As the twentieth century wanes, it is generally conceded that American theater came of age in the years following the first World War. With the emergence of Eugene O’Neill, the spread of the experimental theater movement, and the introduction of the "new stagecraft," the attention of the world was focused on the remarkable achievements in the American theater during a period beginning in the early 1920’s and continuing for the next fifty years. No one better represented and reflected this era than the stage artist and designer, Jo Mielziner, whose entire career almost exactly coincided with the flowering of American theatre during those years. Beginning as a disciple of Robert Edmond Jones, whose theories shook the established stage practices of his time, Mielziner matured into the finest scene and lighting designer of his time—and perhaps, of all time. For a while, he elevated scene design and the designer to an almost transcendent position in the creative theatrical collaboration without, however, distorting the function of either. His perception that the designer must penetrate the fabric of the play to provide its visual metaphor was his most important contribution. As proof of this, he worked in no set style, giving each play and musical its unique scenic image. In many cases, his perfectly realized visual interpretations for such plays as DEATH OF A SALESMAN and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and such musicals as GUYS AND DOLLS and THE KING AND I have made it almost impossible for designers who succeeded him to avoid imitation. Directly and indirectly, Mielziner trained an entire generation of designers and the reverberations of his vision are still being felt. He created scenery and lighting (and often costumes) for almost three hundred productions, ranging from Shakespeare to the lightest farce, from O’Neill to Tennessee Williams, and for musicals, opera, and ballet. Mielziner’s dissatisfaction with the theatrical architecture of his period led him to formulate his own conceptions of workable theatrical plants, which in turn brought him commissions to design, co-design, or serve as consultant on such theatres as the Vivian Beaumont in New York, the Denver Center Theater, and the Wake Forest University Theatre in North Carolina. He also received commissions for industrial and commercial projects and for such special events as the convention site in San Francisco for the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 and the lighting of the PIETÁ in the Vatican Pavilion of the 1964 Worlds’ Fair in New York.

Mary Henderson
Congers, NY

This exhibition was created with the assistance and advice of Mary C. Henderson, the author of the forthcoming biography of Jo Mielziner. It has been mounted through the courtesy of the Wake Forest University Theater with special support by the Dean of the College and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

The materials in the exhibition have been drawn from several sources. The majority of the original designs were lent by Richard Stoddard’s Performing Arts Bookshop. Most of those from his shop are for sale. Other collectors who loaned original designs were Paul Stiga, Brooklyn, NY, Robert Hansen, Greensboro, NC and Jules Fisher, NYC. The estate of Jo Mielziner kindly gave permission for exhibiting facsimiles of some of his most famous and important designs when the original scene designs and drawings could not be obtained. The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization kindly made the copy of the PAL JOEY set available for the exhibit.
Harold Tedford