Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1977 - 37

book is its poor visual presentation. With some exceptions, the
photographs and drawings seem to be crammed, cropped and
captioned with little forethought. This shortcoming is not only
unfair to the many exciting designs and photographs in the book,
but ultimately it ranks the book as a simply useful and valuable
edition rather than a brilliant and beautiful one.
Syvalya Eichen

Toronto

graphs capture many famous and nostalgic moments in musical
theatre history. There is a wealth of information in the book
ranging from important to trivial, and the question-answer format
offers the reader a challenge that is hard to refuse. This is a fun
book and an interesting one. It should delight and tantalize
anyone who enjoys musical theatre.
W. Joseph Stell
University of Georgia
CORRECTION: A book review of The Evolution of
Fashion appeared in the Fall, 1977 issue. The review

THE NEW YORK STAGE: FAMOUS PRODUCTIONS IN
PHOTOGRAPHS
edited by Stanley Applebaum
New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1976
ISBN 0-486-23241·7
154 pp., 148 illus.,S4.50
THE BROADWAY MUSICAL: A PICTURE QUIZ BOOK
by Stanley Green
New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1977
ISBN 0-486-23403·7
128 pp., 230 illus., S3.50
These paperbound publications from Dover offer two different photographic views of the theatre, and each provides its own
special fascination. The New York Stage, edited by Stanley Applebaum, is a collection of 148 production photographs taken between 1883-1939, and selected from the archives of the Museum
of the City of New York. Beginning with the first photograph
ever made of a complete scene onstage, the collection includes
many of the most famous productions of the period: Cyrano de
Bergerac (1898), The Girl of the Golden West (1905), Salvation
Nell (1908), The Emperor Jones (1920), Liliom (1921), The
Miracle (1924), The Great God Brown (1926), Porgy (1927),
Street Scene (1929), The Band Wagon (1931), Ah Wilderness
(1933), Awake and Sing! (1935), High Tor (1937), and The Man
Who Came to Dinner (1939), to mention but a few. While some
of the photographs included are familiar, many have not been
published before except in early periodicals. All are accompanied
by complete production credits, identification of the major actors
shown, and a brief description of the moment in the play illustrated.
"How did that famous or notorious play look?" was the
principal criterion for selection of photographs, and emphasis
was placed on the visual aspects of production. The majority
of the photographs encompass the full stage with all scenery,
and those with smaller focus still depict major elements of costume and decor. For that reason, this book is of special interest
to designers, and there are several instances where realized settings
may be compared to the original design sketches found in such
books as Robert Edmond Jones' Drawings for the Theatre and
Jo Mielziner's Designing for the Theatre. All of the photographs
are large sized (almost 8" x 10") and most are extremely clear
and detailed, although the practical problems of early photography necessitated flat and unnatural lighting for most of those
taken before 1920. The growth of scenic design from the painted
backgrounds of the late 19th century to the stylization of the
New Stagecraft is clearly documented, as is the advancement of
scenic technology during the same interval. This book is both
interesting and useful to designers, directors, historians, or, for
that matter, anyone who is interested in the visual documentation
of an important period in American Theatre history.
The Broadway Musical by Stanley Green provides visual documentation of another sort. Here photographs of important andlor
interesting moments in the development of the American musical
theatre are accompanied by questions designed to challenge even
the most informed musical theatre scholar. Fortunately, for those
who are not blessed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of musicals,
author Green has provided the answers in the rear of the book.
Subject headings for the photographic quiz include: Operettas,
Black Stars, Funny Girls and Boys, Revues, Shakespearean Sources,
Dance, Musicals Adapted from Plays, Revivals, as well as a long
list of famous personalities ranging from George M. Cohan to
Mary Martin and Gwen Verdon. The topic range is wide, the shows
mentioned number in the hundreds, the time span covers the
entire 20th century and a portion of the 19th, and the 230 photo·

I USITT I

failed to mention that the book is published in the United
States by Drama Book Specialists, publishers of New York
City.

MOTIVES, Continued from

Page 27

We do not fully appreciate the experiments carried out
by some companies and by some architects; although we
are allowed to criticize, we are given the chance by them
and not by those who believe only in traditions.
To avoid misunderstanding, I would like to say that I
have nothing against functionalism, but that one of the
mistakes of functionalism has been the accent on what is
functional in a material point of view, whereas my speech
is supposed to be an argument for what is functional
in an immaterial point of view, the psychological functional element. The latter, unfortu nately, has not been
studied completely.
I n my opinion the psychological function is the most
important function. The fantastic space-effect of some
of the old theatres makes us long for a more profound
study of this field. Our study should not so much concern
the "what" as the "why."
*

BEVERL Y HILLS, Continued from

Page 30

the rallying point around which we can objectively view
what we must do. As I write this, a month has gone by
and on the surface all is smooth and mundane. However,
underneath there are meetings, there are committees
and there are strong moves to legislate every item which
can be a law for fire safety. As I have said, these are not
the important ideas. What we must know is that we must
come together on common ground, put ourselves in
the front lines, and submit our work, our research, our
interest, our willingness to aid in all possible ways toward
the reduction and the cessation of all these large conflagrations. Now is the time to be honest and candid about
our role and our situations. What is occuring, off screen,
will affect you and your future. Don't be misled into
believing that it won't. You must examine the conditions
and situations, the obvious violations and negligence, your
own situation, the articles, the accident data, the deaths,
the reports, the 8100 million in law suits from that one
fire alone, the reactions of the insurance carriers, the
fire departments, the building inspectors, and the several
agencies of enforcement. All of it creates a backlash and
we will be affected. Also, please don't think that the
entire flurry of activity we spoke of in the beginning
means a phalanx of entry into your area. There will be
some. It will be shortlived. It is up to you, on an objective basis, to continue the constant enforcement and upgrading of the methods for effective health, safety and
fire prevention in your attitudes, your employment,
and with your human and physical resources. To do

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

WINTER,1977

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1977