George C. Wolfe Donates Archive to New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Billy Rose Theatre Division has acquired the archives of four-time Tony-winning writer-director-producer-actor George C. Wolfe. The papers join an esteemed collection at the library, including records from the Public Theater and the archives of Harold Prince, among many others.

The Wolfe collection, which consists of roughly 50 boxes of material, includes correspondence, annotated scripts, director's notes, and photographs from his nearly five decades-long career working in theatre and film. Researchers will be able to access the material at the library, housed at Lincoln Center.

After a career Off-Broadway, Wolfe made his Broadway debut as the book writer and director of the Tony-nominated 1992 biomusical Jelly's Last Jam, recently announced to make its first major NYC return via New York City Center Encores! The following year, he helmed the Broadway premiere of Tony Kushner's landmark play Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, winning a 1993 Tony Award for his work. He began working as a producer at Off-Broadway's Public Theater the same year, a role he would hold through 2004. During that time he helmed such productions as Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk; On the Town; The Wild Party; Elaine Stritch At Liberty; Topdog/Underdog; and Caroline, Or Change. More recently, he's been responsible for Broadway productions like The Normal Heart; Shuffle Along, Or The Making of The Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed; and Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. On screen, Wolfe has directed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2013.