Scenic Design on Broadway

This book profiles scenic designers who worked on Broadway between the 1915-16 and 1989-90 theatre seasons. The more than 900 biographies provide information about the designer's backgrounds and professional credits. The profiles (approximately 200 words each) are followed by a chronological list of Broadway credits--in scenic design, followed by lighting design and costume design credits.

The introduction outlines the profession in the twentieth century on Broadway and the development of American design from the New Stagecraft. The appendixes cover four major awards that have acknowledged the contributions of scenic designers, among others, to the Broadway stage--The Tony, Maharam, Donaldson, and American Theatre Wing Awards. The index alphabetically lists each play followed by the designer's name when that information is available. A selected bibliography is included, as are 12 renderings, the designers' original work, as illustrations. These illustrations span the history of the American theatre in the twentieth century, beginning with The Man Who Married A Dumb Wife, designed by Robert Edmond Jones in 1915, and generally regarded as the beginning of the modern era on Broadway. The most recent design included is Grand Hotel, the musical, designed by Tony Walton in 1989 which was nominated for a Tony Award for outstanding scenic design.

BOBBI OWEN is Professor of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has published widely on drama and theater.