Scope and Contents
Dates
- circa 1932-1984
- Majority of material found within 1953 - 1982
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Boxes 865-897: Audiovisual material. Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Contact Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Extent
365.6 Linear Feet ((899 boxes) + 10 broadsides, 6 art)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Historical Note
During its thirty year history, the Phoenix Theatre produced 164 shows and introduced numerous theatre artists to New York audiences. Among them were Carol Burnett, who appeared in the 1959 production of Once Upon a Mattress, and Joan Plowright who made her New York debut in Ionesco’s The Chairs. Among the numerous premieres of new works at the Phoenix were Frank Gilroy’s Who’ll Save the Plowboy?, Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy and Wendy Wasserstein’s Uncommon Women and Others.
The Phoenix first occupied a theater on the corner of 12th Street and 2nd Avenue, and in 1961 the company moved to 334 East 74th Street. From 1966 through 1969, APA-Phoenix occupied the Lyceum Theatre on West 45th Street, and in the years following the breakup of the repertory company the Phoenix presented shows in eighteen additional New York venues including ANTA, Sheridan Square Theatre, the 48th Street Playhouse, the Barrymore, and Marymount-Manhattan, which was its last home.
Processing Information
The collection is comprised of material formerly classed as ZA Phoenix, Uncat ZA MS 6, Uncat ZA MS 20, Uncat ZA MS 446, and Uncat MSS 902. The collection received preliminary processing at the time of acquisition and portions of the collection received additional processing in the late 1970s. Further organization, rehousing, and description was carried out in 2010.
Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during basic processing.
- APA-Phoenix Repertory Company
- Hambleton, T. Edward, 1911-2005
- Houghton, Norris
- Incidental music -- Parts
- Motion pictures (visual works)
- Musicals -- Scores
- New Phoenix Repertory Company
- Phoenix Theatre (Organization : New York, N.Y.)
- Photographic prints
- Scripts (documents)
- Sound recordings
- Theater -- Production and direction -- New York (State) -- New York
- Theater -- United States
- Theater programs
- Theatre Incorporated (Organization : New York, N.Y.)
- Theatrical posters
- Title
- Guide to the Phoenix Theatre Records
- Author
- by Andrea Benefiel, Susan Brady and Olivia Coates
- Date
- December 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.