Doris Abrahams
Encyclopedia
Doris Cole Abrahams was a theater producer who won two Tony Awards for Peter Shaffer
's play Equus
and Tom Stoppard
's Travesties
.
Doris Cole was born in the Bronx
to a magician father who ran a magic store. She grew up in Manhattan
and Brookline, Massachusetts
, and started in theater by sweeping stage floors and acting in summer stock performances. In 1945, while still in her teens, she became the producer of Blue Holiday, an all-black Broadway
variety show that ran for eight performances at the Belasco Theater, starring Katherine Dunham
, Ethel Waters
and Josh White
.
She married Gerald M. Abrahams, the chairman of the luxury clothing manufacturer Aquascutum
and returned with him to London. There, the elaborate parties she prepared for her husband's clients allowed her to join with Oscar Lewenstein Productions, where she was involved with plays such as Semi-Detached
with Laurence Olivier
, as well as the Albert Finney
vehicles Billy Liar
as Luther
. She started Albion Productions in the mid-1960s, putting on a total of eight plays in the West End theatre
, among them Tom Stoppard
's Enter a Free Man
in 1968 and Travesties
in 1974.
Returning to New York City and Broadway in 1974, she co-produced Equus
with Kermit Bloomgarden
at the Plymouth Theatre
. Starring Anthony Hopkins
as the psychiatrist with a patient who has a pathological obsession with horses, it was honored as best play at the 29th Tony Awards
and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
went to John Dexter
. Her 1975 Broadway production of Travesties, co-produced with Burry Fredrik and David Merrick
, won that year's Tony Award
for best play.
A resident of Manhattan
, Abrahams died there at age 88 on February 17, 2009 due to heart failure. She was survived by two daughters, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her husband had died in 1999.
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
's play Equus
Equus (play)
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses....
and Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's Travesties
Travesties
Travesties is a play by Tom Stoppard.The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing Ulysses, Tristan Tzara during the rise of Dada, and Lenin leading up to the...
.
Doris Cole was born in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
to a magician father who ran a magic store. She grew up in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, and started in theater by sweeping stage floors and acting in summer stock performances. In 1945, while still in her teens, she became the producer of Blue Holiday, an all-black Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
variety show that ran for eight performances at the Belasco Theater, starring Katherine Dunham
Katherine Dunham
Katherine Mary Dunham was an American dancer, choreographer, songwriter, author, educator, and activist...
, Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
and Josh White
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
.
She married Gerald M. Abrahams, the chairman of the luxury clothing manufacturer Aquascutum
Aquascutum
"Aquascutum" is a UK-based luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer, owned by Jaeger.-Company history:Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, when tailor and entrepreneur John Emary opened a high quality menswear shop at 46 Regent Street...
and returned with him to London. There, the elaborate parties she prepared for her husband's clients allowed her to join with Oscar Lewenstein Productions, where she was involved with plays such as Semi-Detached
Semi-Detached (play)
Semi-Detached is a play written by David Turner. It was premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in June 1962 with Leonard Rossiter in the lead role and directed by Tony Richardson....
with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, as well as the Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
vehicles Billy Liar
Billy Liar
Billy Liar is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs....
as Luther
Luther (play)
Luther is a 1961 play by John Osborne that explored the forces that were involved in the life of Martin Luther, one of the instigators of the Protestant Reformation. Osborne was influenced by Erik Erikson's book, Young Man Luther, which had been published three years prior in 1958. In the play,...
. She started Albion Productions in the mid-1960s, putting on a total of eight plays in the West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, among them Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's Enter a Free Man
Enter a Free Man
Enter a Free Man is a play by Tom Stoppard that follows the story of an unsuccessful inventor named George Riley. The play was first performed on March 28, 1968 at the St. Martin's Theatre. It was directed by Frith Banbury and starred Michael Hordern...
in 1968 and Travesties
Travesties
Travesties is a play by Tom Stoppard.The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing Ulysses, Tristan Tzara during the rise of Dada, and Lenin leading up to the...
in 1974.
Returning to New York City and Broadway in 1974, she co-produced Equus
Equus (play)
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses....
with Kermit Bloomgarden
Kermit Bloomgarden
Kermit Bloomgarden was an American theatrical producer, who had started out as an accountant, before producing plays on Broadway including Death of a Salesman, Look Homeward, Angel, The Music Man and Equus.Bloomgarden was born in Brooklyn to Zemad and Annie Groden Bloomgarden, where he attended...
at the Plymouth Theatre
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 236 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan named for Gerald Schoenfeld....
. Starring Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as the psychiatrist with a patient who has a pathological obsession with horses, it was honored as best play at the 29th Tony Awards
29th Tony Awards
The 29th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by ABC television on April 20, 1975 from the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. Hosts/Performers/Presenters were Larry Blyden, George S...
and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
went to John Dexter
John Dexter
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera, and film director.- Theatre :Born in Derby, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British army during World War II. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for...
. Her 1975 Broadway production of Travesties, co-produced with Burry Fredrik and David Merrick
David Merrick
David Merrick was a prolific Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer.-Life and career:Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick graduated from Washington University, then studied law at the Jesuit-run Saint Louis University School of Law...
, won that year's Tony Award
30th Tony Awards
The 30th Annual Tony Awards was held at the Shubert Theatre on April 18, 1976 and broadcast by ABC television. Hosts were Eddie Albert, Richard Burton, Jane Fonda, Diana Rigg, George C...
for best play.
A resident of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Abrahams died there at age 88 on February 17, 2009 due to heart failure. She was survived by two daughters, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her husband had died in 1999.