Arthur Lithgow papers

Finding Aid

Prepared by Nancy Birk, August 17, 1992; Prepared for the Web by Barbara Bass, April 5, 1996; Revised August 2005; Last Updated: February 2021

Inclusive Dates: 1937-1992
Extent: 3.5 cubic feet (2 record storage boxes, 1 document case, 2 oversized boxes)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Arthur W. Lithgow was born on 9 September 1915 in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic to Arthur Washington and Ina Berenice Lithgow. He received his B.A. from Antioch College in 1938 and his M.A. from Cornell University in 1948. On 13 January 1939 he married Sarah Jane Price. They had four children. Lithgow first performed as a cherub in a Christmas pageant at the Unitarian Church in Melrose Massachusetts in December of 1920. He also appeared in student productions at Antioch College and made his New York debut as a soldier in Lorelei (Nov. 29, 1938). But his career focus has been on the teaching and directing of drama, particularly Shakespearian drama, and it is in this forum that he has left his stamp. He first began directing Shakespeare at Antioch College in 1952, when he became the Founder and Artistic Director of the Antioch Shakespeare Festival, or "Shakespeare under the Stars," as it came to be known. Within a period of six years, this festival produced all of the works of Shakespeare, bringing the attention and praise of even the Queen of England. 

From Antioch, he began to expand his scope to include other areas of Ohio, directing simultaneously summer seasons in Toledo and Antioch. In 1958 he moved to Northern Ohio as Executive Director of Stan Hywet Hall in Akron Ohio. In 1960 he established the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Lakewood Ohio. In 1961, he moved to New Jersey to become the Artistic and Producing Director of the McCarter Theatre of Princeton University. he stayed there until 1972 when he moved to Boston as a Visiting Professor at the University of Massachusetts. From 1974-1975 he was the Administrator and Director of the Brattleboro Center for the Performing Arts, Brattleboro, Vermont. And in 1976 he became a Visiting Associate Professor of the Theatre Arts at the University of South Florida at Tampa. While there he began directing the Alice People Theatre. He returned to Antioch College to direct two summer Shakespeare festivals in 1981 and 1982. From 1982 to 1984 he taught at Sinclair Community College in Dayton Ohio. In Ithaca, New York, he co-founded the Ithaca Theater Guild. Arthur Lithgow died March 23, 2004, in Amherst, Massachusetts, at the age of 88.

Scope and Content: The bulk of the material documents Lithgow's directorships of various theatre companies in Ohio and constitute what he himself termed a "melange" of Shakespeare Festivals in Ohio. Included are archival materials from the Antioch Shakespeare Festivals, the Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre, the Stan Hywet Shakespeare Festivals, and the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival. Non-Ohio theatre work is also well-represented with materials documenting productions at Princeton, Brattleboro Center, Provincetown Playhouse, and the University of South Florida among others. This collection will be a valuable resource to scholars pursuing research on Ohio theatre and Shakespearian theatre in America. It complements the department's vast holdings in 20th century theater. The collection would also be of value to film historians interested in the career of John Lithgow, the actor. John is the son of Arthur and Sarah Lithgow, and began his acting career in Akron at the Stan Hywet Shakespeare Festival. Of particular note is correspondence with New York critic Brooks Atkinson, playwright Arthur Miller and greetings sent to Lithgow from the Queen of England.

Acquisitions Note: The Arthur Lithgow papers were given to the Department of Special Collections and Archives of Kent State University on 11 July 1991 by Arthur and Sarah Lithgow.

Related Materials: Researchers are advised that an ancillary collection of Lithgow's papers can also be found in the Firestone Library Theatre Collection at Princeton University. The Antiochiana collection in the Antioch Library in Yellow Springs, Ohio also contains fuller files of Antioch productions from 1952 to 1957.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Letters of agreement, copy of inventory
2. Correspondence, General, A-M
3. Correspondence, General, L-Z
4. Correspondence, Sampling of cards of appreciation from members of productions, 1974-1992
5. Antioch College, Senior English Comprehensive and Philosophy Papers, 1937-1938
6. Cornell University, Graduate Course work papers, notes, 1946-1947
7. Cornell University, Correspondence, 1986-1987
8. Cornell University, Flyers, 1987-1992
9. Ithaca College, Correspondence, 1987-1990
10. Ithaca College, Introduction to Acting course, Photographs, 1988
11. Princeton University, Course Preparation, Notes, Exams, 1961-1978
12. Sinclair Community College, Course Preparation, Notes, Student Papers
13. Sinclair Community College, Correspondence, Drawings, Notes, 1982-1984
14. University of South Florida at Tampa, Course Preparation, 1977-1978
15. Wilmington College, Guest Appearance, Correspondence, Notes, 1986
16. Theater Companies
17. Alice People Theatre, University of South Florida at Tampa, Clippings, press releases, programs
18. Alice People Theatre, University of South Florida at Tampa, Correspondence, 1978-1980
19. Alice People Theatre, University of South Florida at Tampa, Photographs
20. Antioch Area Theatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Brochures, programs, 1953-1957
21. Antioch Area Theatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Clippings, 1950-1951
22. Antioch Area Theatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Correspondence (Incl. Queen of England), press releases, 1950-1961
23. Antioch Area Theatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars," Photographs, 1950-1961
24. Antioch Area Theatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Program notes, 1952-1957

Box 2
Folder -- Contents

1. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Budgets, correspondence, 1980-1982
2. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Brochures, 1981
3. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Clippings, press release, 1980-1982
4. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Photographs, Henry VI, Parts I and II. 1981
5. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Photographs, Henry VI, Part III, 1981
6. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Photographs, Richard III, 1981
7. Antioch College, Summer Shakespeare Theatre, Photographs, Miscellaneous, 1981
8. Brattleboro Center for the Performing Arts, Brochures, clippings, programs, reviews, 1974-1976
9. Brattleboro Center for the Performing Arts, Correspondence, 1974-1976
10. Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Programs, 1962-1964
11. Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Clippings, 1962-1964
12. Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Photographs
13. Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Photographs
14. Ithaca Theater Guild, Clippings, flyers, 1991
15. Princeton University, McCarter Theatre, Brochures, programs, 1961-1972
16. Princeton University, McCarter Theatre, Budgets, financial reports, misc., 1961-1972
17. Princeton University, McCarter Theatre, Clippings, 1961-1972
18. Princeton University, McCarter Theatre, Correspondence (inc. Arthur Miller), 1961-1972
19. Provincetown Playhouse, clipping, photograph, 1939
20. Rice Playhouse, Clippings, correspondence, photographs, reviews, 1951-1955
21. Rooftop Theatre, NYC, Clipping, Photographs, program, 1955
22. Stan Hywet Hall, Shakespeare Festival, Brochures, budgets, correspondence, programs, 1959-1962
23. Stan Hywet Hall, Shakespeare Festival, Clippings, photographs, 1959-1962
    Related Materials: See also Oversized Materials.
24. Toledo Festival Theatre, Clippings, 1958
25. Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Brochure, 1956
    Related Materials: See also Oversized Materials.
26. Victory Theatre Association and Antioch College Summer Shakespeare, Correspondence, notes, 1982

Box 3
Folder -- Contents

1. Ithaca, a City, 3 typescript drafts with manuscript notes
2. King Henry the Sixth
3. The Two Noble Kinsmen
4. Biographical Information
5. Oral History Transcript?, 1985?
6. Oral History Transcript?, 1985?
7. Miscellaneous Photographs
8. Publications

Box 4: Oversized Scrapbooks

1. Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Clippings scrapbook, 1956
2. Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre, "Shakespeare Under the Stars", Clippings scrapbook, 1957

Box 5: Oversized Materials

• Oversized photographs, a photoalbum and poster from the Stan Hywet Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare Festival at the Ohio Theater.