Tharon Musser
Tharon Musser | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 8, 1925 Roanoke, Virginia,U.S. |
| Died | April 19, 2009(aged 84) Newtown, Connecticut,U.S. |
| Education | Berea College(BA) Yale University(MFA) |
| Occupation | Lighting designer |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Lighting Design;Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design |
Tharon Myrene Musser(January 8, 1925 – April 19, 2009)[1]was an Americanlighting designerwho worked on more than 150Broadwayproductions. She was termed the "Dean of American Lighting Designers" and is considered one of the pioneers in her field.[2]
Musser was best known for her work on the musicalsA Chorus LineandDreamgirls.A Chorus Linewas the first production of Broadway to use a fully computerizedlighting consoleinstead of manually operated "piano boards".[2]
Biography[edit]
Musser was born inVirginiain 1925.[3] The daughter of a clergyman, she often recalled that her family couldn't afford electricity, so she grew up with candles and gaslights. She graduated fromBerea College(Kentucky) in 1946 and later attendedYale University,obtaining her MFA in 1950. Her first Broadway lighting credit wasJosé Quintero's staging ofEugene O'Neill'sLong Day's Journey into Nightin 1956 at the originalHelen Hayes Theatre.
She designed on Broadway from 1956 to 1999 and her long list of credits includeLi'l Abner,Shinbone Alley,Once Upon a Mattress,Here's Love,Any Wednesday,Golden Boy,Flora, The Red Menace,Kelly,Mame,Hallelujah, Baby!,The Fig Leaves Are Falling,Applause,The Prisoner of Second Avenue,The Creation of the World and Other Business,The Sunshine Boys,A Little Night Music,Romantic Comedy,Mack and Mabel,The Wiz,The Good Doctor,Pacific Overtures,The Act,Chapter Two,They're Playing Our Song,Ballroom,42nd Street,Brighton Beach Memoirs,Jerry's Girls,The Odd Couple,Biloxi Blues,Lost in Yonkers,The Goodbye Girl,andLaughter on the 23rd Floor.
Musser won her firstTony Award for Best Lighting Designin 1972 forFollies,followed by Tonys forA Chorus Linein 1976 andDreamgirlsin 1982. She was nominated forApplause,A Little Night Music,The Good Doctor,Pacific Overtures,The Act,Ballroom,and42nd Street.She also won theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting DesignforDreamgirls.
In 1980 Musser was nominated for aDrama Desk Awardfor her design ofChildren of a Lesser God.She was honored as aUSITTDistinguished Lighting Designer in 1996.[1]
Death[edit]
Musser died on April 19, 2009, aged 84, from complications ofAlzheimer's diseaseinNewtown, Connecticutin the company of her long-time partner Marilyn Rennagel.[4]Two nights later Broadway theatres dimmed their lights to honor her.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ab Notice of Tharon Musser' death,Live Design Online,April 19, 2009ArchivedApril 24, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- ^abMartin, Douglas."Tharon Musser, Stage Lighting Designer, Dies at 84",The New York Times,April 21, 2009
- ^Martha E. Stone,Passages of Artists and Activists in 2009,The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide,March–April 2010, p. 9
- ^Kuchwara, Michael (April 20, 2009),"B'way lighting designer Tharon Musser dies at 84",San Francisco Chronicle,retrievedMarch 22,2010
- ^"Tharon Musser, Lighting Designer for ‘A Chorus Line’, Dies at 84",Bloomberg
External links[edit]
- Tharon Musserat theInternet Broadway Database
- Tharon Musser designs and papers, 1945-2000,held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- A brief history of stage lighting by Larry Wild at Northern State UniversityArchivedJanuary 10, 2014, at theWayback Machine
- Theatrical Lighting Database - Tharon Musser's technical drawings, light plots, and notes for A Chorus Line
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1925 births
- 2009 deaths
- Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States
- Deaths from dementia in Connecticut
- LGBT people from Virginia
- American lesbian artists
- American lighting designers
- Artists from Roanoke, Virginia
- People from Newtown, Connecticut
- Tony Award winners
- Berea College alumni
- 20th-century American LGBT people