Scenic Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1990

(Hardback)

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Description

This book profiles scenic designers who worked on Broadway between the 1915-16 and 1989-90 theatre seasons. The more than 900 biographies provide information about the designer's backgrounds and professional credits. The profiles (approximately 200 words each) are followed by a chronological list of Broadway credits - in scenic design, followed by lighting design and costume design credits. The introduction outlines the profession in the 20th century on Broadway and the development of American design from the "New Stagecraft". The appendixes cover four major awards that have acknowledged the contributions of scenic designers, among others, to the Broadway stage - the Tony, Maharam, Donaldson, and American Theatre Wing Awards. The index alphabetically lists each play followed by the designer's name when that information is available. A selected bibliography is included, as are 15 renderings, the designers original work, as illustrations. These illustrations span the history of the American theatre in the 20th Century, beginning with "The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife", designed by Robert Edmond Jones in 1915, and generally regarded as the beginning of the modern era on Broadway. The most recent design included is "The Grand Hotel", designed by Tony Walton in 1989 which won the Tony Award for outstanding scenic design.

Reviews

Owen has also published Costume Design on Broadway (CH, Jan '88) and Lighting Design on Broadway (1991) in Greenwood's "Bibliographies and Indexes in the Performing Arts" series. She examined playbills dating back to 1915 to find references to set designers and scenographers in New York. Brief biographical entries, arranged alphabetically, contain Broadway set, costume, and lighting design credits in chronological order. Appendixes include chronological lists of awards, 12 poorly reproduced photographs of set designs, a bibliography, and an excellent alphabetical list of approximately 7,500 plays with dates of production and names of designers. For general performing arts collections, Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television (1984-) treats currently active designers but has no separate index for scenographers. Robin Lacy's A Biographical Dictionary of Scenographers 500 B.C. to 1900 A.D. (CH, Apr '91) includes set designers and scene painters in early New York City. Owen's and Lacy's books together make an important contribution to theater research collections at all academic levels.-Choice
This book is significant for its unique subject, careful research, and concise presentation of extensive data. Unquestionably, it will be a valuable source for those researching this period of American scenography.-ARBA
"This book is significant for its unique subject, careful research, and concise presentation of extensive data. Unquestionably, it will be a valuable source for those researching this period of American scenography."-ARBA
"Owen has also published Costume Design on Broadway (CH, Jan '88) and Lighting Design on Broadway (1991) in Greenwood's "Bibliographies and Indexes in the Performing Arts" series. She examined playbills dating back to 1915 to find references to set designers and scenographers in New York. Brief biographical entries, arranged alphabetically, contain Broadway set, costume, and lighting design credits in chronological order. Appendixes include chronological lists of awards, 12 poorly reproduced photographs of set designs, a bibliography, and an excellent alphabetical list of approximately 7,500 plays with dates of production and names of designers. For general performing arts collections, Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television (1984-) treats currently active designers but has no separate index for scenographers. Robin Lacy's A Biographical Dictionary of Scenographers 500 B.C. to 1900 A.D. (CH, Apr '91) includes set designers and scene painters in early New York City. Owen's and Lacy's books together make an important contribution to theater research collections at all academic levels."-Choice

Author Bio

BOBBI OWEN is Professor of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has published widely on drama and theater.