When the WCFTR started in 1960, theater was the initial collecting focus of the Center, and we’ve continued to acquire collections in this area for more than 60 years. Our holdings represent many aspects of theater production and multiple production contexts, from Broadway to local theater. Collection highlights include:
- Material related to Broadway theater of the 1940s to 1960s from producers and directors Kermit Bloomgarden, Hilliard Elkins, David Merrick, and Dwight Deere Wiman
- Collections of original scores from Marc Blitzstein, Sheldon Harnick, and Stephen Sondheim
- Papers of set and lighting designers Dorothy Jeakins, Gilbert Hemsley, and Jean Rosenthal
- Collections from actors such as Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Melvyn Douglas, Kitty Carlisle and Hal Holbrook
- Records from playwrights including Moss Hart, Langston Hughes, Walter and Jean Kerr, and Dale Wasserman.
- The papers of the Playwrights Company (founded by Maxwell Anderson, Sidney Howard, Elmer Rice, Robert Sherwood, and Behrman)
You can find a list of all WCFTR holdings on our Collections page, and information about finding materials within our collections is available on our Archive Search page.