On December 3, 1947, A Streetcar Named Desire opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City. It was the third full-length play by Tennessee Williams, a 36-year-old writer whose Broadway debut, The Glass Menagerie, was just two years earlier. Streetcar ran for more than two years clocking in at 855 performances, the longest …
The following is a guest post by Music Division Specialist Loras John Schissel who has compiled letters and diary entries from Ned Rorem illuminating the composer’s relationship with the Music Division at the Library of Congress. Look not to things that are seen, but to that which is unseen; for things that are seen pass …
The following is a guest post from Music Division Archivist Janet McKinney. Explore the life and work of accomplished composer Dana Suesse (1909-1987) through a collection of her papers, newly available in the Music Division! Dana Suesse (born Nadine Dana Suesse, 1909-1987) was a child piano prodigy who began performing in vaudeville shows at the …
It feels great to be able to announce the full return of Concerts from the Library of Congress to the Coolidge Auditorium! We have a wonderful series planned for you this year, to be revealed in two parts. You can read the press release for the fall segment here. While we will continue to have …
This is the final installment in a 4-part series about archived performing arts web content in the Library's Coronavirus Web Archive. This final post focuses on web archives that correspond to archival documents in the Music Division's Performing Arts COVID-19 Response Collection.
The following is a guest post from Music Division Archivist Janet McKinney. By their very nature, the performing arts depend on the key element of live interaction. But what happens to this art when that component is taken away? In March 2020, concert halls, theaters, and other live performance venues were forced to close their …
In honor of National Tap Dance Day, here is the second part of Dance Curator Libby Smigel’s interview with Debbi Dee. Earlier this month, Debbi Dee shared her memories of learning tap dancing as a child and becoming an award-winning teacher. In the second half of the interview, Dee explains how her career grew into …