Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Black, Kitty, 1914-
2. Cotes, Peter, 1912-
3. Grew, Mary, 1902-1971
4. Halligan, Maureen
5. Wanamaker, Sam, 1919-1993
6. Wax, Emanuel
7. White, Leonard
8. Acker, Sylvia
9. Allison, Michael
10. Berman, Lois
11. Brown, Tina Tippit
12. Sargent, Edith Drake
13. Drake, Ervin
14. Farrell, Minerva
15. Hodges, Gil
16. Hodges, Lonnie
17. McConnell, Maryanna
18. Martin, Elliot
19. Montevecchi, Liliane
20. Oakie, Victoria Horne
21. Lewis, Abby
22. Seymour, John D., 1897-
23. Sosenko, Anna
24. Stevenson, Isabelle, 1915-2003
25. Taylor, Robert
26. Tompkins, Robert
27. Volle, Danielle, -2000
28. Williams, Maggie
29. Albee, Edward, 1928-2016
30. Blessing, Lee
31. Dalrymple, Jean
32. Fugard, Athol
33. Havoc, June
34. Hiss, Alger
35. Kingsley, Sidney, 1906-1995
36. Lawrence, Jerome, 1915-2004
37. Lee, Robert Edwin, 1918-1994
38. Le Gallienne, Eva, 1899-1991
39. Mason, Marshall W.
40. O'Casey, Eileen
41. O'Casey, Sean, 1880-1964
42. Rainer, Luise, 1910-
43. Saddler, Donald
44. Strasberg, Anna
45. Strasberg, Lee
46. Wallace, Hazel Vincent, 1919-
47. Curcio, Vincent
48. Eliot, Drew
49. Glenn, Robert
50. Henderson, Mary C., 1928-2012
51. Marvin, Blanche
52. Wilson, Edwin, 1927-

Description

1. 49.61 lf. (121 boxes)

Summary

1. The papers of Lucille Lortel relate the details of her life and career from teen years to her death in 1999, and include correspondence, production files, scripts, programs, production photographs, personal and family photographs, organization files, clippings, memorabilia, and scrapbooks. Lucille Lortel's life spanned the twentieth century, so in addition to providing details of her family and personal life her papers encompass many aspects of the theatrical history of her era. Lortel is credited with fostering the Off-Broadway movement and providing a forum for avant-garde and experimental work at her Theatre de Lys. Lortel's productions at the White Barn and the ANTA Matinee Series at the Theatre de Lys brought works by Jean Genet, Sean O'Casey, Athol Fugard, and others to a wider audience. Many of these productions are represented in the collection by correspondence, programs, photographs and clippings. Over the years Lortel also worked closely with several non-profit theaters as a donor and mentor. Her affiliations with Circle in the Square, Circle Repertory Company, Goodspeed Opera House, Yale Repertory Theatre, and other companies are documented in the organization files.
2. In addition to documentation of her theatrical enterprises, the Lucille Lortel papers also contain material concerning her family and her husband Louis Schweitzer. Louis Schweitzer's papers include some correspondence, clippings, and a few documents relating to his work with the Vera Institute of Justice. There is also material on Lortel's mother, Anna Wayo Wadler, her brothers, Seymour Wadler and Waldo Mayo, and her sister Ruth Cugat. Waldo Mayo's files contain programs, clippings, and writings which detail his early career as a violinst in the United States and Europe. Ruth Cugat and her husband, Francisco Coradal Cugat were artists, and some examples of their work can be found in the collection.

Subject

1. Theater > New York (State) > New York
2. Lortel, Lucille
3. Sargent, Edith Drake > Correspondence
4. Rainer, Luise, 1910-2014 > Correspondence
5. Glenn, Robert > Correspondence
6. Hodges, Gil > Correspondence
7. Blessing, Lee > Correspondence
8. Wanamaker, Sam, 1919-1993 > Correspondence
9. Le Gallienne, Eva, 1899-1991 > Correspondence
10. Stevenson, Isabelle, 1915-2003 > Correspondence
11. Wax, Emanuel > Correspondence
12. Curcio, Vincent > Correspondence
13. Martin, Elliot > Correspondence
14. White Barn Theatre
15. Lortel, Lucille > Correspondence
16. Strasberg, Anna > Correspondence
17. Lortel, Lucille > Friends and associates
18. Saddler, Donald > Correspondence
19. O'Casey, Sean, 1880-1964 > Correspondence
20. Oakie, Victoria Horne > Correspondence
21. Eliot, Drew > Correspondence
22. Cotes, Peter, 1912- > Correspondence
23. Musical theater > United States
24. Farrell, Minerva > Correspondence
25. McConnell, Maryanna > Correspondence
26. White, Leonard > Correspondence
27. Taylor, Robert > Correspondence
28. Lawrence, Jerome, 1915-2004 > Correspondence
29. Marvin, Blanche > Correspondence
30. Lewis, Abby > Correspondence
31. Correspondence
32. Off-Broadway theater
33. O'Casey, Eileen > Correspondence
34. Wilson, Edwin, 1927- > Correspondence
35. Lee, Robert Edwin, 1918-1994 > Correspondence
36. Brown, Tina Tippit > Correspondence
37. Kingsley, Sidney, 1906-1995 > Correspondence
38. Lucille Lortel Theatre/Theatre de Lys (New York, N.Y.)
39. Wallace, Hazel Vincent, 1919- > Correspondence
40. Montevecchi, Liliane > Correspondence
41. Theater > New York (State) > New York > History > 20th century
42. Volle, Danielle, -2000 > Correspondence
43. ANTA (Organization)
44. Hiss, Alger > Correspondence
45. Albee, Edward, 1928-2016 > Correspondence
46. Drake, Ervin > Correspondence
47. Grew, Mary, 1902-1971 > Correspondence
48. Havoc, June > Correspondence
49. Scrapbooks
50. Tompkins, Robert > Correspondence
51. Strasberg, Lee > Correspondence
52. Black, Kitty, 1914- > Correspondence
53. Clippings
54. Acker, Sylvia > Correspondence
55. Sosenko, Anna > Correspondence
56. Williams, Maggie > Correspondence
57. Allinson, Michael > Correspondence
58. Photographs
59. Hodges, Lonnie > Correspondence
60. Seymour, John D., 1897- > Correspondence
61. Fugard, Athol > Correspondence
62. Halligan, Maureen > Correspondence
63. Dalrymple, Jean > Correspondence
64. Mason, Marshall W > Correspondence
65. Theatre de Lys
66. Berman, Lois > Correspondence
67. Musicals
68. Henderson, Mary C., 1928-2012 > Correspondence
69. Theatrical producers and directors

Genre/Form

1. Correspondence.
2. Clippings.
3. Photographs.
4. Scrapbooks.

Call number

1. *T-Mss 2001-006

Access (note)

1. Collection is open to the public, with some materials only available on microfilm. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Additional formats (note)

1. are also available on microfilm

Source (note)

1. Lortel, Lucille

Biography (note)

1. Lucille Lortel (1900-1999) began her theatrical career as a performer, eventually turned producer, founded the White Barn Theatre in Westport, Connecticut, acquired the Theatre dy Lys in Greenwich Village, and became a seminal force in the Off-Broadway movement. Born Lucille Wadler in New York City on December 16, 1900, Lucille Lortel studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and with Arnold Korff in Europe. She had her first notable role in the Theatre Guild's production of Shaw's CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA with Helen Hayes in 1925. Among her motion pictures was the early talking film THE MAN WHO LAUGHED LAST (1929) opposite Sessue Hayakawa. Shortly after marrying wealthy industrialist Louis Schweitzer in 1931, Lortel retired from acting. In 1947, on the grounds of her Westport home, she established the White Barn Theatre, a summer theater which continues to operate. In 1955 Schweitzer purchased the Theatre de Lys for his wife, whose production of THE THREEPENNY OPERA ran there for almost seven years. In 1956 Lortel initiated the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) Matinee Series, which presented plays at her theater for twenty years. Lortel produced more than 500 shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at the Library of Congress, at her White Barn Theatre, and elsewhere. The Theatre de Lys was renamed the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 1981. Lucille Lortel died on April 4, 1999, at the age of 98.

Processing action (note)

1. Cataloged

Author

1. Lortel, Lucille.

Title

1. Lucille Lortel papers, 1902-2000.

Restricted access

1. Collection is open to the public, with some materials only available on microfilm. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Additional formats

1. Scrapbooks are also available on microfilm: The Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; service copy number: *ZC-606.

Biography

1. Lucille Lortel (1900-1999) began her theatrical career as a performer, eventually turned producer, founded the White Barn Theatre in Westport, Connecticut, acquired the Theatre dy Lys in Greenwich Village, and became a seminal force in the Off-Broadway movement. Born Lucille Wadler in New York City on December 16, 1900, Lucille Lortel studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and with Arnold Korff in Europe. She had her first notable role in the Theatre Guild's production of Shaw's CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA with Helen Hayes in 1925. Among her motion pictures was the early talking film THE MAN WHO LAUGHED LAST (1929) opposite Sessue Hayakawa. Shortly after marrying wealthy industrialist Louis Schweitzer in 1931, Lortel retired from acting. In 1947, on the grounds of her Westport home, she established the White Barn Theatre, a summer theater which continues to operate. In 1955 Schweitzer purchased the Theatre de Lys for his wife, whose production of THE THREEPENNY OPERA ran there for almost seven years. In 1956 Lortel initiated the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) Matinee Series, which presented plays at her theater for twenty years. Lortel produced more than 500 shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at the Library of Congress, at her White Barn Theatre, and elsewhere. The Theatre de Lys was renamed the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 1981. Lucille Lortel died on April 4, 1999, at the age of 98.

Connect to:

1. Request Access to Theatre Division Special Collections material
2. NYPL Digital Collections
3. Finding Aid

Added author

1. Black, Kitty, 1914-
2. Cotes, Peter, 1912-
3. Grew, Mary, 1902-1971.
4. Halligan, Maureen.
5. Wanamaker, Sam, 1919-1993.
6. Wax, Emanuel.
7. White, Leonard.
8. Acker, Sylvia.
9. Allison, Michael.
10. Berman, Lois.
11. Brown, Tina Tippit.
12. Sargent, Edith Drake.
13. Drake, Ervin.
14. Farrell, Minerva.
15. Hodges, Gil.
16. Hodges, Lonnie.
17. McConnell, Maryanna.
18. Martin, Elliot.
19. Montevecchi, Liliane.
20. Oakie, Victoria Horne.
21. Lewis, Abby.
22. Seymour, John D., 1897-
23. Sosenko, Anna.
24. Stevenson, Isabelle, 1915-2003.
25. Taylor, Robert.
26. Tompkins, Robert.
27. Volle, Danielle, -2000.
28. Williams, Maggie.
29. Albee, Edward, 1928-2016.
30. Blessing, Lee.
31. Dalrymple, Jean.
32. Fugard, Athol.
33. Havoc, June.
34. Hiss, Alger.
35. Kingsley, Sidney, 1906-1995.
36. Lawrence, Jerome, 1915-2004.
37. Lee, Robert Edwin, 1918-1994.
38. Le Gallienne, Eva, 1899-1991.
39. Mason, Marshall W.
40. O'Casey, Eileen.
41. O'Casey, Sean, 1880-1964.
42. Rainer, Luise, 1910-
43. Saddler, Donald.
44. Strasberg, Anna.
45. Strasberg, Lee.
46. Wallace, Hazel Vincent, 1919-
47. Curcio, Vincent.
48. Eliot, Drew.
49. Glenn, Robert.
50. Henderson, Mary C., 1928-2012.
51. Marvin, Blanche.
52. Wilson, Edwin, 1927-

Research call number

1. *T-Mss 2001-006
2. *ZC-606