Beneath the chandeliers of the stately McGregor Room on the second floor of Alderman Library, a new special collections exhibit celebrates the rich history of the American stage.
The exhibit, entitled "In the Brilliancy of the Footlights: Creating America's Theatre," will be on display through October 26.
According to theater exhibit curator Margaret Hrabe, the selected items largely were taken from the Clifton Waller Barrett Library, a section of the special collections library that houses over two centuries of American literature.
Other items were taken from various locations around the country.
Included in the American theater exhibit are manuscripts, letters, programs, edited scripts, photographs and drawings protected under glass, as well as original playbills hung above the display cases.
The extensive collection includes British influences such as Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, early twentieth century Americans such as Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams and modern dramatists such as Arthur Miller and Edward Albee.
"There's a copy of a volume of Shakespeare that Thomas Jefferson owned," Hrabe said. "We have it open to the page where he put his initials."
There also are sections devoted to black playwrights, women playwrights, theatrical critics, regional theater and even the history of drama at the University.
"There's an early 1890s photo of a cast of a [University] theatrical production where male students are playing female roles," Hrabe said.
The photograph was a source of amusement for Drama Prof. Stephen Railton's American Drama class, which he held in the McGregor Room one class period during the first summer session.
"It was an excellent way to teach the material," Railton said. Hrabe "did a good job in telling a story about American drama."
Drama Prof. John Frick also got involved in the project by writing a pamphlet summarizing the history of American drama.
The exhibit includes such valuable pieces as Shakespeare's 1632 second folio and playbills for performances of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which ran in various forms for more than 75 years.
In addition, the collection also contains the playbill for the performance of "Our American Cousin" held in Ford's Theater the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated as well as Tennessee Williams' manuscript for "The Glass Menagerie."
Special Collections coordinator Mercy Quintos said the exhibit "definitely seems quite popular" with viewers. But Hrabe said she hoped more people would come to see the items on display.
"This week the publicity packets have gone out to various media," Hrabe said. Railton said he hopes more students will take advantage of the special collections exhibits.
"I was saddened to find how many students coming up on their fourth year who've never seen special collections," he said.
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