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32-573: Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut . Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of the view from the Connecticut River and is the birthplace of some of the world's most famous musicals, including Annie , Man of La Mancha , and Shenandoah . Goodspeed Musicals also includes

64-693: A Tenor , and Nine . Other recent credits include Young Frankenstein , The Ritz , Chicago , and Curtains . In 2000 Long was chosen by the National Theatre Conference as its "Person of the Year" and was honored with the "Legend of Fashion" Award by the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame for 2005. He remains active in many local activities throughout

96-464: A celebrity as the people who wear them," wrote Encore Magazine's art columnist, Lauren Hodges. "His pieces are so lively that they seem to have personalities on their own. The movements the costumes were made for seem to reflect in the fabric. Each detail is lovingly stitched for the characters of the stage and speaks of the story itself, giving the viewer a little taste of the spectacle that is Broadway." Long has also costumed for Siegfried & Roy at

128-432: A props assistant while working on The Lost Colony in 1996. In November 2021, National Public Radio published an article detailing accusations of sexual abuse and predatory behavior against Long. Long was accused of assaulting a costumer designer during the summer of 2001, and assaulting another props assistant/actor over multiple summers. A lawsuit against Long and others filed by a production manager for The Lost Colony

160-846: Is also home to the Scherer Library of Musical Theatre , which houses the largest musical theatre research facility in the United States. They have also built state-of-the-art production facilities including scenery shops, costume shops and a large costume storage facility. Goodspeed Costume Rentals houses the premier costume collection on the East Coast. More than 250,000 items are available to rent for professional and amateur productions, featuring costumes from Tony-winning Broadway designers such as William Ivey Long , Gregg Barnes , Catherine Zuber , Willa Kim , Florence Klotz , Linda Cho , Anthony Powell , and more. Tours of many of

192-695: Is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region . The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census . Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk , the Mohegan and the Niantic . The Indigenous nations called the area "Machimoodus", the place of noises, because of numerous earthquakes that were recorded between 1638 and 1899. Loud rumblings,

224-507: Is superintendent of schools. Located in Moodus, Connecticut , the three schools in the public school system are: William Ivey Long Long was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 30, 1947, to William Ivey Long Sr., a Winthrop University professor and stage director, and his wife Mary, who was a high school theatre teacher, actress and playwright. His father was the founder of

256-813: The Hartt School and the Boston Conservatory performing staged readings of new musicals, seminars, a symposium and cabaret performances. Each winter, Goodspeed also hosts the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove , a retreat for theater writers. Critic fellows from the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT travel to the Goodspeed each summer to practice reviewing full productions. Goodspeed Musicals

288-665: The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester as well as several writing and performing seminars. Goodspeed Musicals is considered one of the foremost regional theaters in the United States to date producing 250 musicals, over 70 world premieres, and sending 21 productions to Broadway. Goodspeed Musicals is the first regional theatre in America to earn two special Tony Awards , one in 1980 for outstanding contributions to

320-576: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue a Ph.D. in art history. At Chapel Hill he met visiting professor Betty Smith who suggested he apply to the design program at Yale University . He left UNC and went to the Yale School of Drama to study set design. It was here that he met Sigourney Weaver (his roommate at the time), Wendy Wasserstein , Meryl Streep , Christopher Durang , and Paul Rudnick , who were all also students at

352-658: The Winthrop University theatre department. William grew up in Manteo, North Carolina and Rock Hill, South Carolina . Upon graduation from high school Long attended the College of William and Mary where he studied history and graduated in 1969, after spending many of his high school and undergraduate summers with his family at Manteo, North Carolina , where Mary, William, Robert, and Laura worked for Paul Green's outdoor drama, The Lost Colony . He then attended

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384-724: The " Moodus Noises ", could be heard for miles surrounding the epicenter of the quakes near Mt. Tom. The land, which is now Haddam and East Haddam, was purchased by settlers from the natives in 1662 for thirty coats, worth about $ 100. Layout of the highways began in 1669 with Creek Row about ¼ mile east of the River and Town Street “The Great Highway” about ¼ mile east of Creek Row. The first permanent settlers established homesteads along Creek Row in 1685. By 1700, there were thirty families living in East Haddam. Agricultural and timber farming, shipbuilding, tanneries and blacksmiths were among

416-492: The American musical and a second in 1995 for distinguished achievement for a regional theatre. The Opera House was originally built by a local merchant and banker, William Henry Goodspeed. Construction began in 1876 and finished in 1877. Despite the name, it was not in fact an opera house , but rather a venue for presenting plays. Its first play, Charles II , opened on October 24, 1877. After William Goodspeed's death in 1882,

448-477: The Goodspeed facilities can be scheduled in advance for a small fee. Tickets to the opera house or theatre productions should be ordered in advance as most performances in the relatively small theater sell-out quickly. In 1984, Goodspeed Musicals added a second performance venue—the Norma Terris Theatre —in nearby Chester, Connecticut , occasionally referred to as the Goodspeed-At-Chester. While

480-616: The Mirage Hotel, Leonard Bernstein 's operas A Quiet Place and Trouble in Tahiti , and ballets at the New York City Ballet for Peter Martins , Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp . In June 2012, he was elected Chairman of The American Theatre Wing . He was the first working theatre artist to hold this position since Helen Hayes. In an August 2018 BuzzFeed News report, Long was accused of having sexually harassed

512-406: The average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the town

544-404: The dock area up a vacant elevator shaft that is now outfitted with a winch system to haul the scenery up to the stage level. Much care has to be taken in order to get the scenery up the shaft without scratching or ruining the scenery. One story told around Goodspeed is that while loading in the scenery for Annie's original pre-Broadway run, a strong gust of wind took a large piece of scenery out of

576-601: The early commerce. Captain John Chapman began ferry service across the Connecticut River in 1695, which ended with the completion of the swing bridge in 1913. East Haddam was incorporated as a separate town from Haddam in 1734. By 1756, there were nearly 2,000 residents, with the Millington District as the most populated. Growth of commerce brought a surge in population to around 3,000 people by

608-479: The hands of the loaders and blew it into the Connecticut River. Goodspeed Musicals was formed in 1959 by a group of concerned citizens after the state of Connecticut had condemned the building. The state agreed to sell the building to the group for one dollar, provided they acquire enough funding to restore and maintain it. The restoration project took nearly four years, and the Goodspeed Opera House

640-471: The main stage presents a mixture of revivals and new musicals as part of its 3 production season, The Norma Terris presents exclusively new musicals each season. Several original musicals debuted there or at the opera house before going on to Broadway and winning Tony Awards . East Haddam, Connecticut East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut , United States. The town

672-538: The mid-1800s. In the nineteenth century, Moodus was the “Twine Capital of America,” with twelve mills in operation. In the winter of 1773, American patriot Nathan Hale briefly taught in a one-room schoolhouse in East Haddam which is now a living history museum operated by Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution . Visitors and residents such as actor William Gillette whose castle home

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704-410: The opera house fell into disrepair, facing a series of less glamorous uses—from a militia base during World War I to a general store and a Department of Transportation storage facility. The building is unique for a theater. The theater itself is actually located on the top two floors of the building, making for interesting and sometimes difficult scenery and show load-ins. Scenery is loaded-in from

736-543: The other for outstanding achievement by a regional theatre. Goodspeed Musicals also pursues its mission through the Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre, which offers internships and new writers' residency programs. Their Arts Education Collaboration provides art-education programs for underserved Connecticut youth. Goodspeed's annual Festival of New Musicals features students from

768-408: The population. There were 3,174 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and

800-477: The show. This marked Long's first Broadway production; he has since designed for over 60 Broadway shows. He has been nominated for eighteen Tony Awards , winning six (for Nine , Crazy for You , The Producers , Hairspray , Grey Gardens , and Cinderella ). He has also won the Drama Desk Award for outstanding costume design for Hairspray , The Producers , Guys and Dolls , Lend Me

832-484: The state of North Carolina including working with Paul Green's The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama in Manteo, North Carolina which he and his family have been a part of since he was a young child. The Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina featured an exhibition of Long's designs titled "Between Taste and Travesty: Costume Designs by William Ivey Long." "Long's creations have had a tendency to become as much of

864-399: The town. The population density was 153.4 inhabitants per square mile (59.2/km ). There were 4,015 housing units at an average density of 73.9 per square mile (28.5/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 97.26% White , 0.84% African American , 0.28% Native American , 0.40% Asian , 0.46% from other races , and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.98% of

896-492: The university. While at Yale he studied under designer Ming Cho Lee , whom he has credited with being a major influence on his work. Upon his graduation from Yale in 1975, he moved to New York City where he worked for couturier Charles James as an unpaid apprentice until James's death in 1978. A friend of his from Yale, Karen Schulz, who was the set designer for a Broadway revival of Nikolai Gogol's The Inspector General , suggested that Long be hired to do costume designs for

928-537: Was $ 62,304, and the median income for a family was $ 70,091. Males had a median income of $ 45,500 versus $ 36,055 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 28,112. About 1.0% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over. 2017 CERT Town Profile, click here. The East Haddam Public School System has about 1,100 students in grades Pre-K–12; about 121 certified teachers, 70 support staff and 7 administrators. Ms. Teresa DeBrito

960-420: Was completed in 1914, were drawn to the area known for its rural charm and natural scenery. The growth of the resort areas of Lake Hayward, Bashan Lake and Moodus Reservoir began in the early 1900s and was a booming business for the next fifty years. Lake Hayward is a small private lake community within East Haddam that is home to around 120 families, most living at the lake only during summer months. East Haddam

992-554: Was listed as one of the 52 Places to Love in 2021 by the New York Times . According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 56.6 square miles (147 km ), of which, 54.3 square miles (141 km ) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km ) of it (3.96%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 8,333 people, 3,174 households, and 2,285 families residing in

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1024-434: Was rededicated on June 8, 1963. The first performance in the new opera house was Oh, Lady! Lady! Under the direction of Michael P. Price from 1968 to 2014, and Michael Gennaro since 2014, Goodspeed Musicals has sent 19 productions to Broadway. Goodspeed productions have won more than a dozen Tony Awards , while Goodspeed Musicals itself has won two special Tonys, one for outstanding contributions to American Musicals and

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