Baker’s Wife 1985 York Theatre Stephen Schwartz Jack Weston Poster Window Card

Description

View Baker’s Wife 1985 York Theatre Stephen Schwartz Jack Weston Poster Window Card with current marketplace pricing, condition, product images and item details. The design is charmingly theatrical and distinctly handmade in appearance, with a loose red-and-black illustration of a French bakery façade surrounded by production information. For this York production, Stephen Schwartz himself directed, with Lynne Taylor-Corbett as choreographer. Original 1985 York Theatre Company promotional poster for the New York premiere of The Baker’s Wife, the musical by Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein, starring Jack Weston. This is not a standard 14 x 22-inch window card. The piece measures approximately 11.5 x 17 inches and is printed on glossy paper, making it better described as an original theatre promotional poster or handbill-style display piece from the production. The design is charmingly theatrical and distinctly handmade in appearance, with a loose red-and-black illustration of a French bakery façade surrounded by production information. The storefront incorporates the title The Baker’s Wife, while the windows prominently credit book by Joseph Stein and music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Jack Weston’s name appears above the shop, and the right-hand margin carries the full cast, creative credits, performance dates, venue and ticket information. The artwork itself is signed James Morgan, who is also credited on the poster for scenic design/graphics. Condition appears very good overall from the photographs. The glossy surface remains clean and the red-and-black printing is strong. There is light edge and corner wear, including a small crease or bend near the upper-left corner, along with minor handling consistent with age. The reverse is blank with light age toning and a few faint handling marks. Please review all photographs closely for condition. PRODUCTION & HISTORICAL CONTEXT This was the 1985 York Theatre Company New York premiere of The Baker’s Wife, presented at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 2 East 90th Street, New York City. It was not a Broadway production. The York Theatre Company’s production history confirms The Baker’s Wife as part of its 1984–85 season, and contemporary records identify this staging as the musical’s first New York production. (The York Theatre⁠) The poster itself lists performances beginning March 22, 1985 and continuing through April 14, 1985. Library of Congress holdings independently document the production at the Church of the Heavenly Rest from March 22 through April 14, 1985. (Library of Congress Tile⁠) The original York cast was headed by Jack Weston as Aimable Castagner, Joyce Leigh Bowden as Geneviève, and Kevin Gray as Dominique. The company also included Florence Anglin, Gabriel Barre, Pamela Clifford, Bert Fraser, Charles Goff, Judith Lander, Mayla McKeehan, Paul O’Keefe, Gail Pennington and Hal Robinson. Contemporary production records confirm these performers as the original cast of the 1985 York staging. (Ovrtur⁠) The Baker’s Wife features a book by Joseph Stein and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, based on the story associated with Marcel Pagnol’s La Femme du Boulanger. For this York production, Stephen Schwartz himself directed, with Lynne Taylor-Corbett as choreographer. The poster credits James Morgan with scenic design and graphics, Holly Hynes with costume design, Mary Jo Dondlinger with lighting design, Michael Abbott as dance arranger, Siegel & Stites with orchestrations, and Tim Weill as musical director. The York Theatre Company was the producing organization, with Janet Hayes Walker identified on the poster as Producing Director and Molly Pickering Grose as Managing Director. (Ovrtur⁠) A contemporary review in The Christian Science Monitor described the York production as an intimate reclamation of a musical that had failed to reach Broadway during its troubled 1976 pre-Broadway tour. The review specifically praised the work of James Morgan, Holly Hynes and Mary Jo Dondlinger, and noted that Schwartz and Stein had continued revising the material in the years before this New York staging. (Christian Science Monitor⁠) Historically, this production is especially important because The Baker’s Wife never opened on Broadway in its original 1970s incarnation. The 1985 York staging therefore represented a major step in the musical’s long developmental history. The New York Public Library notes that this production introduced the song “New Musketeers” and restored “Feminine Companionship,” documenting another stage in the authors’ continuing revisions. (New York Public Library⁠) WHY THIS IS A STRONG COLLECTOR PIECE This piece has considerable appeal for Stephen Schwartz collectors because it documents an unusually important developmental production rather than a long-running commercial Broadway engagement. Schwartz not only wrote the score but directed this 1985 New York premiere himself, giving the poster a particularly close association with the composer’s creative involvement. It is also notable for the presence of Jack Weston, an established Broadway, film and television actor, in the central role of Aimable. Kevin Gray, who played Dominique, went on to a substantial Broadway career, while Gabriel Barre later became well known as a director. The James Morgan artwork adds another strong collecting element. Because Morgan was both the production’s scenic designer and the credited graphics artist, the poster’s illustrated bakery façade is directly tied to the visual conception of the actual York staging rather than being generic commercial advertising. The unusual 11.5 x 17-inch glossy-paper format, specific performance dates, venue address, $8 ticket price, complete cast and production credits also give it strong archival character. It reads almost like a surviving piece of original production ephemera rather than a generic later souvenir. SIZE & SHIPPING Approx. 11.5 x 17 inches Original theatrical promotional poster printed on glossy paper. Category: Entertainment Memorabilia › Theater Memorabilia › Window Cards.

Industry

Theater

Original/Reproduction

Original

Country of Origin

United States