Tharon Musser (1925-2009)

Live Design Online is reporting that Tharon Musser, quite possibly the most revered lighting designer in New York theatre, has passed away at the age of 84 after a long illness. Musser got her start on Broadway with the original Broadway production of Long Day's Journey Into Night in 1956 and worked steadily for over forty years. A mere sampling of her 120-something Broadway credits include: The Entertainer, JB, Once Upon a Mattress, Here's Love, Any Wednesday, Golden Boy, Kelly, Flora the Red Menace, The Lion in Winter, Mame, A Delicate Balance, Hallelujah Baby!, The Birthday Party, Applause, Follies (Tony award), The Prisoner of Second Avenue, A Little Night Music, Candide revival, Mack & Mabel, The Wiz, Same Time Next Year, Pacific Overtures, A Chorus Line (Tony award), 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, The Act, Ballroom, They're Playing Our Song, Children of a Lesser God, 42nd Street, Dreamgirls (Tony award), Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Real Thing, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Lost in Yonkers, The Secret Garden and Lonesome West. She won three Tonys and was nominated for a total of ten. Her lighting work on A Chorus Line completely revolutionized her art, as it marked the first wholly computerized lighting console. Musser is survived by her partner Marilyn Rennagel.