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Creator
McCann, Elizabeth I. (Elizabeth Ireland), 1931-
Call number
*T-Mss 2024-012
Physical description
5.83 linear feet (14 boxes). 98.6 megabytes (32 computer files). 4 video recordings. 1 audio recording
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Elizabeth McCann papers, *T-Mss 2024-012. 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.

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.

Biographical/historical information

Elizabeth Ireland McCann was born in New York City in 1931 to working class Scottish immigrant parents. McCann became a theater fan as a teenager when a cousin took her to see Cyrano de Bergerac starring José Ferrer. She graduated from Manhattanville College in 1952 and earned a graduate degree in English Literature from Columbia University in 1954. McCann then held various positions in off-Broadway theaters, including at the Cherry Lane theatre, while studying law. In 1966, she earned a law degree from Fordham University and began working as managing director of the Nederlander Organization soon after.

McCann came to prominence in the mid-1970s with producing partner Nelle Nugent, a friend and colleague from Nederlander. McCann & Nugent's productions included Dracula, The Elephant Man, Amadeus, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby, which all won Tony Awards between 1978 and 1982.

After McCann & Nugent Productions Incorporated dissolved, McCann continued to experience commercial success and critical praise in her solo career. In 1987, she won a Tony for her work on Les Liaisons Dangereuses. She also produced Stew's musical Passing Strange (2008) and Lisa Kron's Well (2006). McCann served as a patron of playwright Edward Albee, reviving Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and producing many of his other plays in the 1990s and 2000s.

In the 2000s, McCann produced six Tony Awards telecasts in the 2000s. McCann won her ninth and final Tony Award for a revival of Hair in 2009.

Elizabeth "Liz" McCann died of cancer in 2021.

Scope and arrangement

The Elizabeth McCann papers, which date from 1979 to 2017, primarily encompass McCann's years of solo producing following her partnership with Nelle Nugent. The collection traces McCann's professional life through files on most of the plays she invested in or produced.

The collection comprises alphabetically arranged production files that typically hold budget and financial information; contracts; casting notes; scripts; press material; and programs. Outgoing and incoming correspondence, in the form of letters and printed emails, is present throughout the collection. Files for some productions hold visual material relating to marketing and set design.

A small quantity of files on McCann & Nugent Productions is present, including only a small sampling of documents from the production team. McCann's work with playwright Edward Albee is well-represented, including production files for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, Three Tall Women, and others. Of particular note are files on the telecasts of the Tony Awards ceremonies dating from 2001 to 2008. No personal material is included in the collection.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by production title or subject.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Allison Sommers in 2024.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Halliday in 2025.

Related Material

McCann & Nugent Productions records, *T-Mss 1985-009. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

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