Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Brown, Arvin
2. Levin, Herman, 1907-1990
3. Jacobs, Bernard B., 1916-1996
4. Kerr, Walter, 1913-1996
5. Wilson, Edwin, 1927-
6. City University of New York

Description

1. 1 videocassette (VHS) (112 min.) : sd., col.; 1/2 in.

Summary

1. Four separate interviews with Arvin Brown, Herman Levin, Bernard Jacobs, and Walter Kerr (ca. 28 min. each)
2. Arvin Brown discusses how he, as Artistic Director of the Long Wharf Theatre, selects plays to produce, his relationship with playwright Arthur Miller, what help he offers on the production of Miller's plays, the future of regional theater, and his hope that theater confronts the problems of society in both serious and comedic ways.
3. Herman Levin, after some brief comments on his first produced show, the musical revue Call me mister, discusses at length the musical My fair lady including how he came to produce it, many of the show's individual scenes, its casting, and details of producing it in New York and London.
4. Bernard Jacobs discusses how he, and Gerald Schoenfeld, turned the Shubert Organization around by investing in productions and upgrading theaters, their big hit A chorus line, his close friendship with Michael Bennett, his belief in Bennett's genius, how the computerization of ticket sales permit fiscal control, and how the prices of tickets rise with costs.
5. Walter Kerr discusses at length the previous method of writing reviews of theatrical productions on opening night and submitting them to the newspaper one hour after the curtain came down; he then talks about his technique for writing reviews, first for the Herald Tribune and later for the New York Times.

Series statement

1. CUNY Spotlight

Subject

1. Brown, Arvin -- Interviews
2. Miller, Arthur, 1915-2005 -- Friends and associates
3. Levin, Herman, 1907-1990 -- Interviews
4. Rome, Harold, 1908-1993
5. Loewe, Frederick, 1901-1988
6. Jacobs, Bernard B., 1916-1996 -- Interviews
7. Schoenfeld, Gerald, 1924-2008 -- Friends and associates
8. Hamlisch, Marvin
9. Bennett, Michael, 1943-1987 -- Friends and associates
10. Kerr, Walter, 1913-1996 -- Interviews
11. Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, Conn.)
12. Shubert Organization
13. Theater -- Sociological aspects
14. Theater management -- New York (State) -- New York
15. Theater -- Economic aspects -- United States
16. Performing arts -- Ticket prices
17. Theater -- New York (State) -- New York -- Reviews
18. Theater critics -- New York (State) -- New York
19. Newspapers -- Sections, columns, etc. -- Reviews
20. Writing -- Technique
21. Theatrical producers and directors -- Interviews

Genre/Form

1. Interviews.

Call number

1. NCOW 102

Note

1. Part of the series, CUNY Spotlight, broadcast on CUNY-TV, sponsored by the City University of New York.

Performer (note)

1. Interviewed by Edwin Wilson.

Event (note)

1. Videotaped by the cable station, CUNY-TV, New York, N.Y.

Title

1. [Interviews with Arvin Brown, Herman Levin, Bernard Jacobs, and Walter Kerr] [videorecording] / City University Television, The Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts (CASTA) [presents]

Imprint

1. New York, [between 1988 and 1991]

Series

1. CUNY Spotlight

Performer

1. Interviewed by Edwin Wilson.

Event

1. Videotaped by the cable station, CUNY-TV, New York, N.Y.

Local subject

1. Regional theaters.

Added author

1. Brown, Arvin, interviewee.
2. Levin, Herman, 1907-1990, interviewee.
3. Jacobs, Bernard B., 1916-1996, interviewee.
4. Kerr, Walter, 1913-1996, interviewee.
5. Wilson, Edwin, 1927- interviewer.
6. City University of New York.

Research call number

1. NCOW 102