NEW LONDON, CT.- Launchpad of the American Theater: the O’Neill Since 1964 is on view at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum from June 26, 2015 through January 3, 2016. Originally created with New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the exhibition charts the journey of American Theater through the eyes of the O’Neill, from past to present and into the future, with drawings, interviews, videos, photographs, original scripts, and sound.

Since its founding in 1964, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has shaped the course of the American and world theater, creating standard practices and discovering new artists and new work in every discipline. Through its programs in plays, musicals, puppetry, cabaret, criticism, and an undergraduate school, the O’Neill has given rise to the careers of some of the most talented artists and most recognizable plays and musicals in the American theater.

“The O’Neill is like no other in the American theater,” said Preston Whiteway, Executive Director, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. “We are thrilled to bring this exhibit home, and look forward to sharing and celebrating the work that has come through and forever changed the theatrical landscape – in plays, musicals, puppetry, cabaret, criticism and undergraduate education. The O’Neill’s reach extends far beyond Waterford and New London, with dozens of programs modeled on the process, most notably the Sundance Institute, and continues to be a major change agent in American theater. I am grateful to Lyman Allyn Museum for this partnership, and look forward to welcoming everyone to this important exhibition.”

Artifacts featured in the exhibition explore the creative development of playwrights, composers, students, puppeteers, and performers spanning half a decade, including:

•Original manuscripts from seminal works in American Theater such as FENCES (August Wilson), HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES (John Guare), and others.

•Original renderings that inspired productions of FENCES (August Wilson), A WALK IN THE WOODS (Lee Blessing), and others.

•Video and audio from major scores and plays developed at the O’Neill, including IN THE HEIGHTS, NINE, and more.

•Unique images, video, and audio from Michael Douglas, Meryl Streep, John Kransinski, and hundreds of iconic O’Neill figures.

•Original puppets from the AVENUE Q and works by Heather Henson, daughter of Jim & Jane Henson.

•A scaled model of O'Neill's idyllic seaside campus, an environment integral to the development of thousands of voices that fuel the American theater.

•Original Hirshfeld painting of American theater and film critic Edith Oliver, commissioned by the O’Neill in 1994.

•O’Neill’s two Tony Awards: 2010 Regional Theatre Tony Award and a special Tony Award in 1979 for Theatrical Excellence.

•Monte Cristo Award, given annually to theater artist with extraordinary contributions to American Theater.