Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, C0263, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Carol Berger in 2015.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018.

Historical Information

The Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills.

Scope and Content note

This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center holds many other performing arts collections which include the Virginia Nelson playbills collection, the Charles Rodrigues playbills collection, the Broadway souvenir theatre programs collection, and the Larry Schecker playbills and pamphlets collection.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Chicago (Ill.)
• Performing arts
• Theater
• Theater -- United States
• Theater programs