awards and sound recordings. less

Elizabeth Swados was a composer, musician, theatre director, writer, poet, and illustrator. Her papers date from 1972 to 2016 and consist of files related to Swados' professional life, chronicling all facets of her career and creative work. The collection comprises manuscript materials, scores, memorabilia, research materials, audio and video recordings, and notebooks of poetry, sketches, and stories. less