Patricia Zipprodt papers and designs, 1925-1999

Links

• View catalog record
• View PDF finding aid (643.41 KB)

Creator

Zipprodt, Patricia.

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division

Extent

• 85 linear ft. (126 boxes)

Scope/Contents Note

The Patricia Zipprodt papers and designs include many original designs and sketches, as well as costume bibles, costume research, photographs, and production materials. Original designs make up the better portion of the collection. From initial pencil sketches to large-scale watercolors, these designs are not only beautiful, but show Zipprodt's evolution as a designer. The costume bibles contain a wealth of information about how the designs were executed, as well as document the day-to-day realities of translating a concept into an actor's garment. As evidenced in the Scripts and Research series, Zipprodt's thorough script readings and research provided a launching pad for each production's designs; the photographs (both prints and slides) reveal the fruition. Zipprodt's correspondence and professional papers (awards,biographies, contracts, invoices, and teaching materials) give an impression of her career outside the costume shop.Clippings and programs provide production information beyond Zipprodt's contributions. There is very little material of a personal nature in the collection other thanthe appointment books, school papers, and vital records.

Biographical/Historical Notes

Tony Award winning costume designer, Patricia Zipprodt, isbest remembered for the designs she created for several Broadway productions over the course of her long and prolific career, including Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Zorba, Chicago, and Sweet Charity. She was born on February 24, 1925 and raised in Evanston, Illinois. Zipprodt studied sociology at Wellesley College and moved to New York City. Attending a performance of George Balanchine's La Valse, Zipprodt was inspired by the costume designs of Barbara Karinska and decided to pursue a career in design. She attended the New York Fashion Institute of Technology (1951-1953), which was followed byan internship with Charles James. Both experiences contributed to Zipprodt's talents as a cutter, draper and sewer. Zipprodt began her professional career as an assistant to Irene Sharaff, and in 1957, she completed herfirst solo Broadway show, The Potting Shed. She first worked with the director and producer, Harold Prince, on The Matchmaker in 1962, and together they created some of the most memorable shows of the 1960s: Fiddler on the Roof(1964), Zorba (1968), and Cabaret (1966). Prince also put Zipprodt in contact with Broadway and ballet choreographer,Jerome Robbins, another one of her longtime collaborators.

Zipprodt's own working method was marked by a thorough attention to detail and usually involved extensive research. In addition to her work on Broadway productions,Zipprodt also created designs for numerous ballet, opera, and film productions. She developed her own fabric-painting technique, perhaps best exemplified by her work on Antony Tudor's ballet, The Leaves Are Fading (1975). Zipprodt taught as an adjunct professor at Brandeis University from 1985-1992 and also lectured or gave masterclasses at many other universities. In 1981, The Village Voice named her one of New York City's 10 best-dressed women. Zipprodt was a 1992 inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame, and, in 1997, she received the Theatre Development Fund's Irene Sharaff Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 1993, Zipprodt was married for the first time, to Robert O'Brien, a man whose proposal she had refused some 43 years earlier. For the next several years,Zipprodt would split her time between New York City and O'Brien's Virginia home until her death in July 1999.

Controlled Access Terms

• Zipprodt, Patricia.
• Costume design -- New York (State) -- New York.
• Women costume designers -- United States -- 20th century.
• Appointment books.
• Clippings.
• Contracts.
• Correspondence.
• Invoices.
• Lecture notes.
• Programs.
• Photographs.
• Scripts.
• Costume design drawings.
• Costume designers.

Additional Creator Names

• Prince, Harold, 1928-
• Robbins, Jerome.