Department of Special Collections and University Archives.

Marquette University Players: An Exhibit Honoring Rev. John J. Walsh, S.J., and Featuring Photographs by Walter S. Sheffer.
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Photograph of Rev. John J. Walsh, S.J., from the 1960 edition of The Hilltop.Rev. John J. Walsh, S.J. deserves credit for transforming the Marquette University Players from an extracurricular pastime into a major, professional program that earned national and international recognition. Rev. Walsh, the first priest to earn a doctorate in theater from Yale University, arrived at Marquette in 1951. Dozens of his students became noted actors, directors, dancers, and performing arts teachers. Peter Bonerz, Stewart Moss, and Charles Siebert established dual careers in acting and directing. John Neumeier, artistic director of the Hamburg Ballet, is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading choreographers. Fred Barzyk is an established pioneer in video art. Along with those who achieved national reputations—including directors Richard Colla and Michael Schultz, and Tony-nominated actress Helen Carey—many of Rev. Walsh’s students became behind-the-scenes forces in theater and training programs nationwide.

Rev. Walsh also involved the greater Milwaukee community in his sixty productions, tapping the talents of leading performers and visual artists, finding patrons and participants from throughout the region, and training hundreds of children in dance and theater. Rev. Walsh’s partnership with Milwaukee freelance portrait and architectural photographer Walter S. Sheffer resulted in stunning production photos that were used for promotional purposes and often appeared in Milwaukee newspapers. Most of Sheffer’s early negatives were destroyed in a fire at his studio in the 1960s, making the collection of photographs held by Marquette University unique. Sheffer died July 14, 2002, at the age of 82.

The exhibit is arranged as five galleries featuring images from various Players' performances. An additional gallery gives visitors a backstage pass to the Teatro Maria, the home of the Players from 1955-1973. Most of the photographs reproduced in this exhibit were shot by Walter Sheffer and are used with permission. Thanks to Dominique Noth, former Player, for reviewing an initial version of this exhibit.


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Last edited on  Thursday, May 1, 2003.
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