Blitzstein Resources
Books
Biographies
Pollack, Howard. Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012).
The fullest treatment of Blitzstein’s life to date, by the biographer of George Gershwin and Aaron Copland.- Gordon, Eric. Mark the Music: The Life and Work of Marc Blitzstein (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989).
- Lehrman, Leonard J. Marc Blitzstein: A Bio-Bibliography (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005).
An exhaustive catalogue of Blitzstein’s compositions and writings, with performance lists and review excerpts.
Links
- Tributes to Marc Blitzstein published in the Kurt Weill Newsletter, Spring 2012 (PDF, 324 KB)
- Archival broadcast of excerpts of No for an Answer from WNYC
- Finding aid for Marc Blitzstein Papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society
- Marc Blitzstein page on the Kurt Weill Foundation website. KWF holds selected scores, librettos and other archival materials in its archive at the Weill/Lenya Research Center in New York City. For more information email WLRC@kwf.org.
Other
- Gruen, John, Close-Up (New York: Viking, 1968).
Includes interview with Blitzstein conducted in September 1963 (pp. 166-171). - Orson Welles, The Cradle Will Rock: An Original Screenplay (Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Teresa Press, 1994).
In 1999, the film Cradle Will Rock appeared, a fictional retelling of the story of the premiere of Blitzstein’s opera in 1937, directed by Tim Robbins. Publications in three media resulted:- The home video release of the film: Touchstone Home Video 18288 ISBN: 0-7888-1821-X
- The soundtrack: RCA Victor 09026-63577-2
- The book: Tim Robbins, Cradle Will Rock: The Movie and the Moment (New York: Newmarket Press, 2000). ISBN: 1-55704-399-X
Important collaborators or associates of Blitzstein
- Leonard Bernstein
- Orson Welles
- John Houseman
- Aaron Copland
- Jerome Robbins
- Frank Loesser
- Nadia Boulanger
- Brenda Lewis
- Alexander Smallens
- David Diamond
Important singers or actors that appeared in Blitzstein works
- Will Geer (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Carol Channing (No for an Answer)
- Alfred Drake (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Vivian Vance (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Robert Lewis (directed Regina, Reuben Reuben)
- Russell Nype (Regina)
- Brenda Lewis (Regina)
- William Warfield (Regina)
- Eddie Albert (Reuben Reuben)
- Evelyn Lear (Reuben Reuben)
- Lotte Lenya (I’ve Got the Tune, Threepenny Opera)
- Bea Arthur (Threepenny Opera)
- Jo Sullivan Loesser (Threepenny Opera)
- Charlotte Rae (Threepenny Opera)
- Jerry Orbach (The Cradle Will Rock, Threepenny Opera)
- Shirley Booth (Juno)
- Melvyn Douglas (Juno)
- Jean Stapleton (Juno)
- Tammy Grimes (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Jose Ferrer (Idiots First, directed Juno)
- Patti LuPone (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Victoria Clark (Juno)
- Danny Burstein (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Raúl Esparza (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Judy Kuhn (The Cradle Will Rock)
- Jeanine Tesori (directed The Cradle Will Rock)