Producer, theater owner, actress and benefactor, Lucille Lortel, was born Lucille Wadler in New York City on December 16, 1900. 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. Over the years Lortel also worked closely with several non-profit theaters as a donor and mentor. Many of these productions are represented in the collection by correspondence, programs, photographs and clippings. 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. Lortel is credited with fostering the Off-Broadway movement and providing a forum for avant-garde and experimental work at her Theatre de Lys. 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. 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.

Restrictions apply Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Lucille Lortel Papers, *T-Mss 2001-006, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Repository Billy Rose Theatre Division Access to materials Request access to this collection. Creator Lortel, Lucille Call number *T-Mss 2001-006 Physical description 49.61 linear feet 37 vols.

Dandy Day by Annie Wood