Stars on stage

"Photographer Eileen Darby came onto the theater scene in 1939 and eschewed the stiff portraits and fixed tableaux that were in vogue. Her style of photographing not only onstage but also backstage and during rehearsals allowed an intimate look at the creative process of theater, and her work appeared in numerous publications, such as Cue, Playbill, and the New York Times." "Darby photographed more than six hundred shows during her career, and her portfolio has become the definitive photographic record of theatrical history. Stars on Stage is the culmination of Darby's work during the theater's golden age and includes dozens of previously unseen pictures of stars such as Lucille Ball, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, and Gregory Peck, as well as the people who created the shows, including Rodgers and Hammerstein, George Abbott, Irving Berlin, and Anita Loos." "With an overview of the theatrical period by John Lahr and a biographical portrait of Darby and her work by Mary Henderson, Stars on Stage is one of the most dynamic books on this period of American culture."--Jacket.