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Finding aid for the Beth Henley Collection

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MUM00228

Finding Aid for the Beth Henley Collection
(MUM00228)

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The Beth Henley Collection is open for research.

Finding Aid for the Beth Henley Collection


Descriptive Summary

PURL: http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00228/
Title: Beth Henley Collection
Dates: 1982-1989
Creator: Henley, Beth
Physical Extent: 26 boxes (10.84 linear feet)
Repository: University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections. University, MS 38677, USA
Identification: MUM00228
Location: General Special Collections

Language of Material: English
Abstract: The collection chiefly contains drafts and versions of screenplays written by Mississippi
playwright and screenwriter Beth Henley.

Administrative Information

Processing Information

Collection processed by Archives and Special Collections staff. Finding aid encoded
by Kathryn Michaelis, July 2012.

Additions

No further additions are expected to this collection.


Subject Terms

Henley, Beth
Dramatists, American — 20th century
Women dramatists, American


Formats

scripts (documents)


Biographical Note

Playwright and screenwriter Beth Henley was born in Jackson, Miss. in 1952. Many of
her works are set in Mississippi and feature southern characters and themes. Perhaps
her best-known play is Crimes of the Heart, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1981. Crimes of the Heart also earned Henley a Tony award nomination, and was adapted as a film of the same
title in 1986. Her other works include The Wake of Jamey Foster (1983); The Miss Firecracker Contest (1985); The Debutante Ball (1991); Family Week (2000); Ridiculous Fraud (2006); and others.


Scope and Content Note

The collection chiefly contains drafts and versions of screenplays written by Mississippi
playwright and screenwriter Beth Henley.


User Information

Preferred Citation

Beth Henley Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The
University of Mississippi

Access Restrictions

The Beth Henley Collection is open for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the
making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under
certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized
to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions
is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other
than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for,
or
later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,”
that user may be liable for copyright infringement.


Related Material

Resources at the University of Mississippi

Beth Henley Small Manuscripts Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library

For more resources related to Mississippi authors, please see the Archives’ Literary Collections Subject Guide.


Arrangement

This collection is arranged at the box level. Each box contains materials related
to a particular screenplay or screenplays, unless otherwise indicated.


Container List

Box 1

Press kits for True Stories and Crimes of the Heart
Box 2

The Moonwatcher notes
Scope: The title of The Moonwatcher was changed to Nobody’s Fool and produced as a film under that name in 1986.
Box 3

Notes on Am I Blue and Rosemond
Box 4

Miss Firecracker; Musical Parade; Sisters of the Winter Madrigal
Box 5

Crimes of the Heart
Box 6

The Moonwatcher, various drafts, 1982-1984
Box 7

The Moonwatcher, various drafts and script notes, 1985-1986
Box 8

The Moonwatcher, handwritten notes
Box 9

The Moonwatcher, various drafts, undated
Box 10

Crimes of the Heart, various versions of screenplay, 1982-1985
Box 11

Crimes of the Heart, various versions of screenplay, 1985-1986
Box 12

Crimes of the Heart, handwritten notes, script pages
Box 13

The Lucky Spot, various drafts of screenplay
Box 14

The Lucky Spot, handwritten notes and partial scripts
Box 15

True Stories, various drafts of screenplay
Box 16

True Stories, notes and source material
Box 17

Am I Blue; Sisters of the Winter Madrigal; Hymn in the attic; The Miss Firecracker Contest; Television survival guides
Box 18

Crimes of the Heart pre-production notebook; The Moonwatcher location photographs
Box 19

Abundance
Box 20

Abundance
Box 21

The Debutante Ball; The Lucky Spot
Box 22

22.1

The Miss Firecracker Contest holographic version, 10 June 1987; typescript photocopy, 10 June 1987
22.2

The Miss Firecracker Contest First Edition of Text, Manhattan Theatre Club Production
22.3

Twelve pages of Holographic Notes—”E Sits on the stairs”
22.4

The Miss Firecracker Contest typescript photocopies, first draft with holographic notes, 2 July 1987
22.5

The Miss Firecracker Contest, holographic version, 80 pp.
22.6

The Miss Firecracker Contest, holographic version p. 81-136; typescript photocopy first draft, 10 June 1987
Box 23

23.1

The Miss Firecracker Contest, holographic change second draft, August 1987
23.2

The Miss Firecracker Contest, second draft, 4 September 1987
23.3

The Miss Firecracker Contest, holographic changes, third draft, 20 February 1988
Box 24

Crimes of the Heart (three versions); The Miss Firecracker Contest
Box 25

Crimes of the Heart
Box 26

Crimes of the Heart


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