Jun 5, 2025 11:00 EST
Stage & Screen
560
An extraordinary copy of Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
The Glass Menagerie, or the Gentleman Caller. A play. N.p.: n.d., before November 8, 1944. Inscribed by Williams on the title page to Jo Mielziner, the noted scenery and lighting designer for the original Broadway production, with Mielziner's ownership stamp on the cover and first blank, the latter also with Mielziner's dated signature (the cover dated in another hand). Typed sheets secured with brass split pins, housed in original thin green card wrappers (with Rialto Service Bureau sticker on upper cover). 11 x 8 1/2 inches (21 x 21 cm); unpaginated but apparently complete. The covers worn, separating at the spine, several chips to covers, minor creasing to leaves etc.
This is Jo Mielziner's carbon copy script (numbered 6 on the cover) received the year before the play was to go into rehearsal. Mielziner has underlined elements in the text that he thinks might be incorporated into his designs for the production, and he has appended occasional pencil comments to the stage directions by Williams. On the page with the author's suggestions for lighting, he writes "wonderful!"
Mielziner's set design, coupled with his lighting effects, were consequential to the success of the three plays (The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Summer and Smoke) on which he worked with Williams. Light and its symbolism was something with which Williams was acutely concerned, and Mielziner was uniquely qualified to realize his vision. Menagerie was their first collaboration and is a milestone in the history of theater.
These scripts were distributed to the director, designer and producer before rehearsal so that they could plan the production, and therefore contain the original version of the play previous to rewrites. The Glass Menagerie went into rehearsal in late November 1944 and played the first performance of its pre-Broadway tryout on December 26, 1944 at the Civic Theatre in Chicago. It opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre on March 31, 1945. The first copyright, as an unpublished play, was for a later version registered March 13, 1945. The published version was registered on July 31, 1945.
Sold for $11,520
Estimated at $1,500 - $2,500
Includes Buyer's Premium
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
The Glass Menagerie, or the Gentleman Caller. A play. N.p.: n.d., before November 8, 1944. Inscribed by Williams on the title page to Jo Mielziner, the noted scenery and lighting designer for the original Broadway production, with Mielziner's ownership stamp on the cover and first blank, the latter also with Mielziner's dated signature (the cover dated in another hand). Typed sheets secured with brass split pins, housed in original thin green card wrappers (with Rialto Service Bureau sticker on upper cover). 11 x 8 1/2 inches (21 x 21 cm); unpaginated but apparently complete. The covers worn, separating at the spine, several chips to covers, minor creasing to leaves etc.
This is Jo Mielziner's carbon copy script (numbered 6 on the cover) received the year before the play was to go into rehearsal. Mielziner has underlined elements in the text that he thinks might be incorporated into his designs for the production, and he has appended occasional pencil comments to the stage directions by Williams. On the page with the author's suggestions for lighting, he writes "wonderful!"
Mielziner's set design, coupled with his lighting effects, were consequential to the success of the three plays (The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Summer and Smoke) on which he worked with Williams. Light and its symbolism was something with which Williams was acutely concerned, and Mielziner was uniquely qualified to realize his vision. Menagerie was their first collaboration and is a milestone in the history of theater.
These scripts were distributed to the director, designer and producer before rehearsal so that they could plan the production, and therefore contain the original version of the play previous to rewrites. The Glass Menagerie went into rehearsal in late November 1944 and played the first performance of its pre-Broadway tryout on December 26, 1944 at the Civic Theatre in Chicago. It opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre on March 31, 1945. The first copyright, as an unpublished play, was for a later version registered March 13, 1945. The published version was registered on July 31, 1945.
Auction: Stage & Screen, Jun 5, 2025
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Popular Stage & Screen Auction on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 11am
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Memorabilia, Autographs, Artwork & Photographs of the Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance
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Hosted in Collaboration with the Entertainment Community Fund (Formerly the Actors Fund)
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle hosted the popular Stage & Screen auction on June 5, 2025. Fans and collectors around the world vied for exciting offerings celebrating the performing arts of Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance.
The Glass Menagerie
Highlighting the sale was an extraordinary script of The Glass Menagerie, inscribed by Tennessee Williams to Jo Mielziner, the celebrated set and lighting designer. Mielziner’s annotated carbon copy, it sold for $11,520, many times its $1,500-2,500 estimate. His notes reveal early design ideas, including “wonderful!” beside Williams’ lighting suggestions. This script predates rewrites and was issued before rehearsals began in late November 1944. Their first collaboration, Menagerie became a theatrical milestone, with Mielziner’s visionary designs playing a crucial role in its success and in later Williams-Meilziner productions, A Streetcar Named Desire and Summer and Smoke.
The Entertainment Community Fund
Recognizing the importance of the performing arts to the fabric of New York, Doyle is proud to collaborate on this auction with the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Lots 501 through 519 were auctioned to directly benefit the Fund, and Doyle will donate 100% of our Buyer's Premium on these lots. Featured are stylish costumes from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. For further information on the Entertainment Community Fund, visit EntertainmentCommunity.org
Property of Technical Production Manager Jake Bell
Jake Bell has had a legendary career in the theater as Technical Production Manager for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's iconic musicals. Bell managed some of the most dazzling and technologically advanced stage elements in theater history: the famous falling chandelier in The Phantom of the Opera, the flying helicopter in Miss Saigon, the barricade of Les Misérables and so much more. Among the collection's highlights are annotated production books, scripts, props and memorabilia from Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, A Chorus Line and Phantom of the Opera, including a stage-worn Phantom mask presented to Bell at the April 2023 closing performance. View Lots
The Estate of Tony Roberts
New York native Tony Roberts (1939–2025) was a prolific stage and screen actor with a career spanning over six decades. A two-time Tony award nominee, he appeared in 23 Broadway productions, among them David Merrick’s Barefoot in the Park, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Promises, Promises, for which he won the London Critics Poll Award for the West End production. Among his numerous screen credits are six Woody Allen films, including Annie Hall, Play It Again, Sam and Star-Spangled Girl. He performed in New York City Opera's Brigadoon and South Pacific, and played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden. Collection highlights feature original illustrations by Al Hirschfeld depicting Roberts in Arsenic and Old Lace and Doubles, his script from Star Spangled Girl, and a large group of awards and memorabilia. View Lots
“Costume Bibles” of Barbara Matera
Barbara Matera (1929-2001) was one of the foremost costume designers and creators of costumes on Broadway, working on more than 100 shows between the 1970s to the early 2000s. It was her invariable practice to create a costume bible for every show, with copies of the original designs, specimens of the fabrics used, and notes on the sources of those fabrics. This enabled repairs and new copies of costumes to be consistently assembled over the course of a show. Featured in the sale are costume bibles for Angels in America, Evita, La Cage aux Folles, Phantom of the Opera, RENT and even the Rolling Stones 1994 Voodoo Lounge Tour. View Lots
