Hello - I am hoping to find contact information for Susan Frank. She was the graphic designer for the original production of the musical A Chorus Line, and co-wrote a book on graphic design for the theatre in the 1980s (In print : a concise guide to graphic arts and printing for small businesses and nonprofit organizations). The most recent reproductions of her work that I have been able to track down are almost two decades old (in the book The Longest Line) and the authors and publishers no longer have any contact information for her. Similarly, the original producers of the show have likewise purged their files and have no contact information on her.
I realize this is a bit of a long shot, but I thought that within this community there might be someone who either knows her or knows someone who knows her. I’m a theatre historian, so graphic design is a bit outside my normal daily operations…
Thank you for your time, and for any information you can share!
That’s pretty obscure even for a theatre historian.
From IBDB, it looks like she worked exclusively for Producer Joe Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival…
Based on the dates of her work, she has to be in her 70s if she is still alive.
I’m wondering what graphics she designed. For A Chorus Line, someone else is listed as the show poster artist. Was she a scenic artist rather than today’s version of graphic designer?
@PrintDriver - Thanks so much for the ideas! I must admit a weakness for the obscure.
Unfortunately she didn’t work as scenic artist to the best of my knowledge, but solely as a freelance graphic designer, working with the group sales department (as best as I can determine - I should edit my original post to say “a” graphic designer, rather than “the”…). She came to my attention because she is credited with the design for a commemorative poster created when the show became the longest running show on Broadway. The poster itself is quite striking - roughly 6’ tall, it has row after row of casts of A Chorus Line stacked one on top of another (you can see someone’s shots of one here). I managed to snag one on-line a couple of years back. Herbert Migdoll is the credited photographer, and Susan Frank is listed as the poster designer.
After her book I haven’t found any other mentions of her - save the interviews in The Longest Line - so I don’t even know if she stayed active in the profession. Her biography is proving remarkably resistant to unfolding.
I appreciate the lean-in. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to return the favor!
