Tharon Musser
Encyclopedia
Tharon Musser was an American
lighting designer
who worked on more than 150 Broadway
productions. She was termed the "Dean of American Lighting Designers" and is considered one of the pioneers in her field.
Musser was best known for her work on the musicals A Chorus Line
and Dreamgirls. A Chorus Line was the first Broadway production to utilize a completely computerized lighting console instead of the manually operated "piano boards".
in 1925.
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 from Berea College
(Kentucky
) in 1946 and later attended Yale University
, obtaining her MFA in 1950. Her first Broadway lighting credit was José Quintero
's staging of Eugene O'Neill
's Long Day's Journey into Night
in 1956 at the original Helen Hayes Theatre
.
She designed on Broadway from 1956 to 1999 and her long list of credits include Li'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 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
, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor
.
Musser won her first Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
in 1972 for Follies
, followed by Tonys for A Chorus Line in 1976 and Dreamgirls in 1982. She was nominated for Applause, A Little Night Music, The Good Doctor, Pacific Overtures, The Act, Ballroom, and 42nd Street. She also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
for Dreamgirls.
In 1980 Musser was nominated for a Drama Desk Award
for her design of Children of a Lesser God
. She was honored as a USITT Distinguished Lighting Designer in 1996.
Musser received an Eddy Awards from Entertainment Design in 2000. At the 2007 United States Institute for Theatre Technology
(USITT) conference in Phoenix, Arizona
, Musser was honored with a tribute to her career. To celebrate this event, USITT published a detailed book honoring her life, artistry and career as an American lighting designer.
in Newtown, Connecticut
in the company of her long-time partner Marilyn Rennagel. Two nights later Broadway theatres dimmed their lights to honor her.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lighting designer
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
who worked on more than 150 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...
productions. She was termed the "Dean of American Lighting Designers" and is considered one of the pioneers in her field.
Musser was best known for her work on the musicals A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
and Dreamgirls. A Chorus Line was the first Broadway production to utilize a completely computerized lighting console instead of the manually operated "piano boards".
Biography
Tharon Myrene Musser was born in VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1925.
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 from Berea College
Berea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
(Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
) in 1946 and later attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, obtaining her MFA in 1950. Her first Broadway lighting credit was José Quintero
José Quintero
José Benjamin Quintero was a Panamanian theatre director, producer and pedagogue best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene O'Neill.-Early years:...
's staging of Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's Long Day's Journey into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
in 1956 at the original Helen Hayes Theatre
Helen Hayes Theatre
Helen Hayes Theatre with 597 seats is the smallest Broadway theatre and is located at 240 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan....
.
She designed on Broadway from 1956 to 1999 and her long list of credits include Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner (musical)
Li'l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.Based on the comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies but is also a pointed satire taking on any number of topics, ranging...
, Shinbone Alley
Shinbone Alley
Shinbone Alley is a musical with a book by Joe Darion and Mel Brooks, lyrics by Darion, and music by George Kleinsinger. Based on archy and mehitabel, a series of New York Tribune columns by Don Marquis, it focuses on poetic cockroach Archy, alley cat Mehitabel, and her relationships with...
, Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway...
, Here's Love
Here's Love
Here's Love is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson.Based on the classic film Miracle on 34th Street, it tells the tale of a skeptical little girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. When the real Kris Kringle inadvertently is hired to represent jolly St...
, Any Wednesday
Any Wednesday
Any Wednesday is a 1966 comedy film directed by Robert Ellis Miller, starring Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, and Dean Jones. The story centers around a Manhattan woman who is trying to decide between two suitors on the day of her 30th birthday.On August 18, 2009, Warner Brothers released the movie...
, Golden Boy
Golden Boy (musical)
Golden Boy is a musical with a book by Clifford Odets and William Gibson, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.Based on the 1937 play of the same name by Odets, it focuses on Joe Wellington, a young man from Harlem who, despite his family's objections, turns to prizefighting as a means...
, Flora, The Red Menace, Kelly
Kelly (musical)
Kelly is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eddie Lawrence and music by Mark Charlap. It was inspired by Steve Brodie, who in 1886 claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived...
, Mame, Hallelujah, Baby!
Hallelujah, Baby!
Hallelujah, Baby! is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents. The show is "a musical chronicle of the African American struggle for equality during the [first half of the] 20th century."...
, The Fig Leaves Are Falling
The Fig Leaves Are Falling
The Fig Leaves Are Falling is a musical with a book and lyrics by Allan Sherman and music by Albert Hague. It was inspired by Sherman's 1966 divorce following 21 years of marriage....
, Applause
Applause (musical)
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Lauren Bacall won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical....
, The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue is an American black comedy play by Neil Simon, later made into a film released in 1975.The play ran on Broadway from November 1971 until September 1973, with Peter Falk and Lee Grant starring as Mel and Edna Edison, and Vincent Gardenia as Mel's brother Harry. The...
, The Creation of the World and Other Business
The Creation of the World and Other Business
The Creation of the World and Other Business is a play by Arthur Miller.A parable inspired by the Book of Genesis in the Bible, it explores the classic theme of good versus evil by way of a comedic retelling of the story of the creation of man . Miller's God is powerful but lacks wisdom...
, The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
, A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
, Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy (play)
Romantic Comedy is a play by Bernard Slade, author of Same Time, Next Year.The plot focuses on Phoebe Craddock and Jason Carmichael, playwrights who meet and decide to collaborate just as he is getting married...
, Mack and Mabel, The Good Doctor, Pacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
, The Act
The Act (musical)
The Act is a musical with a book by George Furth, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander.It was written to showcase the talents of Kander and Ebb favorite Liza Minnelli, who portrayed Michelle Craig, a fading film star attempting a comeback as a Las Vegas singer. The thin plot was little more...
, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song
They're Playing Our Song
They're Playing Our Song is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch.In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat lyricist, but initially the match is not one made in heaven...
, Ballroom
Ballroom (musical)
Ballroom is a musical with a book by Jerome Kass and music by Billy Goldenberg and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.Based on Kass' teleplay for the 1975 Emmy Award-winning television drama Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, the plot focuses on lonely widow Bea Asher, who becomes romantically...
, 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
, Brighton Beach Memoirs
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Brighton Beach Memoirs is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.-Characters:*Eugene Morris Jerome, almost 15...
, Jerry's Girls
Jerry's Girls
Jerry's Girls is a musical revue based on the songs of composer/lyricist Jerry Herman.-Production history:Created by Herman and Larry Alford in 1981, the show originated as a modest presentation at Onstage, a nightclub located in the theatre district in midtown-Manhattan . Writing in The New York...
, The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
, Biloxi Blues
Biloxi Blues
Biloxi Blues is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. The second chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy, it follows Brighton Beach Memoirs and precedes Broadway Bound....
, Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers is a 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Neil Simon. After eleven previews, the Broadway production, produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Gene Saks, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 780 performances...
, The Goodbye Girl
The Goodbye Girl (musical)
The Goodbye Girl is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by David Zippel, and music by Marvin Hamlisch, based on Simon's original screenplay for the 1977 film of the same name.-Production history:...
, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Laughter on the 23rd Floor is a play by Neil Simon.Inspired by Simon's early career experience as a junior jokesmith for Your Show of Shows, the play focuses on Sid Caesar/Jackie Gleason-like Max Prince, the star of a weekly comedy-variety show circa 1953, and his staff, including Simon's...
.
Musser won her first Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play...
in 1972 for Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
, followed by Tonys for A Chorus Line in 1976 and Dreamgirls in 1982. She was nominated for Applause, A Little Night Music, The Good Doctor, Pacific Overtures, The Act, Ballroom, and 42nd Street. She also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
for Dreamgirls.
In 1980 Musser was nominated for a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for her design of Children of a Lesser God
Children of a Lesser God (play)
Children of a Lesser God is a play by Mark Medoff, published in 1980 focusing on the conflicted professional and romantic relationship between deaf former student, Sarah Norman, and her teacher, James Leeds. The play was specially written for the Deaf actress Phyllis Frelich, based to some extent...
. She was honored as a USITT Distinguished Lighting Designer in 1996.
Musser received an Eddy Awards from Entertainment Design in 2000. At the 2007 United States Institute for Theatre Technology
United States Institute for Theatre Technology
The United States Institute for Theatre Technology is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and technology, and to generally promote their interests...
(USITT) conference in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Musser was honored with a tribute to her career. To celebrate this event, USITT published a detailed book honoring her life, artistry and career as an American lighting designer.
Death
Musser died on April 19, 2009, aged 84, from complications of Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in Newtown, Connecticut
Newtown, Connecticut
Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 27,560 at the 2010 census. Newtown was founded in 1705 and incorporated in 1711.-Government:...
in the company of her long-time partner Marilyn Rennagel. Two nights later Broadway theatres dimmed their lights to honor her.