Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2007 - 71

book

reviews
Arnold Wengrow

editor

The Designs of Tharon Musser
By Delbert Unruh, with Marilyn Rennagel
and Jeff Davis, foreword by Richard Pilbrow;
Syracuse, NY, United States Institute of Theatre
Technology, 2007. 127 pp. Paper, $30.00
(USITT members), $35.00 (nonmember).
Reviewed by Peter Kaczorowski
After monographs on the seminal careers of
costume designer Willa Kim and scenic designer Ming Cho Lee, USITT's documentary series
on America's best theatrical designers continues
with possibly the most famous, most celebrated,
and most revered lighting designer in the history of the profession, the great Tharon Musser.
For those of us of a certain age who got to
New York when Tharon Musser was very much
the "Number One" (as she wistfully proclaims
herself midway through the book in a charming
and melancholy conversation with lighting designer and former assistant Ken Billington), for
those who had the opportunity to see her work
on a regular basis and even had the unbelievable good luck to sit and have a drink or two
with her, the book is a conﬁrmation of the greatness of the woman, of her talent, of her generosity, her pluck, and her vision.
For the younger generation of designers not so fortunate, the book is an essential
primer on how to go about ﬁnding one's way
in the profession, how to commit oneself, and
how to comport oneself. It unveils an incredible
life story full of hard work, tenacity, some good
fortune, and above all, respect for others. Either
generation would have to conclude that there
could not possibly have been a more perfect
standard bearer for the infant lighting profession than Tharon Musser.
Finally, the book is for anyone who wants
to read an inspiring story about an amazing
woman who, along with a few others, created
a great profession and then rose to the top of
it, all the while collaborating with the titans of
the industry and designing some of the most cel-

THEATRE

DESIGN

ebrated productions in the history of Broadway.
Delbert Unruh's book is laid out chronologically and therefore begins with some adversity. Family circumstances dictated the infant
Kathleen Welland would have to be placed in
an orphanage. But approximately three years
later, good fortune graced the young girl. She
was adopted by loving parents, George and Hazel Musser of Roanoke, Virginia. They renamed
her Tharon and, along with her revered and beloved Aunt Flo, taught her many practical skills,
the value of hard work and the importance of
education. After an adolescence ﬁlled with carpentry and tanning and animal care, it was time
for college. To pay for books, travel, and some
new clothes, she sold the calf she had nursed
back to health (I swear it's true) and in 1942
enrolled at Berea college.
It's here Tharon succumbs to the theatre
virus, ﬁnds a mentor, and spends four years
working intensely with him at the aptly and perhaps prophetically named Tabernacle, the college theatre. That experience, and some serious
chutzpah, gets her into the Yale School of Drama, where a typical class day included sessions
with Edward Cole, Stanley McCandless, Donald
Oenslager, and George Izenour. But adversity
arrives again in the form of poverty. For Musser
to make some money so she can ﬁnish school,
a friend gets her a job in Alaska as the TD on
a USO show for which Musser organizes an ad

TECHNOLOGY
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2007

hoc crew of soldiers to set it up, take it down,
and ﬂy it from one military base to the next. She
even talks them into letting her occasionally pilot the aircraft!
In 1950, Musser ﬁnished Yale and began
her professional career. By all reckoning, these
were very humble and moneyless beginnings.
Five or six years later, her work with José Limon
caught the eye of José Quintero, who coaxed her
into doing the lighting for the 1956 premiere of
Long Day's Journey into Night. How's that for a
Broadway debut?
So begins Tharon Musser's career in earnest. It's here that the book cannily introduces
the voices of Musser's assistants through the
years, as well as the development of 21 Cornelia
St., her home, into the prestigious lighting enclave it became. There are plenty of lovely quotes
from Musser herself, but much of the poignant
and insightful detail comes through the voices
of the assistants. The details of these relationships give the book its biggest impact. Don't get
me wrong, the inside stories of the original productions of The Entertainer, Mame, Applause,
Follies, A Little Night Music, A Chorus Line,
Dreamgirls, and Ballroom are thrilling to read.
But just as thrilling and inspiring are the quantity and quality of the relationships in Musser's
life and the great value she places on them. Her
indebtedness as a poor student to her "saviors"
Ed and Alice Cole ("Ed passed any jobs my way
that he thought I could handle; Alice cut my
hair. I owe them a lot") is palpable. Her love
for stagehands is legend but I found this quote
disarmingly beautiful, "Electricians are my best
friends. I love 'em. Particularly the Lynch Family-I've been brought up by them, I feel."
And her assistants have been brought up by
her. There are more than twenty, all pretty much
household names to anyone in the theatre. They
are credited in the book's "Musser University
Alumni" time line section detailing which shows
each did with her. Richard Winkler's story about
accepting the A Chorus Line gig is priceless.
Anne Sullivan's ﬁrst meeting with Tharon is also
told charmingly in Sullivan's own words.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2007