#Ziegfeld Theater

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Joseph Urban, Two Mural Panels for the Ziegfeld Theatre: The Joy of Life, 1927. Oil on canvas. Above, as seen at the Cleveland Museum of Art exhibit on Jazz Age art and design.

Urban was also the architect of the theater. He said he wanted it to be a place where "people coming out of crowded hours and through crowded streets, may find life carefree, bright and leisured."

Top photo: patrons.org Bottom photo: .themagazineantiques.com

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Apparently Tumblr hasn’t sprung forward yet, so my queued posts are off by one hour. To hold you until then, here’s the old (new) Ziegfeld Theater in 1927.

February 2, 1927 The new Ziegfeld Theatre opened with the Ziegfeld-produced hit musical “Rio Rita”, with a cast of over 100. From Broadway Remembered, FB.

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

Kae Carroll in the Ziegfeld Follies, c. 1925-1927

[diemelusine]

Photographic portrait of Fanny Brice at the Ziegfeld Follies (1918) by Alfred Cheney Johnston.

[radianttruthsii]

Anna Held, 1901

"I embrace you and I love you. You are so beautiful. You are so good."

[redhairclara]

Justine Johnstone photographed by Ira L. Hill, 1918. From my collection.

[tarynisbunhead]

Sybil Carmen (1896 - 1929) American actress, dancer, and Ziegfeld girl

https://www.redbubble.com/people/princessbunhead/works/145320285-sybil

[jenthehumanist]

My grandfather was a contemporary of George M Cohen and Florenz Zeigfield.

My dad is the product of my grandfather's 3rd married. My grandfather was born in 1875. My dad was born in 1933. I'm the baby of my family.

He was a theatrical manager. He had been treasurer for the National Theater in Washington and was a play producer in NYC.

At the end of WWI, the NYC Police Reserves created a "theatrical regiment." And my grandfather - Jed F Shaw - was captain of Company G. George M Cohen was in Company A. Florenz Ziegfeld is listed as a member along with many others.

It's crazy what you find when you do genealogy. I knew he was a play producer in NY and other places. But - I didn't realize who he was a contemporary with. It's one thing to know facts. It's another to know facts in context. According to his obit in the NY times, he apparently 'assisted' John Barrymore, George Arliss and someone famous with the last name Hart - who was probably Lorenz Hart.

This is super funny to my son as he has come to believe our family has Forest Gumped our way through history. Always in the background of famous people and events.

[world-of-celebs]

Cameron Diaz at the World premiere of 'Bad Teacher' held at The Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on 20th June 2011.

[citizenscreen]

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater (aka Hammerstein's Olympia Theatre) in New York City on July 7, 1907. #OnThisDay

[philiponmycracker]

Actor Tom Hulce attends the premiere of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at the Ziegfeld Theater June 20, 1996 in New York City.

Quasimodo has always been my Disney Prince, one and only. Fell in love with his kindness, courage and angelic voice. The wee child me had no idea a man could have such a singing voice. I remember the shock I felt first time I heard "Out There". Truely unforgettable.

Bless the 90s Disney for this perfect casting. Even putting aside the stunning voice, and the physical aspect with all those endearing little "flaws" (lopsided eyes, odd nose, eternal baby-face), just listening to him talk you realize what a kind, modest, loving and passionate soul he is. Everything I loved about Quasimodo is there when I look at his kind eyes, and it fills me with immense joy I cannot even put into words.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Josephine Baker during her Ziegfeld Follies performance of "The Conga" at the Winter Garden Theater, February 11, 1936. Her appearance in Broadway's "Going to Town" was the first since she left the United States ten years before.

Photo: Associated Press via the Sarasota Herald Tribune

[claudestar2017]

David Bowie at the premiere of Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the Ziegfeld Theater, New York, Nov 15, 1977 © Fred W. McDarrah

[kayflapper]

Hilda Ferguson was born Hildegarde Gibbons on January 16, 1903 in Baltimore, Maryland. Hilda was one of six children. When she was a child she studied dancing and acted in local theater productions. She married Robert Ugarte, a dentist, on June 2, 1919. The following year she gave birth to a daughter named Emily. Soon after she separated from her husband and moved to New York City. Hilda made her Broadway debut in the 1922 show Music Box Revue. In March of 1923 her roommate, actress Dot King, was found murdered. The story made headlines all over the country and she was interviewed by the police numerous times. Dot's murder has never been solved. Hilda was asked to join the Ziegfeld Follies in the Fall of 1923. She had a stunning figure and was known for her "shimmy" dancing. Her admirers had nicknamed her "The Body". Hilda's many lovers included actor George Raft, composer Arthur Gershwin, and bootlegger Nucky Johnson. She loved expensive jewelry and had a collection worth more than one million dollars. Unfortunately she also had a serious drinking problem. 

[chambersandfogg]

October 18th, 1921

My dear Mr. Fogg,

What wonderful news! Mister Ziegfeld is certainly unprepared for the competition you’re going to levy against him. Is the theater already fit for mounting productions? If I remember that building correctly, it has always housed a theater, yes? Though I’ve no doubt that you’ll wish to make your own modifications. Whenever it is ready and you premiere your first show, I’ll be in the audience opening night. Just send me the details the moment you have them.

I know you said you don’t have intentions toward making it a magic act, but before you give yourself over entirely to producing musical comedies, I’d urge you to consider a short run of your own. I know that Fogg the Fearless hasn’t performed in many years, nor would you—or should you—want to connect your face with his name at this juncture, but there’s nothing to say you couldn’t create a new stage persona. You were always a terribly talented magician, John, loathe though I am to admit it, and you would be astounded at what modern technology enables in illusion. I would very much like to see what you’d do with it.

That said, the old tricks are as prevalent as ever, and I do mean tricks. The world of entertainment—even the world of thought and discourse in some cases!—is full of mal-intented characters determined to convince his fellow man that spirits are real. While you’ve been busy re-entering the theatrical sphere as a producer with gold-lined pockets, I’ve also been dipping my toe back into our old profession, but this time on the side of the skeptic.

Perhaps you won’t be surprised to hear it. After all, we would get into long arguments all those years ago about the merits of belief versus cold hard facts, with myself always coming down on the side of ‘dullards and fun-killers’ as I believe you put it. Even after our little mishap, it took me many years to believe in anything even close to magic, as you well know. And this is not to say that I do believe in magic—I am as convinced as ever that what has happened to us is a matter of science we do not yet understand—but I do consider myself a more open-minded person. I would go on about how I owe that flexibility in gray matter to you, but I wouldn’t want to inflate your ego even further. I’m sure it is at risk of carrying your head up into the sky now that you own a building that occupies an entire city block of Manhattan.

All this to say, our peculiar circumstances and my willingness to be proven wrong aside, I no more believe in magic now than I did ten years ago. And, you would think, with science and progress moving forward as it does, that that would be true for the general populace world over. And yet the myths persist! Mediums, psychics, and fortune tellers abound. And they are as greedy and tricksome as ever. So, I have taken it upon myself to unmask them.

That’s right, I have made my fun-ruining an art and a job. I’m just getting started, but I’ve so far thoroughly enjoyed following in the footsteps of our colleague, Houdini. This is one area in which I do not mind that we’re both going after the same goal, as I think the endeavor is a pure and civic-minded one. I’ve attended countless séances and the like, and I do supremely hope that one day I shall bear witness to something I cannot explain away, but for now, I am getting great pleasure out of revealing the schemes and strategies these charlatans use to bamboozle those who are willing to pay to have some measure of comfort brought to their lives.

I do not know that I would be bothered so greatly by the falsehoods were they simply in the service of entertainment. But these people are preying on the tenderest emotions that human beings have—grief, hope, and love. A psychic cannot tell you with certainty that your future holds great things, even if it is heartening to hear so in low times. A medium cannot connect you with those whom you have lost, no matter how desperately you wish to speak to them again. If such a talent were real, I know I would pay no small sum to converse with my parents once more. It is only my experience in the art of illusion that prevents me from being taken in by this promise.

If you do include some magic in your new theater, I would implore you to leave out these more manipulative arts. I know that these kinds of gatherings are popular—I certainly get enough invitations to them—but I believe they are, at their core, cruel. And I have never known you to be cruel.

In any case, please write back what you do plan to mount on your new stage. I am eager to see it. Until that time, I am,

Sincerely Yours, CXC

[a letter received by J.S. Fogg]

[to read the pre-1917 entries, join Atypical Artists and get access to the archive of 24 entries (5,000+ words), as well as ad-free episodes of Atypical's whole catalogue. to receive future monthly missives straight to your inbox, sign up for free here]

[jgroffdaily]

The Drama League has announced its 2024 Special Recognition Honorees, who will be recognized at The 90th Annual Drama League Awards for their outstanding contributions to the theatre industry.

Two-time Tony nominee Jonathan Groff, currently on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Award. Director Schele Williams will be honored with the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing; she is represented this season with the Broadway-bound revival of The Wiz and the new musical The Notebook (Williams co-directs the latter with Michael Greif).

As previously reported, the 2024 Drama League Awards, celebrating work on Broadway and off, will be held May 17 in Manhattan at the Ziegfeld Ballroom hosted by Emmy winner Frank DiLella. To be eligible for nomination, productions must open by April 20. Nominations for this year's awards will be revealed April 22 at 10 AM ET at the New York Library for the Performing Arts.

The Drama League Awards are among the oldest theatrical honors in America, having been first presented in 1922 and subsequently formalized in 1935. It recognizes work playing Broadway and Off-Broadway. The awards are determined by Drama League members, a group that includes award-winning actors, designers, directors, playwrights, producers, industry veterans, critics, and dedicated audiences from across the nation.

The ceremony culminates in the presentation of the Distinguished Performance Award, which goes to one artist a year and can only be won once in an artist’s lifetime. Recent winners have included Annaleigh Ashford for Sweeney Todd, Glenda Jackson for Three Tall Women, Ben Platt for Dear Evan Hansen, and Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton.

Jonathans award is for his outstanding work on stage as part of the musical theater community.