Industry NewsBroadway's Carol Rosegg and Joan Marcus Speak at NY Public Library September 12
Archives of the two photographers' works at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts were recently made available to the public.
By
Leah Putnam
September 12, 2022
Carol Rosegg and Joan Marcus
Amy Klein
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents a free discussion with Broadway and Off-Broadway photographers Joan Marcus and Carol Rosegg September 12 at 6 PM. The two industry veterans will sit down with theatre reporter Roma Torre and Peter Marks in the Bruno Walter Auditorium.
The Billy Rose Theatre Division of the famed library has recently made the archives of Marcus and Rosegg, acquired in 2018, publicly accessible. The collected works are one of the library's largest digital acquisitions of photography.
Since 1980, Marcus and Rosegg have documented Tony-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions in New York and across the country, in addition to portraits of performers and theatre artists. Over the decades, the two photographers and close friends shared a studio space as they ran their individual theatre photography businesses.
Marcus began at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center ahead of making the move to New York's theatre scene in 1992. Since then, she has captured images of original Broadway productions, including Angels in America, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, Rent, and Hamilton.
Beginning as Martha Swope's assistant, Rosegg covered select theatre companies such as New York City Opera, Vineyard Theatre, and Irish Repertory Theatre before establishing her own practice in 1994.
The Library for the Performing Arts has scheduled an exhibition highlighting selections from the archives for 2024.
Check out some favorite photos from the pair below.
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Through the Lens With Joan Marcus
Through the Lens With Joan Marcus
Most of the world sees Broadway through the eyes of Joan Marcus. Since the early 1990s, Marcus has been the preeminent photographer who shoots the production photos you see in papers, magazines and on websites. Marcus shares recollections about some of her most memorable shots. Read the Playbill.com story.
12 PHOTOS
When she photographed the 2008 revival of Gypsy, she captured star Patti LuPone's wild energy in a classic eyes-closed arms-in-the-air shot during "Rose's Turn."
Joan Marcus
But when she shot Bernadette Peters' 2003 revival of the same show, Marcus chose a quieter moment. "I loved her positioning and the way the light fell. She's in the spotlight, but 'Rose's Turn' hasn't come yet."
Joan Marcus
"I love unusual shadows, especially silhouettes." A perfect example is a production shot from La Cage aux Folles, showing Les Cagelles only in red silhouette. "You don't need to see their faces to know who these people are. And look at those legs!"
Joan Marcus
She took her iconic photo of Angels in America during a very brief shoot at a run-through. She was able to get off just a handful of snaps in the final moments of the show.
Joan Marcus
She had a similarly brief time to catch the spirit of the play's second part, Perestroika, and zeroed in on the Angel once again, landing what is possibly an even more beautiful—if less famous—image.
Marcus generally takes two kinds of photos: "production shots" typically taken during a dress rehearsal or an early preview. She sometimes also schedules "set-ups," which are done on the stage or even in her studio.
Joan Marcus
She photographed Sierra Boggess for hours on two occasions. "Getting that tail in the right position was a real challenge. Suddenly the tail came up and she had the perfect expression on her face. Not one other time did the tail go up like that."
Joan Marcus
For the 2004 revival of 12 Angry Men, "It was so flat from the point of view of the audience. So I put a ladder in the wings and had them do [a voting scene]. It was a perspective that the audience never saw, but it had everyone in the picture."
Joan Marcus
Similarly, for Life x 3, which was presented in the round at the Circle in the Square Theatre, Marcus climbed onto the theatre's catwalk to capture the circular set from above.
Joan Marcus
In 1985 Marcus was hired by the Kennedy Center as chief production photographer. Among the shows presented there was Zoe Caldwell in Lillian. The producers liked her photos so much, they used them for the New York production as well.
Joan Marcus
More shows followed, including Bill Irwin's Largely New York...
Joan Marcus
... and the Tony-winning M. Butterfly, and soon New York producers were seeking her services directly.
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![For the 2004 revival of <i>12 Angry Men</i>, "It was so flat from the point of view of the audience. So I put a ladder in the wings and had them do [a voting scene]. It was a perspective that the audience never saw, but it had everyone in the picture."](http://assets.playbill.com/editorial/_embeddedGallerySize/769a3f5948983cb36e77edb06cff3e73-marcusfeat12.jpg)
![Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell in [title of show] hr](http://assets.playbill.com/editorial/_embeddedGallerySize/ded2cc2821c8b58aa6a4ec06945ec5ab-tos-587r.jpg)
