Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Sondheim, Stephen
2. Guare, John
3. Ostrow, Stuart, 1932-
4. Estate of Jerome Robbins. dnr
5. Oral history archive

Found in

1. Jerome Robbins Collection

Description

1. 4 sound discs (ca. 256 min.) : digital; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

1. Disc 1 (ca. 60 min.) Recorded on Sept. 2, 1968. Jerome Robbins and Stephen Sondheim speak about the scenario for A pray by Blecht; they discuss the central character (whom they refer to as Zero, for the actor Zero Mostel who was cast in the role); they discuss the dramatic and emotional trajectory of the play and how the theme of racial prejudice should be dramatized. They speak about where songs should be inserted into the play, and what types of songs should be used. At the end of the recording Robbins makes a telephone call.
2. Disc 2 (ca. 68 min.) Recorded on Sept. 2, 1968. Continued from disc 1; Robbins speaks on the telephone with an unidentified collaborator about the possibility of including film as part of the production. There is a break in the recording at ca. 13 min. Robbins speaks to Sondheim about how the television industry should be depicted in the play. There are intermittent unrelated conversations on personal matters, and Robbins reads aloud a passage from a book about existentialism.
3. Disc 3 (ca. 60 min.) Recorded on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3, 1968. The beginning of the disc is continued from disc 2. After a break, the recording resumes on the following day. Speakers now include John Guare and Stuart Ostrow. Robbins speaks about his need to be convinced by the dramatic premises of the shows he directs, and how the show can convince its audience; whether the style of the show should be naturalistic or stylized; and how the show should be prefaced. The speakers discuss the use of cameras and monitors as part of the staging. There is a break at 31 min. into the recording and a gap of 1 min. The speakers discuss the scenario and the set-up of the proscenium.
4. Disc 4 (ca. 68 min.) Recorded on Sept. 3, 1968. Continued from disc 3. The speakers discuss the use of screens or monitors as part of the production and the advantages and difficulties of using a television studio as the setting for the play.

Alternative title

1. Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.

Subject

1. Robbins, Jerome
2. Sondheim, Stephen
3. Experimental theater -- New York (State) -- New York
4. Artistic collaboration
5. Audiotapes -- Robbins, J
6. Audiotapes -- Sondheim, S
7. Audiotapes -- Guare, J
8. Audiotapes -- Ostrow, S

Call number

1. *MGZTL 4-2736 JRC

Note

1. Recording of planning conferences in which Jerome Robbins and collaborators discuss ideas for a projected production of the Bertolt Brecht play The exception and the rule, also known as A pray by Blecht.
2. Sound quality is moderately poor; there is a tape hiss. Reels begin and end abruptly. Recordings include lengthy pauses and extraneous noise.
3. Title on original container: Crop conference.

Access (note)

1. Permission required.

Funding (note)

1. Preservation was funded by the Jerome Robbins Foundation.

Source (note)

1. Estate of Jerome Robbins

Biography (note)

1. In 1968, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and John Guare collaborated on a production of Brecht's play Exception and the rule, to be called A pray by Blecht. The adaptation, which was to star Zero Mostel and be produced by Stuart Ostrow, was to be presented as a play within a play set in a television studio, and to deal with issues of black and white race relations. The show was scheduled for the Broadhurst Theater in Feb. 1969 but never opened. It was restaged in a workshop in 1987, retitled Race to Urga. Additional materials relating to these productions can be found in the Jerome Robbins Papers at the New York Public Library.

Linking entry (note)

1. Forms part of: Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.

Author

1. Robbins, Jerome.

Title

1. [The exception and the rule] [sound recording] : [working discussion between Jerome Robbins and collaborators].

Imprint

1. 1968.

Access

1. Permission required.

Performer

1. Speakers include Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, John Guare, Stuart Ostrow.

Original version

1. Original format : 4 sound reels (ca. 256 min.; 1 7/8 in. per sec.; halftrack; 2 channels). Originally recorded 1968.

Funding

1. Preservation was funded by the Jerome Robbins Foundation.

Biography

1. In 1968, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and John Guare collaborated on a production of Brecht's play Exception and the rule, to be called A pray by Blecht. The adaptation, which was to star Zero Mostel and be produced by Stuart Ostrow, was to be presented as a play within a play set in a television studio, and to deal with issues of black and white race relations. The show was scheduled for the Broadhurst Theater in Feb. 1969 but never opened. It was restaged in a workshop in 1987, retitled Race to Urga. Additional materials relating to these productions can be found in the Jerome Robbins Papers at the New York Public Library.

Linking entry

1. Forms part of: Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.

Local note

1. Archive original: *MGZTO 7-2736 JRC

Source

1. Gift; Estate of Jerome Robbins, 1999. NN-PD

Added author

1. Sondheim, Stephen.
2. Guare, John.
3. Ostrow, Stuart, 1932-
4. Estate of Jerome Robbins. Donor
5. Oral history archive.

Added title

1. Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.

Found in:

1. Jerome Robbins Collection

Research call number

1. *MGZTL 4-2736 JRC