Jill Knowles was for many summers a resident of Matunuck, and her family connection to South County goes back several major hurricanes.
She began her career for Tommy in 1973 at age 16 when she was a dancer in Oklahoma! and one of Tiger Lily's dancing Indians in Peter Pan. Jill returned to TBTS for the last half of the 1976 season, replacing Addie Knight as Property Mistress for the productions of Hello Dolly!, Irene, Godpell, and Candide, the latter put up during a hurricane.
Her swansong season was 1978 (when we met) where she continued in her previous capacity for The Fantasticks, Shenandoah, The King & I, and Pippin.
In New York she worked for FEDAPT, then the Manhattan Theatre Club, and a few years later she married the Broadway Musical Director and Grammy winner Paul Sullivan, and they have resided for twenty-eight happy seasons in Maine.
Her collection includes the 1973 REGULATIONS OF THEATRE BY-THE-SEA; INFORMATION FOR THE JUNIOR COMPANY; and the only known surviving program for a kid's show, Peter Pan. These documents are one-of-a-kind which even Tommy didn't save!
The 1973 season:
The Regulations. I feel very sorry for the Stage Manager.
Information for the Junior Company:
The PETER PAN program:
