Archive

Identifier: OLDACQUAINT2007

Inclusive Dates: 2007

Extent:

Production Files documenting the 2007 production of John Van Druten's Old Acquaintance at the American Airlines Theatre.  Directed by Michael Wilson with set design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by David C. Woolard, lighting design by Rui Rita, original music and sound design by John Gromada, and hair and wig design by Paul Huntley.  The production starred Margaret Colin as Katherine Markham and Harriet Harris as Mildred Watson Drake; with Corey Stoll as Rudd Kendall, Diane Davis as Deirdre Drake, Stephen Bogardus as Preston Drake, Gordana Rashovich as Karina and Cynthia Darlow as Susan.  The latter two actresses also acted as understudies, along with Tony Carlin and Virginia Kull.

The production does not appear to have been nominated for any awards.

The play tells the story of two childhood friends, Kit Marlowe and Millie Drake, following the intricacies of their friendship over the course of eighteen years. Both women are novelists, but have chosen very different lives; the first time we see them is in 1924, when Kit revisits their hometown for a signing of her novel and gets together with her friend. Millie, married young and pregnant with daughter Deirdre, has chosen a traditional path, while Kit  lives a bohemian life in New York City, dating a much younger man, Rudd, with no intention of marrying despite his wishes to do so.  On that visit, Kit meets Millie's husband Preston. Flash to eight years later, 1932, and during a visit to New York City, Preston confesses his unhappiness, declares his love for Kit (which she does not reciprocate), and leaves Millie causing much distress and argument between the women.  The final act of the play takes place ten years later again, in the throes of World War II--Deirdre is now a young woman, and enters the ongoing romantic tic tac toe of the adults.  Ultimately, friendship wins out; Kit and Millie reconcile and agree that Millie will write a book about the trevails of their friendship, entitled "Old Acquaintance".

John Van Druten's play premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theater in 1940; a Warner Brothers film came out in 1943, starring Bette Davis as Kit and Miriam Hopkins as Millie. 

Production Files span 2 Hollinger boxes consisting of 16 folders, one Playbill, and a handful of marketing flyers.

The digital holdings on the Archive 1 server include folders for the following:
Costume Images (photographs by the Archive of costume pieces in the collection)
Media (.mp4 of parts of a performance)
Opening Night (124 jpeg images)
Playbill (19 jpeg scans)
Press (Archive-scanned selects)
Production Photographs (approved images only)
Show Art

There are 10 printed pages of Alexander Dodge's set design drawings housed in the flat file cabinet.  The cast/family photo is in a folder in the Photographs drawer.
Two original costume pieces from the production are located on the Costume shelves, and digital photographs of these are also located on the Archive 1 server.

There is a related collection of marketing materials on the Marketing shelves.  Contracts have been removed and housed in the Contracts cabinets; these are confidential and access is restricted.

Access Restrictions: Open and available to approved researchers by appointment only. See folder details for specific restrictions.

Preferred Citation: Old Acquaintance 2007, Roundabout Theatre Company Archive