[Mielziner, Joseph “Jo”] Henderson, Mary C.

Mielziner – Master of Modern Stage Design. Foreword by Frank Rich.

New York, Back Stage Books, 2001. Oblong-Quarto. 320 pages. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket in protective collector’s mylar. Excellent condition with only minor signs of wear. Rare Out-of-Print-title !

Joseph “Jo” Mielziner (March 19, 1901, in Paris – March 15, 1976, in New York City) was an American theatrical scenic, and lighting designer born in Paris, France. He is “the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Broadway”, and worked on both stage plays and musicals.
He was the son of artist Leo Mielziner, Sr. (son of a rabbi), and Ella (née Friend), a writer, and brother of actor-director Kenneth MacKenna. He studied at the Art Students League and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Mielziner was considered one of the most influential theatre designers of the 20th century, designing the scenery and often the lighting for more than 200 productions, many of which became American classics. He “pioneered ‘selective realism’ in scenic design”. According to his obituary, he was perhaps “praised most often…for his sweeping canvas of people under the Brooklyn Bridge, used as a backdrop for Maxwell Anderson’s Winterset.

After his education and spending 13 months in Europe “absorbing the revolutionary changes occurring in traditional stage design”, in 1923 he worked for the Theatre Guild in New York as an assistant stage manager and bit actor. Mielziner’s Broadway debut as a designer was in 1927 with The Guardsman, for which he designed the scenery and lighting. His other Broadway credits include the original productions of Sweet and Low, Another Part of the Forest, Winterset, Oh, Captain!, Dodsworth, Strange Interlude, Carousel, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Gypsy, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, as well as the film Picnic and the ballet Who Cares?. He won the Academy Award for best color art direction for his work on Picnic.
During World War II, Mielziner worked as a camouflage specialist with the United States Air Force.
In the course of his career, Mielziner won seven Tony Awards and was nominated for another five. His influence extended outside of the theatre. He was acquainted with the American artist Edward Hopper, who is said to have modeled his well-known painting Early Sunday Morning after Mielziner’s set for Elmer Rice’s play Street Scene, produced in 1929.
Mielziner designed the theater at Wake Forest University and co-designed the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center with architect Eero Saarinen.
He resided for many years at The Dakota and can be seen working in his studio in an exterior shot in the film Rosemary’s Baby. He died on March 15, 1976, in New York City.
Recently, his scenic designs for the original production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman were re-created for the 2012 Broadway revival starring Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, Andrew Garfield and Linda Emond. Director Mike Nichols stated that he felt he needed Mielziner’s original set because it was “intimately connected with the way the play developed.” He went on to say he has never seen anything “near as good in any of the productions of ‘Salesman’ because it’s everything and nothing.” (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: Bühnenbild · Bühnenbilder · Bühnenbildner · Catalogue Winter 2020 / 2021 · Design · Design – Rare · History of Art – Rare · Inanna Modern – Art Books · Set Design · Theatre · Theatre – Rare · Theatre Design
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823088235
• Inventory Number: 27523AB

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