With a career spanning five decades and over three hundred productions, Jo Mielziner was one of New York's prominent set designers, contributing to such musicals as The Barretts of Wimpole Street, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Of Thee I Sing.
Jo Mielziner was born in Paris on March 19, 1901. His parents were American expatriates, choosing to live an artistic lifestyle far from their native land. Mielziner and his older brother, Leo, followed their parents' artistic tradition. Jo enrolled in art school and Leo changed his name and became an actor.
While schooling, Mielziner's brother (now known as Kenneth MacKenna) had him enlisted as a stage manager in Michigan. Fostering an interest in stage design, Mielziner traveled with the Pennsylvania Acadamy to study scenic design around the world. Mielziner apprenticed with famed designer Robert Edmond Jones, starting an enduring career that partnered him with the likes of George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Balanchine, Behrman, Berlin, the Gershwins, Kazan, Frank Loesser, Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein. Jo Mielziner gained fame for his unique visionary style, utilizing elliptical and abstract sets in order to stimulate the imagination of the audience.
Mielziner is also famous for his numerous architectural contributions. His love of the stage led Mielziner to oversee the Mark Taper Forum in the Los Angeles Music Center as well asthe Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center. Additionally, Mielziner consulted on the setting for Michelangelo's Pietà in the Vatican Pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair. Mielziner also had a talent for costume design and set lighting.
In his personal life, Jo Mielziner endured three marriages and two divorces. One marriage ended due to his wife's unfaithfulness, and another due to her alcoholism. Mielziner also maintained inconsistant relationships with his three adopted children.
Jo Mielziner had both a Christian and Jewish lineage, but under the caring observation and direction of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Mielziner converted to full-fledged Catholocism. Mielziner also met and fell in love withBishop Sheen's private secretary. Unfortunately, Mielziner's earlier divorces prevented the two from marrying. Even so, Mielziner was able to enjoy a strong companionship with her after a lifetime of failed marriages.
Jo Mielziner died on the ides of March just short of his 75th birthday. He suffered from a fatal heart attack in a taxicab traveling between appointments for his latest stage production.
Among Jo Mielziner's many accomplishments in architecture was the chapel in Archbishop Sheen's residence.
Sources:
Henderson, Mary. "Jo Mielziner : Designs for the Theater.” 28 August 2007 <http://www.wfu.edu/theatre/resources/mielzinerf/mielbio.htm>
Wikipedia. “Jo Mielziner.” 27 August 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Mielziner>.
Wright, Charles. “Jo Mielziner.” 27 August 2007. <http://theoscarsite.com/whoswho3/mielziner_j.htm>
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