Albert Selden papers

Collection

Call Number: YCAL MSS 866

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of material documenting Albert Selden's career as a composer and producer of musical and dramatic theater productions including typescript and manuscript playscripts and music scores by Selden and others; scrapbooks containing photographs, clippings and memorabilia relating to Selden's family and his theatrical career including Man of La Mancha and the Goodspeed Opera House; production window cards and programs; and published songbooks and music scores.

Dates

1922 - 1983

Creator

Selden, Albert

Language

English

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Mrs. Albert Selden, 1988.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by type of material.

Extent

10.92 Linear Feet ((24 boxes) + 1 art)

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.selden

Additional Description

Albert Selden (1922-1987)

Albert Wiggin Selden was born in 1922 in New York City, and graduated from Yale University in 1943. During World War II he served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army, and was the recipient of the Bronze Star. He was an investor in and composer and producer of Broadway and regional theater productions, beginning with the show Small Wonder in 1948. Other productions with which he was associated include A Month of Sundays (1951), The Grey Eyed People (1952), The Amazing Adele (1955), The Body Beautiful (1958), The Girls Against the Boys (1959), Man of La Mancha (1965), Hallelujah, Baby! (1967), and Irene (1974). Selden was instrumental in the restoration of the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, and served as its managing director when the theater reopened in 1963. He co-produced the world premiere of Man of La Mancha at the Goodspeed in 1965. The production went on to open on Broadway where it won multiple Tony Awards including best musical of 1966. In 1968 he won the Tony Award for best producer of a musical, Hallelujah, Baby!, which also won the best musical award. Selden died in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1987.

Processing Information

Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.

The collection is comprised of material formerly classed as: Uncat ZA MS 81.

This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization, at or around the time of acquisition. Additional rehousing and organization was performed in 2014.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.