A collection of material from acclaimed theater director, Henry Fonte, who served as the producing artistic director at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre and the Director of Conservatory Programs in University of Miami for five years. He received his initial education from the University of Florida, earning both a Bachelor of Arts in 1973 and a Master of Arts in teaching in 1976. His acting career began in New York City where he was a founding member of the Pearl Theatre Company. He later founded the New Works Development Program at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in Connecticut.
The collection is primarily comprised of playscripts, production notes, playbills, and programs but also contains audio-visual materials, posters, photographs, clippings, correspondence, theater set models, and various related items and ephemera from Henry Fonte.
The Coconut Grove Playhouse records contain playbills, promotional/marketing material, posters, press releases, news clippings, financial files, grant files, personnel files, show and production files, play scripts, and audio-visual materials (photographs, CDs, vinyl records, floppy disks, VHS, film reels, betacam tapes, audiocassette tapes) pertaining to the theater's operation from the 1970s to its closing in 2006.
George Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was a famous and well-renowned playwright, producer, and director who worked out of New York City for most of his life until he retired and passed away in Miami Beach, Florida. Over the course of his career on Broadway, he received many awards and accolades for his work, including several Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1960), and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director (1983). To celebrate his vast contributions to the world of theater, George Abbott also had both a theater building, which was unfortunately demolished in 1970, and a street in New York Times Square, George Abbott Way, named after him.
His papers feature photographs, playscripts, playbills, financial documents, official records, music sheets, and other materials associated with his life and work on Broadway.
This collection contains performance programs, brochures, graphics, ephemera, slides, press releases, news clippings, photographs, negatives, and other assorted records and reports from the University of Miami's Ring Theatre.
