Aronson, Boris

Aronson, Boris (1900–80), scenic designer. After studying art and set design in his native Kiev, in Moscow, and in Berlin, he came to New York in 1923 and soon found employment designing sets for the Unser Theatre in the Bronx, for the Yiddish Art Theatre, and later for the Civic Repertory Theatre. Aronson soon moved into the commercial theatre, where his work was seen in such shows as Walk a Little Faster (1932), Three Men on a Horse (1935), Awake and Sing! (1935), The Gentle People (1939), Cabin in the Sky (1940), Detective Story (1949), I Am a Camera (1951), Bus Stop (1955), A View from the Bridge (1955), The Diary of Anne Frank (1955), Fiddler on the Roof (1964), Cabaret (1966), Company (1970), A Little Night Music (1973), and Pacific Overtures (1976). When plays required them, he designed excellent realistic settings, but his forte was highly stylized, often symbolic settings, such as those he conceived for J. B. (1958) and for such failures as the futuristic Sweet Bye and Bye (1946) and Orpheus Descending (1957). Aronson's stylization, free placement of form, and use of bright colors were heavily influenced by his admiration of Marc Chagall. He was also one of the first to employ projections against neutral backgrounds to effect changes of mood and place. Biography: The Theatre Art of Boris Aronson, Frank Rich and Lisa Aronson, 1987.