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"The creation of a musical is the most satisfying thing in the world..." Sandy Wilson,
talk
given at Oxford, May 5, 1955 |
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The papers of British author, composer, and lyricist Sandy Wilson include his produced
and
unproduced plays, mostly musicals but also plays for stage and television, as well
as drafts
of his published and unpublished works including an autobiography, illustrated book,
novels,
articles, and short stories, along with correspondence spanning a 60 year period from
the
1930s to 1990s. His musicals, produced worldwide, especially his long-running play
The Boy Friend (1952-1994), are well-represented. Material related
to productions of his plays includes scripts, scores, lyrics, programs, reviews, production
photographs, correspondence, and scrapbooks. Wilson organized his papers prior to
donating
the collection to the Ransom Center. His descriptions are used throughout the following
inventory. Wilson wrote drafts of his works in lined notebooks, often followed later
by
typescripts. To avoid repetition of the entry "holograph
notebook" in the folder list, assume that his writings appear in these notebooks,
unless otherwise noted. |
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The collection is arranged in three Series: Series I. Works, 1936-1994, Series II.
Career-Related Material, and Series III. Correspondence, 1953-1996. |
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Series I is subdivided into Subseries A. Major Works, 1943-1994 and Subseries B. Notebooks
and Drafts, 1936-1981. The produced and unproduced, published and unpublished works
in
Subseries A are arranged alphabetically by title, regardless of literary form. Within
titles, the order follows the creative process from notes and drafts to the completed
work.
For example, for the musical Clapham Wonder, the script
sequence begins with a holograph manuscript, proceeds through two typescript versions,
and
ends with the rehearsal script. If production materials are present, the sequence
may
include lyrics, scripts, correspondence, photographs, programs, and reviews. Some
of
Wilson's plays are based on the works of other writers such as Cecil Beaton ( My Royal Past), Barbara Comyns ( Clapham Wonder), Ronald Firbank ( Caprice), Christopher Isherwood ( Goodbye to Berlin), John Collier ( His Monkey Wife), Compton Mackenzie ( Siren Song), and R. B. Sheridan ( The Rivals), as well as his own original material. |
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The largely unpublished writings in Subseries B, arranged chronologically from 1936-1981,
are also predominantly in the form of holograph notebooks, often with multiple works
contained in a single notebook. Included are plays, novel fragments, short stories,
lyrics,
sketches, talks, scripts, notes for musicals, memoirs, articles, and reviews, some
of which
represent drafts of works present in Subseries A. |
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The career-related material in Series II includes articles by and about Wilson, newspaper
clippings, photographs, programs, scrapbooks, sheet music, sketches, and songs, for
the most
part not directly related to materials in Series I. |
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Personal and professional correspondence from 1953-1996 forms the bulk of Series III.
Also
included are fan mail and correspondence related to Wilson's long-time friend and
agent,
Joan Rees. |
