Abstract Howard Ashman (1950-1991) was a lyricist, librettist, playwright and director. The papers chiefly consist of materials from his work, including his collaborations with composer Alan Menken, such as Little Shop of Horrors and the Disney animated musicals The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Materials include scripts, piano-conductor scores,...

Abstract Irving Berlin was an American lyricist and composer of over 1,200 songs. He was also a music publisher, theater owner, and a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). The collection, which documents all aspects of his life and career, contains music scores, Berlin's handwritten and typewritten lyric sheets, publicity and promotional materials, personal and professional correspondence, photographs, business papers, legal and financial records,...

Abstract Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, writer, lecturer, and pianist. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, writings, personal business papers, the archives from his corporate identity, Amberson Inc., scrapbooks, clippings and press materials, programs, datebooks and schedules, iconography, address books, and fan mail. In addition, it contains music manuscripts for many of his compositions, including The Age of Anxiety (Symphony no....

Abstract Marge Champion (b. 1919) is an American actress, dancer, director, choreographer, and teacher. The collection, which documents her life and career, includes biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, programs, promotional materials, manuscript music scores and parts, articles, clippings, scripts, scrapbooks, awards and posters. The collection also holds materials related to Champion's former husband, director and choreographer Gower Champion, and her father, dancer, choreographer,...

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Peggy Clark (1915-1996) was an American lighting, scenic, and costume designer. The collection includes light plots, scenic renderings, correspondence, published and unpublished writings, blueprints, programs, photographs, posters, scripts, scrapbooks, clippings, notes, memorabilia and other materials related to her life and career.

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Alfred Drake was an American actor, singer, director, and author. The collection primarily documents Drake's theatrical career, and includes scripts, music scores, photographs, programs, writings, production materials, correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, and other miscellaneous materials.

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Geraldine Farrar was an American opera singer and film actress. The collection consists of Farrar's personal papers relating to her life and career, including correspondence, scrapbooks and clippings, photographs and music materials containing sketches, autograph manuscripts, and printed music composed or edited by Farrar. In addition, the collection contains biographical materials, Farrar's writings, contracts, radio scripts, concert programs, awards, and other miscellaneous items.

Abstract The Federal Theatre Project, created by the U.S. Works Progress Administration in 1935, was designed to conserve and develop the skills of theater workers, re-employ them on public relief, and to bring theater to thousands in the United States who had never before seen live theatrical performances. The collection includes correspondence, memoranda, play and radio scripts, reports, research studies, manuals, publications, bulletins, forms, lists, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, charts,...

Abstract Oscar Hammerstein II was an American librettist, lyricist, theatrical producer and director, and grandson of the impresario Oscar Hammerstein I. The collection, which contains materials relating to Hammerstein's life and career, includes correspondence, lyric sheets and sketches, music, scripts and screenplays, production materials, speeches and writings, photographs, programs, promotional materials, printed matter, scrapbooks, clippings, memorabilia, business and financial papers, awards,...

Abstract Luther Henderson was an American arranger, orchestrator, conductor, music director, and composer. He worked on over fifty Broadway musicals, including Ain't Misbehavin' and Jelly's Last Jam. He was a frequent arranger and orchestrator for Duke Ellington. The collection contains music manuscripts, correspondence, business and financial papers, photographs, promotional materials, clippings, realia, and other materials related to...

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Edward Jablonski (1922-2004) was an author and biographer of American songwriters Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Alan Jay Lerner. The collection includes drafts, project files, articles, liner notes, research materials, business papers and correspondence related to his literary projects.

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George S. Kaufman was an American playwright, producer, director, drama critic, and humorist. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, scripts, and other materials related to his career. His daughter, Anne Kaufman Schneider (b. 1925), remained active in preserving Kaufman's legacy well into the 1990s. Her correspondence related to these efforts and family photographs are also included in the collection.

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Danny Kaye (1911-1987) was an American actor, singer, dancer, comedian, and humanitarian. His wife, Sylvia Fine (1913-1991), was an American lyricist, composer, writer, lecturer, and producer. The collection, which documents their lives and careers, contains printed and manuscript music, scripts, correspondence, business and financial papers, promotional and publicity materials, speeches, oral history transcripts, photographs, scrapbooks, programs, posters, honors, and realia.

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Alan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist, librettist, playwright and screenwriter. The papers include stage scripts and screenplays in multiple drafts, music, correspondence, photographs, writings, programs, biographical materials, clippings and collected lyrics.

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Gilbert Miller (1884-1969) was an American producer and theater owner. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, scenic renderings, contracts, and other materials that document Miller’s theatrical influences, personal connections, and professional accomplishments.

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Nearly the entirety of the prolific output of radio playwright and independent film maker Arch Oboler (1909-1987) in radio, motion pictures, television, theater, and print is contained in the Arch Oboler Collection. Featured are his radio plays from the 1930s and 1940s and the first three-dimensional feature film, Bwana Devil.

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Cole Porter was an American composer and songwriter for the musical theater. The collection primarily consists of music manuscripts, including holograph sketches and printed and manuscript piano-vocal scores, of Porter's music, mostly from his later works. Eighteen shows are represented, including film versions of stage works. Lyric sheets, correspondence, clippings, research, scripts, playbills and other miscellaneous items are also included.

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Lars Schmidt was a Swedish theater producer and director whose company held the Scandinavian rights to numerous English-language plays. The collection includes correspondence, production materials, photographs, business papers, scrapbooks, and other materials related to his life and work, and that of his wife, actress Ingrid Bergman.

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Arthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer. He is particularly known for his songwriting partnership with lyricist Howard Dietz. The collection, which documents his life and career, includes music manuscripts, sketches and lyric sheets, correspondence, photographs, scripts, clippings, publicity materials, financial and legal documents, writings, and awards.

Abstract Roger Lacey Stevens (1910-1998) was an American theatrical producer and financial backer with more than 200 shows to his credit; an arts administrator who served as the founding chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the first chair of both the National Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts; and founder, executive officer, and shareholder of numerous commercial and residential real estate businesses that owned iconic buildings including the...

Abstract Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and lyricist. He is prominently known as the leading arranger for the Duke Ellington Orchestra, a position that he held for nearly three decades. The collection chiefly contains scores, sketches, lead sheets, and parts for original compositions and arrangements by Strayhorn and Ellington, as well as business papers, photographs, scripts, and other materials pertaining to Strayhorn's life and the posthumous...

Abstract Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, educator, broadcaster, lecturer and advocate. The collection contains materials related to his life and career, including music manuscripts, correspondence, writings by and about Taylor, business papers, promotional and publicity materials, clippings, scripts, programs, photographs, awards, honorary degrees and plaques. The music materials chiefly consist of manuscript scores, lead sheets and parts, by Taylor and other jazz composers and...

Abstract

Don Walker was an arranger, orchestrator, composer, lyricist, and author, who was particularly known for his Broadway orchestrations. The collection, which relates primarily to his career, includes holograph music manuscripts and printed scores from musicals, radio and television shows, and films; scripts; personal and business papers that include correspondence, clippings, and financial documents; writings; and photographs.

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Robert Whitehead was a Tony Award-winning theatrical producer and director. The collection contains production files, correspondence, business papers, writings, photographs, costume and set renderings, programs and promotional materials, scripts, and other materials related to his life and career.