Performing Arts

Collections documenting the history of avant-garde theater, musical and popular theater, vaudeville, showboats, regional theater, and film enable students and researchers to explore this rich cultural heritage. Included are the personal papers of Joseph Chaikin, Susan Yankowitz, Robert Lewis, Jean-Claude van Itallie, and Arthur Lithgow as well as the records of performing arts organizations such as Great Lakes Theater and the Open Theater. These archives and manuscript collections are supplemented by extensive printed collections of drama, playbills, sheet music, and secondary sources.