Title: Arnold Perl Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1947-1964

Creator:

• Perl, Arnold, 1914-1971

Call Number: U.S. Mss 65AN; Disc 63A; Tape 401A; Micro 1199

Quantity: 1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes), 32 disc recordings, 11 tape recordings, 1 reel of microfilm (35mm), and photographs and posters

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of producer and playwright Arnold Perl primarily concerning two plays, The World of Sholom Aleichem (l953) and Tevya and His Daughters (l959), which he adapted from the stories of Sholom Aleichem and produced with Howard Da Silva. Included are production correspondence, microfilmed clippings, photographs, variant drafts of scripts, financial information, recordings, and publicity. Also in the collection are some miscellaneous papers relating to Banner Productions, Perl's productio company, which operated Carnegie Hall Playhouse.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0065an

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Arnold Perl, the son of Louis and Ida Perl, was born in New York City on April 14, 1914. He received degrees from the College of the City of New York in 1934 and New York University Law School in 1936. Perl married Nancy Reals Perl; they were the parents of three daughters.

In 1952 Perl adapted and co-produced The World of Sholom Aleichem. His associate in this production company, Rachel Productions, was Howard Da Silva, who also directed the play. Later they joined with Sanford Friedman and Myron Weinberg to form Banner Productions. This company operated Carnegie Hall Playhouse during the late 1950's, simultaneously staging several productions in an attempt to develop that off-Broadway theater as a theatrical center. The first production of Banner Productions was Tevya and His Daughters, also adapted by Perl from the stories of Sholom Aleichem.

Perl's work appeared in Best One Act Plays of 1955 and Best One Act Plays of 1959, and in Best TV Plays of 1950 and Best TV Plays of 1951. While working as the executive producer of East Side, West Side in 1963-1964 he wrote “Who Do You Kill?.” The script was nominated for the Peabody Award and for an Emmy Award, and it received a congressional citation from Senator Jacob Javits and the Capital Press Club Award as the outstanding television contribution to inter-racial understanding in 1964. Perl also wrote radio scripts for The Eternal Light, Big Story, and for CBS documentaries,and television scripts for Naked City, The Nurses, and Eleventh Hour. In 1964 he produced the pilot for The Reporters.

The papers primarily document two plays, The World of Sholom Aleichem and Tevya and His Daughters, both of which were written and co-produced by Perl. The material covers many aspects of each production, although neither are documented completely. Also included are small files on several other plays in which Perl was involved with Banner Productions at Carnegie Hall Playhouse during the late 1950's. The plays are arranged alphabetically by title. Photographs received with the papers are available in the WCFTR Title File.

The World of Sholom Aleichem, comprising three playlets (A Tale of Chelm, Bontche Schweig, and The High School) is the most complete section of the collection. It includes general correspondence (1953-1964), correspondence concerning amateur rights and the British production of the play, financial records, advertising material (including an example of the program designed by Ben Shawn), clippings (available only on microfilm), draft and printed versions of the script, sound recordings, and photographs. The scripts include handwritten and typescript versions, as well as a script of a story by Mendele Mocher S'forium, originally intended as part of the play.

The material relating to Tevya and His Daughters includes correspondence and general production material, several scripts, photographs, sound recordings, and microfilmed clippings. Other documented works include Purim Scandal, Sandhog, The Littlest Circus, and Burlesque.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Arnold Perl, New York, New York, 1964.

Processing Information

Processed by KW, 1966; portions prepared for microfilming by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1990.

U.S. Mss 65AN Box   1 Folder   1	Banner Productions, General material
	Burlesque, 1957
Box   1 Folder   2	Notes, publicity, clippings
Box   1 Folder   3	“The Best of Burlesque” script by Jack Vaughan, undated
Box   1 Folder   4	Littlest Circus, 1957
	Purim Scandal
Box   1 Folder   5	General material, 1956-1957
Box   1 Folder   6	Scripts
	Sandhog, 1954
Box   1 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1954
Micro 1199 Reel   1 Segment   1	Clippings
	Tevya and His Daughters, 1957
Reel   1 Segment   2	Clippings
U.S. Mss 65AN Box   1 Folder   8	General material, 1957-l958
WCFTR Item File	Posters for 1956 national tour
Disc 63A	Disc recordings
Tape 401A No.   3-4	Tape recorded music
WCFTR Title File	Photographs
U.S. Mss 65AN	Scripts
Box   1 Folder   9	“Tevya,” typescript, undated
Box   1 Folder   10	“Tevya and His Daughters,” mimeo script, undated
Box   1 Folder   11	Revised script
Box   1 Folder   12	Mimeo script, post September 16, 1957
Box   1 Folder   13	Working script for recorded version, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Recording script, undated
Box   2 Folder   2	Published script, undated, and published script for “The Fiddle,” , 1947
	The World of Sholom Aleichem, 1953
Box   2 Folder   3	Cast credits
Micro 1199	Clippings
Reel   1 Segment   3	New York scrapbook
Reel   1 Segment   4	Chicago scrapbook
Reel   1 Segment   5	General clippings
U.S. Mss 65AN Box   2 Folder   4-5	Correspondence, 1953-1964
Box   2 Folder   6-7	Correspondence re amateur rights, 1953-1957
Box   2 Folder   8	Correspondence re British production, 1953-1956
	Financial records
Box   2 Folder   9	Prospectus
Box   2 Folder   10	New York production, 1953-1954
Box   3 Folder   1	Chicago production, 1954
Box   3 Folder   2	Audits, 1953-1956
Box   3 Folder   3	Financial miscellany
Box   3 Folder   4	Foreign productions-Argentina, 1955
Box   3 Folder   5	Miscellany
WCFTR Item File	Poster for 1956 national tour
U.S. Mss 65AN Box   3 Folder   6	Press releases
Box   3 Folder   7-9	Programs and publicity
Disc 63A	Disc recordings
Tape 401A	Tape recordings
No.   1	Act II
No.   2	Music master of Play of the Week
No.   5	“The Fiddle”
No.   6	“The High School”
No.   7-11	“The Sholom Aleichem Suite”
WCFTR Title File	Photographs
U.S. Mss 65AN	Scripts
	Drafts
Box   3 Folder   10	“Bontche Schweig,” typescript, 1952
Box   3 Folder   11	“High School,” Outline and typescript, 1952
Box   3 Folder   12	Untitled script by Mendele Mocher considered for World..., undated
Box   3 Folder   13	“A Sholom Aleichem Evening,” Spanish translation typescript, undated
	Published scripts
Box   3 Folder   14	“The Melamed, His Wife, the Rabbi, and the Goat,” (later Chelm), 1948
Box   3 Folder   15	Two published scripts, 1954, undated