Cheryl Crawford papers

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Description: Cheryl Crawford, producer and director. Her papers include correspondence, production files, scripts, photographs, ephemera, ledgers, financial materials and scrapbooks documenting her career.
Names: Crawford, Cheryl, 1902-1986 (Creator); Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990 (Correspondent); Chodorov, Edward, 1904-1988 (Author); Green, Paul, 1894-1981 (Correspondent); Hellman, Lillian, 1905-1984 (Correspondent); Kazan, Elia (Correspondent); Newman, Paul, 1925-2008 (Correspondent); Page, Geraldine (Correspondent); Strasberg, Lee (Correspondent); Wallach, Eli, 1915-2014 (Correspondent); Weill, Kurt, 1900-1950 (Correspondent); Wilder, Thornton, 1897-1975 (Correspondent); Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983 (Correspondent); Woodward, Joanne, 1930- (Author); Theatre Guild (Author); Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990 (Author); Crawford, Cheryl, 1902-1986 (Author); Crawford, Cheryl, 1902-1986 (Addressee); Martin, Mary, 1913-1990 (Correspondent); Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983 (Author)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1920 - 1986
Library locations: Billy Rose Theatre Division; Shelf locator: *T-Mss 1973-004
Topics: Theater -- New York (State) -- New York; Theatrical producers and directors; Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990. West Side story; Chodorov, Edward, 1904-1988. Oh, men! oh, women!; Gershwin, George, 1898-1937. Porgy and Bess; Green, Paul, 1894-1981. House of Connelly; Loewe, Frederick, 1901-1988. Brigadoon; Loewe, Frederick, 1901-1988. Paint your wagon; Weill, Kurt, 1900-1950. One touch of Venus; Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. Camino real; Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. Sweet bird of youth; Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. Rose tattoo; Actors Studio (New York, N.Y.); Group Theatre (U.S.); Kazan, Elia; Lewis, Robert, 1909-1997; Martin, Marie-Louise; Martin, Mary, 1913-1990; Page, Geraldine; Theatre Guild; Wallach, Eli, 1915-2014; Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983
Genres: Correspondence; Photographs; Scrapbooks; scripts (documents)
Notes: Biographical/historical: Producer / director Cheryl Crawford was a founding member of the Group Theatre in 1931, and of the Actors Studio in 1947. Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford became involved with the Theatre Guild in the 1920s, first as secretary, later as actress and stage manager, and ultimately as casting director. With Lee Strasberg she co-directed the Group Theatre's first production The House of Connelly in 1931 and went on to direct and/or produce many plays in the decades which followed, on Broadway and off, including One Touch of Venus, the 1942 revival of Porgy and Bess, Brigadoon, Flahooley, and Sweet Bird of Youth. Cheryl Crawford co-founded the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg, Elia Kazan, and Robert Lewis, and remained with that organization until her death in 1986. 1902 Born in Akron, Ohio 1921 Enters Smith College 1924 Goes to the Provincetown Theatre on Cape Cod 1925 Goes to New York and enrolls in the Theatre Guild School July 1926 Directs for Theatre Guild summer stock company Fall 1926 Becomes casting secretary for the Theatre Guild 1929 Takes Theatre Guild production of Porgy to London Fall 1929 Becomes stage manager for Theatre Guild production 1931 Founds Group Theatre with Harold Clurman and Lee Strasberg 1935 Visits Moscow and Moscow Art Theatre with Harold Clurman 1937 Begins working as an independent producer 1940 First season of Crawford running the Maplewood Theatre 1942 Maplewood Theatre closes; Porgy and Bess opens at the Majestic Theatre October 1943 One Touch of Venus opens 1944 Broadway revival of Porgy and Bess opens 1945 Involvement in the beginning of ANTA 1946 Produces for the American Repertory Theatre 1947 ANTA begins experimental theatre project at the Princess Theatre 1947 Actors' Studio founded; Brigadoon opens 1948 Rejects offer to produce Death of a Salesman ; Paint Your Wagon opens 1951 Lee Strasberg becomes Artistic Director of Actors' Studio 1951 Resigns from ANTA 1956 Leonard Bernstein introduces the project West Side Story 1957 Rejects opportunity to produce West Side Story 1959 Sweet Bird of Youth opens 1962 Becomes involved with Actors' Studio 1963 Opening of Actors' Studio Theatre 1964 Actors' Studio Theatre closes - final production The Three Sisters 1966 Produces Chu Chem 1974 Yentl opens 1986 Cheryl Crawford dies; Content: The Cheryl Crawford papers span the years 1920-1986 and include correspondence, office files, production files, scripts, financial records, scrapbooks, photographs, programs, clippings, ephemera and memorabilia. The strength of the collection is in the correspondence and production materials. Many of the scripts are annotated prompt books. Of special note are the materials for Porgy and Bess that includes a prompt book of the Broadway production and a file on West Side Story that Cheryl Crawford rejected as a project. Correspondence in the collection includes letters from such notables as Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder, Lillian Hellman, Elia Kazan, Mary Martin, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Geraldine Page and Eli Wallach. Production materials include files on Porgy and Bess, Sweet Bird of Youth, Camino Real, Brigadoon, Oh Men!, Oh Women, Paint Your Wagon and The Rose Tattoo. There is also some small amount of materials on the Theatre Guild, Group Theatre, American Repertory Theatre and Actors' Studio, though this material is very sketchy.; Acquisition: The Cheryl Crawford papers were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in 1973.; Content: Processing information: Processed by Mary Ellen Rogan and Susan McArthur. In 1995 through 1997 the collection was reprocessed, rehoused and conserved. In 2000 a finding aid was created for the Web.
Physical Description: Extent: 51.3 linear feet (83 boxes, 49 vols.; Photographic prints
Type of Resource: Text; Still image
Identifiers: Other local Identifier: *T-Mss 1973-004; NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b14811037; MSS Unit ID: 21481; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): fc924680-f098-0134-a8a3-0bb30c24e1aa

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Cheryl Crawford papers

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