Scope and arrangement
The Charles Gross collection of B-roll recordings contains seventy-four videos prepared by press agencies that were sent to Gross for reviewing purposes on his television program Two on the Aisle. The B-rolls feature footage of theater productions that were active between 1995 and 2006, most of which played on Broadway. The collection reflects the approach used by press agencies to market theater productions, while showcasing a variety of popular plays and musicals from the above time period.
The B-rolls include clips of scenes from performances of productions. Individual clips range from around thirty seconds to two minutes, with most full videos ranging from five to fifteen minutes. When names of scene clips are displayed on the videos, they are included with their corresponding productions in the container list. Scene clips are described by songs performed, actors featured, or scene names. In the case of some plays, scene names of actors are repeated, indicating different scenes featuring the same actors. Several physical scene lists are present in the collection, filed with their corresponding productions in the container list.
The collection holds B-rolls for then-new Broadway productions, such as All Shook Up, Avenue Q, Hairspray, Ragtime, Seussical the Musical, and Wicked. There are also B-rolls of revivals of popular plays and musicals. These include Amadeus, Barefoot in the Park, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, I'm Not Rappaport, Man of La Mancha, Noises Off, Oklahoma!, On the Town, The Rocky Horror Show, and True West. Additionally, the collection includes two videos of full performances: Gross's How I Found an Affordable Apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Without Really Trying at the 2019 United Solo festival; and a 2001 workshop at Dixon Place in New York City.
Notable performers featured on the B-rolls include Billy Crystal, Laura Linney, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patti LuPone, Christopher Plummer, Tom Selleck, and Patrick Wilson.
Press agencies that compiled the B-rolls include Barlow-Hartman, Bill Evans and Associates, Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Philip Rinaldi Publicity, The Publicity Office, and Richard Kornberg and Associates. Agency names are usually noted at the beginning of each video.
Most of the videos have, in addition to a six-digit identification code assigned by the Library, a five- or six-digit code that was assigned by Gross. These codes are noted in the container list when present.
Arrangement
Alphabetical by production name.