Scenic Artist Arnold Abramson to Receive Second Annual "Backstage Legends and Masters" Award

	Arnold Abramson

The Broadway Technical Theatre History Project at Purchase College-SUNY will honor scenic artist Arnold Abramson with the second annual "Backstage Legends and Masters" award on Monday, April 22, at 7pm. The event will take place in the Performing Arts Center on the college's campus at 735 Anderson Hill Road.

One of the past century's most influential scenic artists, Abramson has painted more than 600 Broadway production sets, including the original The King and I, My Fair Lady, 42nd Street, Annie, Hello, Dolly, Sunday in the Park with George, Camelot, Sweeney Todd, The Sound of Music, Evita, Cats, and, Bells are Ringing. He has worked with a "Who's Who" of designers, including Oliver Smith, Jo Mielziner, Ben Edwards, David Hays, Robin Wagner, Raul Pene Du Bois, David Mitchell, Boris Aronson, Rouben Ter-Arutunian, and Tony Walton.

Dan Hanessian, an associate professor of technical direction and production management in the design/technology program of the conservatory of theatre arts at Purchase College, launched the Backstage Legends and Masters program last year. "We are excited to be honoring Arnold Abramson, a brilliant artist who has enhanced some of the most important Broadway shows with his acclaimed artistry," said Hanessian. "It is inspiring that Mr. Abramson has had such a long and notable career, spanning more than 60 years!"

Abramson began his career in 1950, joining the United Scenic Artists Union local 829 in 1951. He worked for several years at Triangle Studios, owned by the master scenic artist Joseph Urban, before accepting a founding position with the most preeminent scene shop at the time, owned by Willie Nolan. Abramson joined Nolan and Charlie Bender as Nolan Scenery Studios moved from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn in 1961, and later became owner of the studio. After moving to Florida in 1991, Abramson continued his career with Studio South and Coconut Studios, before retiring in 2012.

Presented by the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project, the Backstage Legends and Masters event is webcast live and also archived for future viewing.

The event is free and open to the public.

Backstage Legends and Masters, founded by Hanessian, is an annual public presentation that focuses on individuals who have been central to the realization of Broadway productions for many years but are not typically provided recognition through the Tony or Drama Desk awards. Each year, an individual is selected by a panel of distinguished professionals who represent a variety of Broadway production specialties.

"The goal of the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project is to create a living history of the shops and technical personnel who have played a role in the realization of Broadway productions," Hanessian explains.

This information will be available to the public in a centralized database -- allowing individuals to view the data in a variety of ways. It is also intended that a visual history/ timeline of the shops will be created to augment the narrative aspects of the project.