From the Archive: Modern Dance and Andy Warhol – Roundabout Theatre in the 1970s

For most people the name Roundabout Theatre conjures up Ibsen and Shaw but for many New Yorkers residing in Manhattan in the late 1970s Roundabout might also mean Meredith Monk and Joyce Trisler.

Starting with the 1975/1976 season, Roundabout hosted dance performances by leading modern dancers, including the companies of Merce Cunningham, Lar Lubovitch, Jose Limon, and Louis Falco. In fact, Roundabout’s second theatre (333 West 23^rd Street) hosted week-long dance events and even a few elaborate galas attended by the glitterati of the time. The Louis Falco Dance Company held its 10^th anniversary gala/fundraiser at Roundabout on November 7, 1977 (with none other than Jackie Onassis as event chair and artwork created by Andy Warhol).

Roundabout’s archives contain a select number of programs and posters documenting our involvement in dance programming, particularly programs from the Louis Falco Company (all Falco materials courtesy of Falco Archives).

Outside the Roundabout archives, many of the dance companies have their own archives documenting these years, as does the NYPL Library for the Performing Arts. NYPL has in its video catalog over 15 dance programs from the Roundabout stage. While it is difficult to make out much detail one can catch brief glimpses of the early Roundabout stage through these rare videos (LPA also has a vast video catalog documenting Roundabout Theater Productions beginning in the 1980s. Videos can be viewed by appointment through the LPA TOFT (Theatre on Film and Tape).