Herman Levin papers, 1943-1981

Author / Creator

Levin, Herman, 1907-1990

Available as

Physical

Summary

Papers of a leading Broadway producer. Especially rich in its coverage of the financial aspects of theatrical production, the collection also includes correspondence, contracts and Actors' Equity a...

Papers of a leading Broadway producer. Especially rich in its coverage of the financial aspects of theatrical production, the collection also includes correspondence, contracts and Actors' Equity agreements, lyrics and orchestrations, microfilmed scrapbooks, a few scripts, and miscellaneous other production records. Much of the collection relates to Levin's much-acclaimed success "My Fair Lady" (1956), with the remainder consisting of material on other major productions including "Call Me Mister" (1946), produced with Melvyn Douglas; "No Exit" (1946); "Gentlemen Prefer Blonds" (1946), which he produced in collaboration with Oliver Smith; "The Girl Who Came to Supper" (1963); the award-winning "The Great White Hope" (1968); and a controversial "Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen" (1970).

The material on "My Fair Lady" includes files not only on its long Broadway run, but also on its national, British, and Russian touring companies, and its 1976 Broadway revival. The collection's film is a documentary concerning the production's visit to Moscow in 1960. Also included are legal documents relating to litigation over this musical which involved CBS, Actors' Equity, and the Mark Hellinger Theatre.

Scattered correspondence includes letters from many prominent individuals who were involved in Levin's productions, as well as from many others who were admirers of his work. Among these are Julie Andrews, Burt Bacharach, Cecil Beaton, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Alexander Cohen, Katherine Cornell, Noel Coward, Hume Cronyn, Agnes de Mille, Jose Ferrer, Rex Harrison, Moss Hart, Florence Henderson, Stanley Holloway, Alfred Knopf, Jr., Jo Mielziner, Richard M. Nixon, Richard Rodgers, Eleanor Roosevelt, Wolfgang Roth, and James Thurber.

The collection also contains orchestrations by Jule Styne and Frederick Loewe; a photocopy of the score for "Lincoln Portrait" by Aaron Copland; blueprints of set designs by Oliver Smith; sound recordings of "The Girl Who Came to Supper" and "The Great White Hope"; a typed script for "After the Ball" by Noel Coward; and a few boxes which relate to Levin's early work as a theatrical agent and to plays rejected for production.

The processed portion is summarized above and is described in the register. Additional accessions are described below and consist of tape recordings relevant to "The Great White Hope."

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