Kirkland, Jack, 1902-1969
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1981-012
3.75 linear feet (9 boxes)
Mostly manuscripts by playwright and producer Jack Kirkland. Also a small amount of production material and legal and personal papers.
Slesin, Aviva
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2010-110
2 linear feet (4 boxes)
This collection documents the creation of the film The Ten Year Lunch. Slesin acquired significant materials from numerous sources about the core group of the Round Table including Marc Connelly, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Harold Ross,...
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This collection documents the creation of the film The Ten Year Lunch. Slesin acquired significant materials from numerous sources about the core group of the Round Table including Marc Connelly, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Harold Ross, Robert Benchley, Ruth Gordon, and Edna Ferber, as well as satellite figures. Types of materials in this collection include photographs (both originals and copies), personal correspondence and ephemera, telegrams, sound recordings, a script, theatre programs, posters, and bound volumes. Includes the work of notable photographers such as James Abbe, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Nickolas Muray, and Carl Van Vechten. Slesin's production notebook includes a descriptive listing of 702 items that she consulted during her research, most of which are in this final collection. The final script for the film is accompanied by a promotional poster illustrated with a drawing by Al Hirschfeld of the Round Table members.
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Frankel, Doris, 1909-1994
Billy Rose Theatre Division
5.67 linear feet (14 boxes)
Doris Frankel (1909-1994) was an Emmy Award-winning American dramatist who wrote for television, radio, and theater production. The Doris Frankel papers (1922-1993) document Frankel's career as a dramatist and contain scripts, synopses outlining...
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Doris Frankel (1909-1994) was an Emmy Award-winning American dramatist who wrote for television, radio, and theater production. The Doris Frankel papers (1922-1993) document Frankel's career as a dramatist and contain scripts, synopses outlining show ideas, correspondence, personal papers, and ephemera. Both produced and unproduced work is present in this collection.
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Stahl, Irwin
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1990-017
10.71 linear feet (16 boxes, 6 volumes, 1 oversized folder)
Irwin Stahl was a theatrical director, playwright, actor, and educator. The Irwin Stahl theater files date from 1893 to 1988 and contain scripts, sheet music, programs, clippings, sketches, notes, photographs, and scrapbooks.
Wellman, Mac
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1999-027
2.8 linear feet (7 boxes)
Mac Wellman is an American playwright and poet, known for his experimental work in theatre. He is the author of more than 60 plays, including Cellophane, Terminal Hip, and Sincerity Forever. The Mac Wellman papers, Additions date from 1979 to 2008...
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Mac Wellman is an American playwright and poet, known for his experimental work in theatre. He is the author of more than 60 plays, including Cellophane, Terminal Hip, and Sincerity Forever. The Mac Wellman papers, Additions date from 1979 to 2008 (bulk dates: 2000 to 2008) and contain manuscript drafts and revisions of plays, poetry, and fiction, as well as posters, reviews, a program, letters, photographs, and ephemera.
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Furth, George, 1932-2008
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2001-005
23.17 linear feet (58 boxes); 384 Kilobytes (3 computer files)
George Furth (1932-2008) was an American playwright, librettist and actor, most famous for writing the books for two Stephen Sondheim musicals, Company and Merrily We Roll Along. The George Furth papers contain professional and personal papers,...
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George Furth (1932-2008) was an American playwright, librettist and actor, most famous for writing the books for two Stephen Sondheim musicals, Company and Merrily We Roll Along. The George Furth papers contain professional and personal papers, created or collected by Furth as a playwright and actor.
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Mabley, Edward, 1906-
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1986-009
9.82 linear feet (21 boxes, 1 volume)
Edward Mabley (1906-1984) was an American writer for theater, radio, and television, and author of the book Dramatic Construction: An Outline of Basic Principles. The Edward Mabley papers (1920s-1985) document his writing career through scripts,...
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Edward Mabley (1906-1984) was an American writer for theater, radio, and television, and author of the book Dramatic Construction: An Outline of Basic Principles. The Edward Mabley papers (1920s-1985) document his writing career through scripts, scores, book manuscripts, correspondence, clippings, promotional materials, and notes. The papers also hold material related to the Tatterman Marionettes, a company that Mabley co-founded.
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Dransfield, Jane, 1875-1957
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2012-032
7.63 linear feet (19 boxes)
Jane Dransfield (1875-1957) was a playwright, poet, and lecturer on theater. The Jane Dransfield papers (1892-1957) document the creation, publication, production, and reception of her work, especially her plays. The papers also document her work...
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Jane Dransfield (1875-1957) was a playwright, poet, and lecturer on theater. The Jane Dransfield papers (1892-1957) document the creation, publication, production, and reception of her work, especially her plays. The papers also document her work as a lecturer, her study of drama, and her professional relationships. The collection holds correspondence, clippings, programs, promotional materials, scripts, poetry, articles, drafts, and notes.
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Bumbalo, Victor
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2014-192
2.94 linear feet (7 boxes)
The Victor Bumbalo papers date from 1969 to 2013 and document Bumbalo's career as a playwright and television writer. The collection includes scripts, clippings, photographs, and publicity material.
Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923-1981
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2001-040 [Text]
129.4 linear feet (287 boxes); 32 reels microfilm
Primarily documenting the career of playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, this collection consists of correspondence, material relating to production of his works, draft and development material for unproduced works and other writings,...
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Primarily documenting the career of playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, this collection consists of correspondence, material relating to production of his works, draft and development material for unproduced works and other writings, office papers, vital records, financial and legal records, photographs, and research material.
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Locke, Robinson, 1856-1920
Billy Rose Theatre Division | NAFR+
107.94 linear feet (518 volumes, 574 other items)
The Robinson Locke collection consists of scrapbooks and portfolios containing clippings, programs, photographs, prints, letters and other ephemera documenting American theater history.
Mosel, Tad
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1979-006
7.92 linear feet (19 boxes)
The papers document the career of Tad Mosel, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, performer, biographer, and writer for television and film.
Goetz, Ruth
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1999-003
The Papers of Ruth and Augustus Goetz contain documentation of their lives and collaboration as playwrights.
Schneider, Alan, 1917-1984
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1985-002
This collection of correspondence, production files, scripts, and ephemera documents the career of director and theater educator, Alan Schneider, famed for his productions of the works of Samuel Beckett, Edward Albee and Harold Pinter.
Molnár, Ferenc, 1878-1952
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1947-002
18.4 linear feet (20 boxes)
The Ferenc Molnár papers contain a selection of scripts, correspondence and articles written by Molnár between 1927 and 1952.
Kaufman, George S. (George Simon), 1889-1961
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *ZC-264 (1-4)
4 microfilm reels
Microfilm copy of the papers of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright-director, George S. Kaufman, consisting primarily of correspondence, scripts, and biographical scrapbooks. The correspondence contains letters from Fred Allen, Winthrop Ames, George...
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Microfilm copy of the papers of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright-director, George S. Kaufman, consisting primarily of correspondence, scripts, and biographical scrapbooks. The correspondence contains letters from Fred Allen, Winthrop Ames, George Arliss, Eleanor Belmont, Walter Damrosch, Joseph E. Davies, Robert H. Davis, Theodore Dreiser, James A. Farley, Arthur Hopkins, Otto Kahn, Groucho and Harpo Marx, Adolphe Menjou, William Saroyan, Alfred E. Smith, Henry L. Stimson, John Steinbeck, Booth Tarkington, Oswald Garrison Villard, William Allen White, Alexander Woollcott, and others. There are scripts (some annotated) for seventeen produced and unproduced titles for stage, screen, and television including THE BUTTER AND EGG MAN (1925), THE LATE GEORGE APLEY (1944), THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1939), and several other plays on which Kaufman collaborated with Marc Connelly, Ruth Goodman Goetz, Leueen MacGrath, Morrie Ryskind, Howard Teichmann, and other playwrights.
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Langner, Lawrence, 1890-1962
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1999-009
The Lawrence Langner Papers include scripts by Langner and others, and speeches, articles and miscellaneous writings by Langner. The collection contains over 30 scripts by Langner, and several adaptations by him. Many of the scripts are annotated,...
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The Lawrence Langner Papers include scripts by Langner and others, and speeches, articles and miscellaneous writings by Langner. The collection contains over 30 scripts by Langner, and several adaptations by him. Many of the scripts are annotated, and a few include related material including programs, light plots, and prompt books. Langner's writings and speeches include memorial addresses for Ferenc Molnar and Joan McCracken, seminars on playwriting, and works on the future of the theater, morals in mass media, and some material relating to his interest in inventions and patent law.
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Van Druten, John, 1901-1957
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1958-002
The John Van Druten papers consist of diaries, correspondence, writings, scrapbooks and ephemera documenting his life and career. The papers span the years 1901-1957 and give excellent insight into Van Druten's creative processes. Missing from the...
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The John Van Druten papers consist of diaries, correspondence, writings, scrapbooks and ephemera documenting his life and career. The papers span the years 1901-1957 and give excellent insight into Van Druten's creative processes. Missing from the collection are scripts of his most well-known works. There are however, scripts for some plays including AWAKENING, CHANCE ACQUAINTAINCE, DANCING IN THE CHECKERED SHADE, THE RETURN HALF and SOLITAIRE. The papers also include many other literary forms: essays, parodies and poetry all written by Van Druten.
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Case, Bertha
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2012-029
2.52 linear feet (6 boxes)
As a literary agent, Bertha Case worked with a variety of authors, playwrights, and performers, including María Irene Fornés, Anthony Quinn, and Ira Wallach. Case also served as the literary representative of the estates of German playwright...
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As a literary agent, Bertha Case worked with a variety of authors, playwrights, and performers, including María Irene Fornés, Anthony Quinn, and Ira Wallach. Case also served as the literary representative of the estates of German playwright Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill. This collection primarily documents Case's career through correspondence with clients, publishers, and producers; the collection also contains contracts, press clippings, performance programs, and photographs.
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Ludlam, Charles
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1990-003
11.7 linear feet (28 boxes)
Charles Ludlam, actor, director, and playwright, was born April 12, 1943. He began his career in 1966 with the PlayHouse of the Ridiculous, both as a performer and playwright. Artistic differences caused Ludlam to leave and form his own company,...
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Charles Ludlam, actor, director, and playwright, was born April 12, 1943. He began his career in 1966 with the PlayHouse of the Ridiculous, both as a performer and playwright. Artistic differences caused Ludlam to leave and form his own company, The Ridiculous Theatrical Company, which achieved international recognition. Ludlam's three most successful plays were BLUEBEARD, STAGE BLOOD, and CAMILLE. Although the company attracted grant funding, it was always on the edge of the avant-garde and finances were uncertain. The company made its final tour with Ludlam in the first months of 1980 and then disbanded. Ludlam died on May 28, 1987. The collection consists of diaries, notebooks, scripts, set and costume designs, clippings, transcripts of interviews, and manuscript pages from a published collection of Ludlam's plays. This material was collected as research material for The Complete Plays of Charles Ludlam. The material provides valuable insight into every stage of Ludlam's playwriting process from the development of an idea to its realization on stage. Since Ludlam relied so heavily on improvisation, the information contained in the notebooks and plot outlines in this collection cannot be found anywhere else.
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Drayton, Mary, 1905-1994
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1982-001
.1 linear feet (38 p.)
Playwright Mary Drayton, born in Hope, Arkansas, turned to writing after a car accident ended her acting career. Her plays DEBUT (1956) and PLAYROOM (1965) were produced on Broadway. She also wrote SALT OF THE EARTH, BUILD ME A BRIDGE, DUCKS IN A...
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Playwright Mary Drayton, born in Hope, Arkansas, turned to writing after a car accident ended her acting career. Her plays DEBUT (1956) and PLAYROOM (1965) were produced on Broadway. She also wrote SALT OF THE EARTH, BUILD ME A BRIDGE, DUCKS IN A ROW, and a novel, ALL OUR SECRETS. The collection concerns the world premiere of DUCKS IN A ROW, performed at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa. in 1981 as THREE LINKS OF CHAIN. It is primarily letters by Drayton to the play's director, Rod [Roderick] Bladel, discussing casting, script changes, the Allentown production, and efforts to get the play produced elsewhere. The collection also contains pre-rehearsal notes, sheet music, and programs.
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Morehouse, Ward, 1898-1966
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1971-001
Ward Morehouse, journalist and playwright. The papers include correspondence, interviews, writings articles and ephemera documenting his career in the theater world.
Grünwald, Alfred
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1998-030
15 linear feet (30 boxes)
This collection contains manuscripts, librettos, scores, correspondence, professional papers, programs and reviews belonging to librettist, writer and theater critic Alfred Grunwald.
O'Neill, Carlotta
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1998-035
1 volume
Carlotta Monterey O'Neill was married to the playwright Eugene O'Neill. The notebook contains handwritten transcriptions by Carlotta O'Neill of letters and inscriptions to her from her husband, Eugene O'Neill, and photographs, mostly portraits of...
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Carlotta Monterey O'Neill was married to the playwright Eugene O'Neill. The notebook contains handwritten transcriptions by Carlotta O'Neill of letters and inscriptions to her from her husband, Eugene O'Neill, and photographs, mostly portraits of Eugene and Carlotta O'Neill. The notebook was probably prepared in 1954 after the death of Eugene O'Neill.
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Winters, Marian
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2013-306
4.75 linear feet (13 boxes and 7 volumes)
Marian Winters (1920-1978) was born Marian Weinstein on April 20th in New York City. She began acting as early as 1936 in a Carnegie Hall production of Motherly Love, and debuted on Broadway as an understudy for Frances Dee in Blithe Spirit...
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Marian Winters (1920-1978) was born Marian Weinstein on April 20th in New York City. She began acting as early as 1936 in a Carnegie Hall production of Motherly Love, and debuted on Broadway as an understudy for Frances Dee in Blithe Spirit (1945). Around this time she married Jerome H. "Jay" Smolin, an executive at NBC, to whom she remained married until her death. In 1952, Winters won a Tony award for her performance as Natalia Landauer in I Am A Camera, and her acting career continued on the stage and screen through the 1970s. She also wrote and published her own plays. Of particular note are A is for All (1968) and All is Bright (optioned 1968, performed 1970). In 1967, Winters won an Emmy for her television adaptation of Animal Keepers, one of the three one-act plays comprising A is for All. In 1976, she was meant to play Mama Kolowitz in So Long, 174th St., but her part was cut before the musical opened. Between 1977 and 1978 she collaborated with Albert Hague on the new musical A New World, which received a partially staged reading in May of 1977, but the partnership fell through in 1978 when Hague and Winters failed to reach mutually acceptable terms of collaboration. Her last role was Helga ten Dorp in Ira Levin’s 1978 production of Deathtrap. She died of cancer in New York City on November 3rd, 1978. The materials in this collection focus on Winters' stage career, to the exclusion of her roles in television. There is a special emphasis on the productions Winters created herself, the bulk of material supporting those plays she wrote or performed in. These include scripts in multiple drafts (some annotated, some used in performance) clippings, promotional material, programs, recordings, sheet music, books (some annotated), photographs, contracts, and correspondence. The collection also includes a number of portraits, three recordings of unknown contents, and seven large scrapbooks containing a variety of materials that trace the steps in Winters' theatrical career. The collection also contains some materials relevant to Winters' non-theatrical life, most notably a series on the creation of the book Catwise.
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Vollmer, Lula
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1977-005
18.48 linear feet (44 boxes)
Lula Vollmer (d. 1955) was an American folk dramatist. The collection dates from 1847 to 1972 and documents her writing career through dramatic and literary manuscripts, correspondence, contracts, and other materials relating to the publication...
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Lula Vollmer (d. 1955) was an American folk dramatist. The collection dates from 1847 to 1972 and documents her writing career through dramatic and literary manuscripts, correspondence, contracts, and other materials relating to the publication and production of her work.
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Erskine, Chester, 1905-1986
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1994-025
2.3 linear feet (6 boxes)
Chester Erskine (1905-1986) was a director, writer, and producer for theater, film, and television. He was active from the late 1920s through the 1980s. In his early career, he wrote under the pseudonym Paul Leslie. The Chester Erskine papers...
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Chester Erskine (1905-1986) was a director, writer, and producer for theater, film, and television. He was active from the late 1920s through the 1980s. In his early career, he wrote under the pseudonym Paul Leslie. The Chester Erskine papers (1870-1991, bulk 1930-1987) consist largely of scripts, outlines, and film treatments written by Erskine. Not all scripts were produced; some are annotated. Programs, clippings, contracts, and other materials are present for some productions. Productions represented in the collection include
Double Murder,
Satyr (a script for the original 1930 play and a later screenplay),
The Seven Who Resisted, and
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn. A photocopy of an annotated script for
Harlem (1929) is present. The collection also contains biographical material and articles about Erskine; his notes and poetry; letters to Erskine; and photographs of him and show business colleagues, including two small photographs of Spencer Tracy. One cabinet card, depicting Edwin Booth and dating to about 1870, is also present. Letters date from 1952 to 1991 and discuss Erskine's scripts as well as personal subjects. Correspondents include Robert Whitehead, Garson Kanin, Robert Parrish and his wife Kathie, Arlene Francis, Irwin Shaw, and Vivien Leigh. Some letters are addressed to Erskine's wife, Sally Erskine.
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Croswell, Anne
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2008-002
5.71 linear feet (14 boxes)
Anne Croswell was a lyricist and playwright whose works included
Ernest in Love and
Tovarich. The Anne Croswell papers chiefly date from 1951 to 2004, and document Croswell's writing for the...
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Anne Croswell was a lyricist and playwright whose works included
Ernest in Love and
Tovarich. 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,
Booze, Breakdowns, and Broadway.
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Finizio, Victor L.
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 2001-004
1.34 linear feet (4 boxes)
Clare Beecher Kummer (1873-1958) was a playwright and songwriter. She was most active between 1907 and 1944, when her plays and musicals were produced on the vaudeville circuits and on Broadway. The Victor Finizio research materials on Clare...
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Clare Beecher Kummer (1873-1958) was a playwright and songwriter. She was most active between 1907 and 1944, when her plays and musicals were produced on the vaudeville circuits and on Broadway. The Victor Finizio research materials on Clare Kummer (1890s-1965) contain photographs, scripts, articles, and research notes that Finizio compiled while researching his 1965 dissertation, Clare Kummer: An Analysis of Her Plays and Musicals. The collection contains photocopies of Kummer's scripts, many of which are unpublished, and some of which have Kummer's annotations and corrections. Scripts include Ladies Change, Noah's Ark, The Opera Ball, Spring Thaw, Up in McCloud's, and The Yogi Man. The collection also contains production photographs, primarily dating to the 1920s, including photographs of Chinese Love, The Choir Rehearsal, The Robbery, and Rollo's Wild Oat. An original set design, probably for Amourette, is also present. There are photographs and a drawing of Kummer, as well as photographs of unidentified friends and family. Research notes date from 1963 to 1965 and include information about a private collection of Clare Kummer materials.
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Nathans, Rhoda
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Mss 1997-020
1.26 linear feet (3 boxes)
Rhoda Rachel Nathans was a playwright. Her scripts (1960-1995) include titles such as An Evolutional Matter, Flights, Let Us Be Thankful, Mommies, Sparks, The Strange Case of Uncle Vashtig, and Cinders in the Sun, which was produced at the...
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Rhoda Rachel Nathans was a playwright. Her scripts (1960-1995) include titles such as An Evolutional Matter, Flights, Let Us Be Thankful, Mommies, Sparks, The Strange Case of Uncle Vashtig, and Cinders in the Sun, which was produced at the Sheridan Square Playhouse in 1963. There are multiple versions of some scripts, and some have annotations.
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