Loading...
Creator
Harper, Wally
Call number
*T-Mss 2017-035
Physical description
4.29 linear feet (12 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Wally Harper papers, *T-Mss 2017-035. 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

Wally Harper (1941-2004) was an American musical theater director, arranger, composer, conductor, and pianist. The Wally Harper papers document his theater career, particularly his later work, including some of his numerous collaborations with singer Barbara Cook, through scores, arrangement notes, lyric sheets, scripts, and a scrapbook.

Biographical/historical information

Wally Harper was an American musical theater director, arranger, composer, conductor, and pianist born in Akron, Ohio in 1941. Harper's mother, a music teacher, helped foster his early interest in music by encouraging young Harper to play piano at church. After attending the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School of Music, he began working on Broadway in 1965, arranging vocals for Half a Sixpence.

Harper is best known for his collaborations with Barbara Cook. He was instrumental in reviving her later career as a cabaret singer, co-writing and arranging Cook's music and lyrics as well as accompanying her on piano. When the two met in the mid-1970s, the soprano was in semi-retirement after having achieved success in the 1950s and 1960s in a string of Broadway ingénue roles. Harper and Cook's partnership lasted 30 years, yielding many popular performances and recordings.

Harper created dance arrangements for Stephen Sondheim's original 1970 version of Company and for its 1995 revival. He also directed, arranged, and played piano in Barbara Cook's Mostly Sondheim in 2002. Other credits include My One and Only, The Grand Hotel, Billy, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, and revivals of Irene and Peter Pan.

Towards the end of his life, Harper also collaborated with playwright Sherman Yellen on the musicals Josephine Tonight!, inspired by Josephine Baker, Say Yes!, which was about the 1939 World's Fair, and Lucky in the Rain.

Harper died in 2004 at the age of 63.

Scope and arrangement

The Music Files, comprising the great bulk of the collection, consist primarily of scores, including reduction scores, full scores, specific instrument parts, chorus scores, and lead sheets. Some song lists, lyric sheets, arrangement notes, theatrical scripts, and published sheet music are also present in this section. Most of this material relates to theatrical performances and musical concerts. Some relates to arrangements Harper created for musical recordings or production work he performed for albums, including Broadway cast recordings. Collaborators include Barbara Cook, Sherman Yellen, Malcolm Gets, Tommy Tune, and David Zippel. Music Files are arranged alphabetically by production title, collaborator name, or subject.

The few Scrapbook Files hold photographs, invitations, letters, and some news clippings.

The Audio and Moving Image Files include audio recordings of music by Barbara Cook, Tommy Tune, Nathan Lane, and The Pointer Sisters; audio relating to rehearsals or performances of Gypsy, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, Josphine Tonight!, Say Yes!, and Lucky in the Rain; video of a Grand Hotel workshop performance; videos of a performance at the White House, and various television appearances by Barbara Cook. Audio and moving image recordings are unavailable pending digitization.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Harper's surviving partner, Allan J. Gruet, in 2017.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Halliday, 2018.

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

Audio and video recordings are unavailable pending digitization.