The Library for the Performing Arts Acquires the Thomas Meehan Archive

The Billy Rose Theatre Division at the Library for the Performing Arts has acquired the archive of Thomas Meehan, an American librettist best known for writing the books for the Broadway musicals Annie, The Producers, and Hairspray.

The archive, dating from the 1960s to 2017, contains drafts for his major theater work, as well as notes, programs, press clippings, agreements, and audio and video recordings. The collection also holds drafts of Meehan's short stories and unrealized theater, film, and television projects.

The Meehan archive is currently being processed, and will be accessible to the public soon, according to a blog post from the library.

About Thomas Meehan

Meehan grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College. He moved to New York at age 24, and worked at The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town".

He received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times: Annie (1977), his Broadway debut; The Producers (2001); and subsequently shared the 2003 award with Mark O'Donnell for Hairspray.

Additional credits include Ain't Broadway Grand; Oh, Kay!; Bombay Dreams, a musical adaptation of I Remember Mama; and Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge, which was subsequently reworked and re-staged Off-Broadway as Annie Warbucks. He also wrote the libretto to the opera 1984.

Meehan wrote the book for the musical Young Frankenstein, a 2007 musical stage adaptation of the 1974 film of the same name and Cry-Baby. He co-wrote the book, with Bob Martin, for Elf the Musical. He co-wrote the book for the production of the musical Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin which ran at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010 and premiered on Broadway in 2012. In 2011 he revised the book originally written by Peter Stone for the Off-Broadway musical Death Takes a Holiday with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.

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