Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design [Hardcover]

Mary Henderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000

Jo Mielziner (1901-1976) was an acclaimed scenic designer of the American theatre. Over five decades his career spanned the flowering of the modern theatre in the USA, and he designed many of its most famous productions, including "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Death of a Salesman", "Guys and Dolls" and "Carousel". He worked with a roster of great playwrights, directors and producers on a staggering total of 260 shows, many of them theatrical premieres, but also including ballets, operas and motion pictures. He pioneered many concepts of design - such as the capturing of a visual metaphor for the production -that are taken for granted today. His influence for succeeding generations has been enormous. This study covers his life and work and is illustrated with sketches and fully-rendered designs.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Every once in a while a book comes along that is both beautiful and informative, and this gorgeous book on the great stage designer, Jo Mielziner, is one of them. Mielziner is considered one of the greatest (perhaps the greatest) set designers of all time. He designed the original sets for A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, and Carousel and operas such as Don Giovanni. This book covers his entire career, bringing the reader into the golden world of Broadway at a time when it really was a place of magic and divine inspiration. The 140 color photos are marvelous, though one wishes for more of the larger pictures (economics, surely; the $45 price tag is a bargain). Henderson, a journalist and theater historian of international reputation, has written a fascinating text, with background details that offer insights into this crazy world. Highly recommended for all academic art and theater collections and public libraries with patron interest. Susan L. Peters, Univ. of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

For more than 50 years, from 1925 to 1976, stage designer Jo Mielziner was a force to be reckoned with on Broadway and beyond. Part of a generation that took the radical design and lighting ideas of Gordon Craig and Adolph Appia and made them their own, Mielziner designed sets for the premier productions of many of the plays we now consider modern American classics, including A Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire , and Death of a Salesman. An amazingly prolific designer, Mielziner also made his mark on American musical theater, designing shows as different as South Pacific , Guys and Dolls , and Gypsy. This glossy, lavishly illustrated, oversize book presents hundreds of Mielziner's designs and drawings, many in color, documenting the full arc of his career, from '20s work with the Theatre Guild to his final projects, assisting the design of new theaters throughout America. The fine illustrations are accompanied by Henderson's exhaustively researched, somewhat dry biography of the designer. Jack Helbig
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Back Stage Books (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823088235
• ISBN-13: 978-0823088232
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Theatre

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must, must, must have!!!, March 4, 2001

By 

"wfm1" (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design (Hardcover)

Wow!!! Ms. Henderson has written an amazing book. Not only does it have the most beautiful color reproductions of Mielziner's work I've ever seen and in profusion, but she has also written a rich and detailed biography of Jo Mielziner.

I had been waiting for this book, but it exceeded all expectations. It is a invaluable history of modern American Stage Design, covering all the important personalities in fascinating detail, tracing the artistic progression and growth of American theater.

Anyone with an interest in American Theater in the 20th Century will benefit and be informed by this book. Her breadth of knowledge is astonishing and her digressions into side alleys are always informative and fascinating. She uses facts and figures to illuminate the shifting perspectives of the "business" of Broadway. And her analysis of design trends are intelligent and enlightening. (I would only quibble with her overly positive view of Mielziner's Architectural consulting.)

As a picture book it's great! As a biography it is marvelous! As a history of 20th Century Broadway Theater it is a must have.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jo Mielziner - a forgotten genius, March 25, 2001

By 

Pauline Rulf (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design (Hardcover)

Mary Henderson has given us an invaluable insight in the world of Jo Mielziner. So often the names of creative people who ensure that a production "works" are never known or easily forgotten by the viewing audience. The set and lighting designs of Mielziner for plays and shows like A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, South Pacific, etc. were considered brilliant and groundbreaking by the theatre world of his time. Mielziner also greatly influenced modern stage design (the East Room stage in the White House and the Denver Center Theatre, for example) and with his art and creative insight put his unique stamp on the world of modern theatre until this day. An overview of his work was long overdue. But Mary Henderson has given us far more than that. She has given us Jo Mielziner, the person, by providing fascination facts and photographs of Jo's private life. The many colorful prints of his designs and the enjoyable flow of the text make this book a "must have" and a wonderful gift for anyone interested in the history of 20th century theatre.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have, June 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design (Hardcover)

This glorious book is not only visually stunning, but thoroughly researched and extremely well written. The author offers not only a true portrait of the artist and the man, but also a comprehensive look at American theater and scene design in the 20th Century. Amazingly, it is also a good read. Any potential subject of a biography can only wish for a book this good. For anyone interested in the theater, this book is truly a must-have.