Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2009 - 47

Fitsch frequently attended dance performances and operas. He created vibrant images of vaudeville and burlesque
shows and images of the occasional movie house. His usual
position was high in the auditorium and at an angle to the stage,
often giving a view both of the stage and of a portion of the auditorium. He showed orchestras playing, audience members in
side boxes, and actors on the stage. None of these images offer
a view backstage. In several, only the auditorium and not the
performance is visible. One of the grandest houses he drew is
shown in the print Tannhauser. Fitsch notes this as a production of the Metropolitan Opera, but the architecture does not
match that of the old Metropolitan Opera House. Since Tannhauser was produced at a number of other locations during
the period, it's possible Fitsch saw it elsewhere. His only auditorium image that doesn't show a performance or rehearsal
on stage is a print of the Provincetown Playhouse showing the
auditorium from the rear of the house just prior to the curtain.
There are a number of themes in Fitsch's drawings, such
as high angles drawn from the fly galleries, images of actors
waiting to enter, stagehands and electricians working on stage,
or lighting rehearsals with ladders placed onstage while all
around are actors and stagehands going about their business.
His apparent love of dance ran the gamut from burlesque to
classical, and is seen in his images of dance halls, burlesque
theatres, recitals at the Guild Theatre, and images of the Ziegfeld girls. His interest in music is apparent in his depictions of

pit orchestras and rehearsals at Carnegie Hall.
Eugene Fitsch's reputation was well established by 1933
when he was allowed access to the backstage of the newly
opened Radio City Music Hall. He completed one of the earliest
visual representations of the space in a series of twelve pastels following his initial visits to the theatre. He exhibited these
images in the lobby of the Music Hall in April 1935 and was
subsequently given further access to wander about backstage
to continue his sketching. The resulting images show the grand
scale of the hall. billed as the largest theatre in the world, the
size of the space is evident in Fitsch's work. The first show at
Radio City Music Hall was in late december 1932 and included
dancers Martha Graham and Harald Kreutzberg both of whom
would appear in other works by Fitsch.
Fitsch contributed a number of street scenes that record the vitality of NYC during the 1920s and '30s. Probably
his most recognized lithograph is Gay White Way produced in
1927, shown at several galleries over the years and published
in Harper's magazine. It is a striking collage of all the cars and
trucks, signs, buildings, and lights making up the theatre district in 1927. Fitsch's vividly impressionistic scene is sharp with
light and shadow, using high contrast to illuminate the scene of
a dark night illuminated by glittering lights. In most of his street
scenes, the viewer feels a great sense of movement and urgency.
Images of Times Square and recognizable theatres like the New
Amsterdam, the Roxy and Rivoli are included along with the

S U M M E R

2009

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2009