Harry M. Bagdasian Theatre Posters Collection
Abstract
The Harry M. Bagdasian Theatre Posters Collection consists of 68 posters from the Washington, DC theatre community. The posters are from a variety of theatres, but predominantly those of Arena Stage, Ford's Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center. Mr. Bagdasian (b. 1949) collected these posters out of his own interest in theatre local to DC. He is an active participant in the professional theatre community of the Washington, DC metro area as an author (specializing in comedy), director, producer, stage manager, and speaker coach. Mr. Bagdasian was also a founding member of the New Playwrights' Theatre Company, which he led from 1972 through 1984.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
The collection is open for research use.
Harry M. Bagdasian Theatre Posters Collection, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
Materials from this collection must be used in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Contact the curator for an appointment: http://www.lib.umd.edu/scpa/contact
This collection is PROCESSED.
Historical Note
Harry M. Bagdasian (b. 1949) is an active participant in the professional theatre community of the Washington, DC metro area as an author (specializing in comedy), director, producer, stage manager, and speaker coach. He and was also a founding member of the New Playwrights' Theatre Company, which he led from 1972 through 1984.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Harry M. Bagdasian Theatre Posters Collection covers the period from 1970 to 1985; the bulk of the materials date from 1972 to 1980. The collection consists solely of 68 posters from the Washington, DC theatre community. The posters are from a variety of theatres, but are predominantly from Arena Stage, Ford's Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center. While the vast majority of the posters were mass-produced, some were silk-screened. Many of the posters do not contain years, or in some instances no dates at all. The processors researched the productions at the companies' websites or in the Special Collections in Performing Arts Theatre Program Collection to determine when the productions occurred. When the year is uncertain, it is either left blank or represented in brackets. Even for the instances where the year is not designated, all of the productions occurred between 1970 through 1985. Dates associated with the posters are the productions dates, not the printing dates.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
Gift of Mr. Harry M. Bagdasian in May 2009.
Processing Information
Vincent J. Novara, John K. Leupold II
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Mary Crauderueff, May 2009.
Arrangement of Collection
This collection is organized into one series. The posters are arranged in the original order presented by the donor.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Posters, 1970-1985 (4 linear feet)
This series contains 68 posters. The vast majority of the posters were mass-produced; some were silk-screened.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moh=Kyogen - National Theatres of Japan, March 30 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Give 'em hell harry! - Ford's Theatre, April 15 - May 4, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| American Ballet Theatre (32nd season) - Kennedy Center Opera House, Dec. 21 - Jan. 2, 1972 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Vienna Volksoper (2 copies) - Kennedy Center Opera House, May 8 - 20, 1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Metropolitan Opera at the Kennedy Center (2 copies) - Kennedy Center Opera House, April 18 - April 30, [1980] | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Sing, Mahalia, Sing - Lyric Opera House, April 9 - April 14 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Take Me Along - Eisenhower Theater, February 7 - March 10, 1985 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| When Hell Freezes Over I'll Skate - Eisenhower Theater, May 2 - June 10 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Antonio Gades Spanish Dance Company - National Theatre, Sept. 19 - Sept. 24 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Will Rogers' U.S.A. - Circle in the Square Ford's Theatre, Sept. 15 - Oct. 4, 1970 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Vienna State Opera Ballet, [1972/1973] | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| War and Peace (2 copies) - Wolf Trap Farm Park, August 29 and August 31 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| I have a Dream - Ford's Theater, Previews April 1 Opens April 6 - 25, 1976 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Venetian Festival - Kennedy Center for the Arts, Sept. 30 - Oct. 13 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Godspell (3 copies) - Wye Mills Theatre, July 7 - August 1 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Wiz - The Lyric Opera House, April 3 - April 8, 1978 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| New York City Opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Un Ballo in Mashera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Boheme, Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Lucrezia Borgia (2 Copies) -- A Third Copy only has "New York City Opera" printed, but the design is the same. - Kennedy Center Opera House, April 28 - May 9, 1972 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Lincoln Mask - Eisenhower Theater, Sept. 19 - Oct. 7 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Yerma - Eisenhower Theater, Oct. 9 - Oct. 14, 1972 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Belle of Amherst (2 copies) - Eisenhower Theater, Sept. 13 - Oct. 9, 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Dining Room (3 copies) - Eisenhower Theater, June 3 - July 11, 1982 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| American Ballet Theatre - Kennedy Center Opera House, Sept. 21 - Oct. 3, [1971] | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Lost in the Stars - Kennedy Center Opera House, February 19 - March 11, 1972 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Gabrielle a musical - Ford's Theatre, January 7 - 26, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Measure for Measure and Macbeth (3 copies) - Eisenhower Theater at Kennedy Center, September 3 - 29, 1973 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Cervantes - American Theater, September 4 - 30 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Superb Stuttgart Ballet - Kennedy Center Opera House, June 5 - June 17, 1973 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Porgy and Bess - Kennedy Center Opera House, May 25 - June 18, [1977 or 1983] | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Eleanor - Ford's Theater (Previews), April 28 - May 2 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Me and Bessie - Ford's Theatre, Opens Sept. 26 - Oct. 14, 1973 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Relatively Speaking - Arena Stage, Fall 1973 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Autumn Garden - Arena Stage, Spring 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Lower Depths - Arena Stage, April 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Mother Courage - Arena Stage, 1970 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Boccaccio - Arena Stage, Nov 24 - Nov 30, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Saturday Sunday Monday - Arena Stage, November 26, 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| History of the American Film - Arena Stage, May 13, 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Festival - Ford's Theatre, March 22 - April 29, 1979 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Front Page - Arena Stage, November 1974, May 1976 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Enemies - Arena Stage, March 1973 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Our Town - Arena Stage, December 1972, 73-74 season, May 1976 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Echoes of the Left Bank - Ford's Theatre, anuary 4 - 23, 1972 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| American Ballet Theatre - Kennedy Center Opera House, Dec. 25 - Jan. 6 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| American Ballet Theatre (35th anniversary year) - Kennedy Center Opera House, May 13 - 25, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Streamers - Arena Stage, Fall 1976 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The American Revolution - Ford's Theatre, Opens Sept. 26 - Oct. 14, 1973 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Mighty Bolshoi Ballet - Kennedy Center Opera House, May 27 - June 1, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Diamond Studs - Ford's Theatre, "Now Playing" May 8 - July 20, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope - Ford's Theatre, Previews April 18-29 Opens April 30-Sept. 15, 1974 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Bully: an Adventure with Teddy Roosevelt - National Theatre, Feb. 14 - March 12, 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Shanghai Acrobatic Theater - Kennedy Center Opera House, April 29 - May 4, 1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Robber Bridegroom (2 copies) - Ford's Theatre, Starts May 10 - June 25, 1978 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| The Berlin Ballet - Kennedy Center Opera House, July 30 - August 10 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Finishing Touches - Plymouth Theater [Eisenhower Theater?], [January 1973] | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Outrage - Eisenhower Theater, Dec. 9 - Jan. 15 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - The Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, Sept. 27 - Oct. 15 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| A Soldier's Play - The Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, Feb. 28 - March 11 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| City Center Acting Company, Chekov's The Three Sisters, Moliere's Scapin, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera - Ford's Theatre, March 19 - April 14, [1974?] March 19 - 24 March 23 March 26 - April 14 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
Related Material
For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.
Selected Search Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the University of Maryland Libraries' Catalog. Researchers desiring related materials about these topics, names, or places may search the Catalog using these headings.
Subjects
- Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.) -- Posters.
- Ford's Theatre (Washington, D.C.) -- Posters.
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (U.S.) -- Posters.
- Opera posters, American -- 20th century
- Opera -- Washington (D.C.) -- Posters.
- Performing arts -- Washington (D.C.)
- Theater -- Washington (D.C.) -- Posters.
- Theatrical posters, American -- 20th century.