Angels in the American Theater
ISBN: 9780809387434
Platform/Publisher: Project MUSE / Southern Illinois University Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Chapters; Download: Chapters
Subjects: Performing arts sponsorship;

Angels in the American Theater: Patrons, Patronage, and Philanthropy examines the significant roles that theater patrons have played in shaping and developing theater in the United States. Because box office income rarely covers the cost of production, other sources are vital. Angels--financial investors and backers--have a tremendous impact on what happens on stage, often determining with the power and influence of their money what is conceived, produced, and performed. But in spite of their influence, very little has been written about these philanthropists.
Composed of sixteen essays and fifteen illustrations, Angels in the American Theater explores not only how donors became angels but also their backgrounds, motivations, policies, limitations, support, and successes and failures. Subjects range from millionaires Otto Kahn and the Lewisohn sisters to foundation giants Ford, Rockefeller, Disney, and Clear Channel. The first book to focus on theater philanthropy, Angels in the American Theater employs both a historical and a chronological format and focuses on individual patrons, foundations, and corporations.


Robert A. Schanke , a professor emeritus of theatre at Central College, Iowa, has contributed to numerous journals, reference books and anthologies. He is the author of "That Furious Lesbian": The Story of Mercedes de Acosta , winner of the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award, Ibsen in America: A Century of Change , Eva Le Gallienne: A Bio-Bibliography , and Shattered Applause: The Lives of Eva Le Gallienne .
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