History

Vale Ray Lawler (1921 – 2024)

The writer of Australia’s most celebrated play Summer of the 17h Doll passed away at the  ripe old age of 103.  Susan Mills from the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation looks back at his remarkable life.

The Museum of Broadway

On a recent New York pilgrimage, Peter Eyers enjoyed the Big Apple’s newest immersive museum. 

Vale Frank Van Straten

Theatre Historian Frank Van Straten has died at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy of spectacular coffee table books, program and CD cover notes, while he will also be remembered as the pioneer of Australia’s largest collection of performance memorabilia.

Fellow historian Peter Pinne says, “I have lost a friend. More importantly the arts industry has lost one of its most important archivists.

“He will long be remembered for contributions to the theatre in Australia.

Gilbert and Sullivan in Australia

Gilbert and Sullivan theatre programmes track the rise of J.C.

Scouting for Shows

Australian producers have long trod the paths to the West End and Broadway to import plays and musicals for the local market. Impresario J.C.

Hidden World of Musical Society Memories

In the performing arts archives of the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, an autograph book provides a glimpse into amateur musicals in the first half of the 20th Century, reports archivist Susan Mills.

Australian Performing Arts Collection Treasures Revealed

Historically significant performing arts costumes and objects, ranging from Kylie Minogue’s gold lame hotpants to Dame Nellie Melba’s La Traviata bodice, will be made available to the public to view in 2023 through a $2.2 million project to upgrade and expand Arts Centre Melbourne’s Australian Performing Arts Collection (APAC). 

Image above: Schematic design drawing by Williams Ross Architects.