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Creator
Meehan, Thomas
Call number
*T-Mss 2022-004
Physical description
14 linear feet (34 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Thomas Meehan papers, *T-Mss 2022-004. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Thomas Meehan (1929-2017) was an American librettist best known for writing the books for the Broadway musicals Annie, The Producers, and Hairspray. The Thomas Meehan papers, dating from the 1960s to 2017, contain drafts for his major theater work, as well as notes, programs, press clippings, agreements, and audio and video recordings. The collection also holds drafts of Meehan's short stories and unrealized theater, film, and television projects.

Biographical/historical information

Thomas Meehan was born in Ossining, New York in 1929. After graduating from Hamilton College in 1951 and serving in the United States Army, Meehan worked for The New Yorker as an editor and writer of humorous short stories. One of his stories, "Yma Dream," impressed lyricist and director Martin Charnin and actress Anne Bancroft. Charnin hired Meehan to adapt the story for Bancroft's 1970 television special, Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man, which also starred her husband, Mel Brooks; this marked the first of several collaborations between Brooks and Meehan.

In 1972, Charnin approached Meehan with the idea of adapting Harold Gray's comic strip Little Orphan Annie into a musical. Meehan agreed, and wrote a book for the musical that featured a more realistic Annie from the comic, set in Great Depression-era New York City. Annie premiered in 1976 in East Haddam, Connecticut, with the original Broadway production opening on April 21, 1977 and playing for six years. It featured lyrics by Charnin and music by Charles Strouse. The musical has enjoyed numerous revivals and tours, and is considered a classic of American theater. Meehan wrote a sequel, Annie Warbucks, whose Off-Broadway production ran from 1993 to 1994.

Following the success of Annie, Meehan wrote the book for the short-lived musical I Remember Mama, a revival of the 1944 play. During the 1980s, he wrote or co-wrote screenplays for the films To Be or Not to Be (starring and produced by Mel Brooks), One Magic Christmas, and Brooks' Spaceballs.

Meehan and Brooks' partnership continued with a musical adaptation of Brooks' 1967 comedy film, The Producers. The show opened on Broadway on April 21, 2001 to rave reviews, winning a record-setting twelve Tony Awards. A West End production followed, with subsequent tours in the United States and United Kingdom. Meehan and Brooks also wrote the screenplay for a 2005 film version of the musical.

Meehan's next musical, Hairspray, was co-written with Mark O'Donnell and based on the 1988 film of the same name, about a teenage dancer who helps desegregate a television show in the early 1960s. The musical opened in Seattle, Washington in 2002 and premiered on Broadway the same year. Hairspray proved to be another hit for Meehan; the original production won eight Tony Awards and ran for more than 2,500 performances.

Over the next ten years, Meehan wrote or co-wrote the books for six additional Broadway musicals: Bombay Dreams, Chaplin: The Musical, Young Frankenstein, Cry-Baby, Elf, and Rocky the Musical. His other theater credits include Ain't Broadway Grand (1993), Robin Hood: The Legend Continues (2004, later retitled Robin Hood: The Final Adventure), Thunder (2007), and Death Takes a Holiday (2011). In addition, Meehan co-wrote the book for a musical based on the film Tootsie, which later premiered on Broadway with a different librettist. He also was a writer for the Tony Awards ceremony from 1991 to 2001.

Meehan received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times: in 1977 for Annie, 2001 for The Producers, and 2003 for Hairspray. He remains the only librettist with three Broadway shows whose original productions ran for more than 2,000 performances.

Thomas Meehan died from cancer in 2017, and is survived by his wife, Carolyn Meehan, two children, and three stepchildren.

Scope and arrangement

The Thomas Meehan papers date from the 1960s to 2017, and trace Meehan's writing process through extensive typewritten book drafts of his major musicals, as well as drafts of his short stories and unrealized projects. Press clippings, programs, handwritten notes, outlines, notated music, lyrics, agreements, and audio and video recordings are also included. The collection does not provide insight into Meehan's personal life. It is arranged alphabetically by title into Musicals and Films; Short Stories; and Unrealized Projects.

The majority of the collection consists of drafts of books for musicals either written or co-written by Meehan. All of his Broadway work except I Remember Mama is featured, with multiple drafts for each production. Book drafts frequently contain annotations and edits by Meehan and his co-writers.

Meehan's book co-writers are indicated in the container list. Composers and lyricists are also indicated when notated music and lyrics are present, as are screenwriters when screenplays are present.

The most prominently represented musicals are The Producers, Rocky the Musical, and Young Frankenstein, all of which boast numerous book drafts; Young Frankenstein in particular contains fifteen drafts spanning 2003 to 2016. The collection holds Meehan's early outlines and many handwritten notes on legal pads for The Producers and Young Frankenstein; these handwritten notes (and others in the collection) feature rough drafts of dialogue. There are also materials related to the Hamburg and Stuttgart productions of Rocky the Musical, including press reviews, programs, and German translations of Meehan and Sylvester Stallone's book.

The Annie materials comprise Meehan's book revisions for its twentieth anniversary tour; his proposal for a novelization of the musical; scores and a vocal book; press from the original Broadway production; programs for various productions; a 1977 photograph of Meehan, Martin Charnin, Charles Strouse, and others at Columbia Recording Studios; and Annie caricatures by Al Hirschfield. Annie Warbucks materials consist of a 1989 rehearsal script, an August 1993 playing script, rehearsal photographs, and budget lists for a proposed Broadway production.

The collection features eight of Meehan and Mark O'Donnell's book drafts for Hairspray, all dating from 2001. Meehan's early handwritten notes for the book are included as well.

Meehan's screenplay drafts for One Magic Christmas, The Producers (2005), and Hairspray (2007) are held here; five screenplay drafts exist for The Producers, along with designs for the film. In addition, there are screenplays for Cry-Baby (1990), Elf (2003), Hairspray (1987), The Producers (1967), Rocky (1977), Tootsie (1982), and Young Frankenstein (1974). Meehan referenced these screenplays when writing the films' musical adaptations, and some of them contain his annotations.

Other highlights of the musical and film materials include outlines, book drafts, and sheet music for Tootise; a script for the 1999 Tony Awards co-written by Meehan; demo recordings of songs for Cry-Baby by Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum; and audio and video recordings of Robin Hood: The Final Adventure performances. There are no recordings for Annie, The Producers, or Hairspray.

The short stories feature typescript drafts of several of Meehan's New Yorker pieces, such as "Il Talenti Mysterioso," "Movie Movie," and a 1996 revision of "Yma Dream." Other stories here are unpublished; a file titled "Half-Written Humor Pieces and Short Stories" contains drafts and notes of more than a dozen story ideas.

Meehan's unrealized projects include theatrical works, films, and television programs that were never produced. A few projects here were ultimately realized, but they manifested on a smaller scale than Meehan's Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and films, such as a limited run at a local theater or short broadcast on a local television channel. One project, Chasing Rainbows, was later produced without Meehan's involvement. Most of these projects are represented by a single outline, proposal, or script. A few of the unrealized projects have several drafts of a script, namely Both, The Orville Sturdley Story, Rumpelstiltskin, and Susquehanna. The latter, a musical about Marie Antoinette, was workshopped but never produced; Meehan's research materials and notes for the musical accompany the many drafts. Also of interest is an agreement for an unrealized Spaceballs sequel, and Meehan's 1981 draft of a musical based on the life of John Philip Sousa. Additionally, there are several projects here that Meehan co-wrote with Lee Adams or Cate Ryan.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by title into Musicals and Films, Short Stories, and Unrealized Projects.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Carolyn Meehan in 2022.

Processing information

Processed by Nathan Evans in 2023.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Access restrictions

Inquiries regarding audio and moving image materials in the collection may be directed to the Billy Rose Theatre Division (theatre@nypl.org). Audio and moving image materials may be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.