The Ohio State Theatre Research Institute is proud to display some of Hollywood’s most cherished memorabilia.”The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute was established in 1951 with the goal of collecting, preserving, maintaining and making accessible research materials pertaining to preforming arts with an emphasis upon live performance,” said Dr. Alan Woods, director of the institute and associate professor. Lawrence and Lee were American playwrights who wrote “Auntie Mame,” “The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail,” and their most famous, “Inherit the Wind.”Located on the 14th floor of Lincoln Tower, the institute displays everything neatly, with plastic sheaths protecting old photographs and glass cases containing costumes worn in plays and shows. The most prominent of which is a costume worn by Mikhail Baryshnikov in “Push Comes To Shove.”In addition to costumes, the institute also displays scripts, posters, and photos. Some objects of special interest are ’80s scripts from “As the World Turns,” a series of transcripts in different languages from “Inherit the Wind,” a collection of clippings, photos and programs from Isabel Bigley Barnett who starred in “Me and Juliet,” “Oklahoma” and was the first to play Sarah Brown in “Guys and Dolls.”The institute has an archive of Twyla Tharp items, incuding posters, photos, programs, choreographic notes and personal papers, Woods said. Twyla Tharp is a world-renowned dancer and choreographer from the 20th century.”Not only is this our most extensive collection, but it’s also an ongoing collection,” said Dr. John Taylor, assistant to director and curator. “She still sends us items and has taken a very active role in her collection. Twyla sometimes calls and wants a piece sent to her to review or copy and we send it to her and when she’s done, she’ll send it back. It’s a very beneficial arrangement for everybody.”According to Taylor, his favorite is the Earl Wilson collection. Wilson was a columnist for the New York Post and was familiar with the stars of Hollywood.”The great thing about Wilson is that he was always nice, things were said in jest and he wasn’t out to knock anyone down,” said Jeremy Dubin, a second year Master of Fine Arts major, who also holds the Wilson collection in high esteem. “It was completely different from today’s gossip columns.” “This is my personal favorite,” Dubin said. “But it’s really hard to pick one thing that is special. While researching and working, we come across some really bizarre things.”An example of what Dublin calls “bizarre,” is a picture of a very young, very naked Barbara Walters holding a large, round object in front of her attributes. “Nobody ever guesses who this is, it’s a real kick for us,” Dubin said.Nena Couch, curator and associate professor of the institute, said that she really does not have a personal favorite. “I can’t have one, or if I did, it would constantly be changing because the collection is always changing. I usually get really caught up in one project and love it and then a new one comes in and it’s my favorite,” she said.The Lawrence and Lee Research Institute is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.