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Michael McKensie Pratt Professional Papers (MS-01068)

Abstract

The Michael McKensie Pratt Professional Papers (approximately 1950-2021) contain costume designs, musical selections, and synopsis for shows that Pratt worked on in Las Vegas, Nevada including 90 Degrees & Rising, Les Folies Chic, and Jubilee!. The collection also contains souvenir show programs for cabaret shows performed in Paris, France and Las Vegas, Nevada, including Lido de Paris, Casino de Paris, Bal du Moulin Rouge, and Folies Bergere. Materials also include copies of Pratt's curriculum vita and swing bible used by Pratt when he was the co-company manager for Jubilee!. Also included are video recordings of shows Pratt choreographed and an archived version of Pratt's personal website.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1950 to 2021

Extent

8.53 Cubic Feet (5 boxes, 8 oversized boxes, 1 flat file)
15.21 Linear Feet
1 websites (0.046 GB) WARC
480 digital_files (11.345 GB) M4V, JPG, PDF/A, MP3

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

The Michael McKensie Pratt Professional Papers (approximately 1950-2021) contain costume designs, musical selections, and synopsis for shows that Pratt worked on in Las Vegas, Nevada including 90 Degrees & Rising, Les Folies Chic, and Jubilee!. The collection also contains souvenir show programs for cabaret shows performed in Paris, France and Las Vegas, Nevada, including Lido de Paris, Casino de Paris, Bal du Moulin Rouge, and Folies Bergere. Materials also include copies of Pratt's curriculum vita and swing bible used by Pratt when he was the co-company manager for Jubilee!. The swing bible is a reference manual that tracks technical steps, components, and choreography for each musical number and performer. Also included are video recordings of shows Pratt choreographed and an archived version of Pratt's personal website.

Access Note

Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Arrangements must be made in advance to access digital files; please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives for additional information. The archived website is available for access at https://archive-it.org/collections/17113.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials are grouped by performance.

General Note

Optical discs are housed throughout collection. All optical discs remaining in this collection have been reviewed and ingested.

Biographical / Historical Note

Michael McKensie Pratt was a performer and choreographer who danced in a number of cabaret productions such as Lido de Paris in Paris, France and Las Vegas, Nevada. Pratt worked as a choreographer primarily in Las Vegas and northern Nevada for shows including 90 Degrees and Rising and Presenting Mr. Diamond for the Theatre Ballet of Las Vegas. Pratt also managed shows including Jubilee! at the MGM Grand Hotel and for Lido de Paris at the Stardust hotel. Pratt passed away in 2021 due to complications from COVID-19.

Sources:

Michael McKensie Pratt Papers, approximately 1963-2021. MS-01068. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pratt, Michael McKensie. "In loving memory..." 24 January 2021. Facebook.

Preferred Citation

Michael McKensie Pratt Professional Papers, approximately 1950-2021. MS-01068. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1d17t

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated in 2021 and 2023 by Mary Julia Boyd; accession numbers 2021-102 and 2023-043.

Processing Note

In 2021, Tammi Kim minimally processed the collection during accessioning and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. Video files were transferred off of two optical discs and access files created. One archived website was captured, preserved, and managed using Archive-It, a web archiving subscription service. In 2023, Sarah Jones organized and rehoused the collection and updated the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. Access copies were created for digital files.

Resource Type

Papers

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NVLN::MS01068

Appraisal Note

Acquired by Su Kim Chung, curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings in entertainment history. The original acquisition included 81 optical discs that were appraised and removed due to duplication. The duplicate discs were removed by Tammi Kim and securely destroyed in 2023.

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English