Noël Coward at the Performing Arts Library

Barry Day, a scholar of Noël Coward and author of The Letters of Noël Coward, recently discussed his interest in "The Master." (Click image to go to video)Barry Day, a scholar of Noël Coward and author of The Letters of Noël Coward, recently discussed his interest in "The Master." (Click image to go to video)On December 10, 1999, the Performing Arts Library inaugurated A Marvelous Party: Noël Coward at 100, a series celebrating the centennial of "The Master." Since the Library's Lincoln Center building was under renovation, the program took place at Cooper Union's Great Hall. More than 1000 people crowded into the venue to hear Dick Cavett, Frank Langella, Paula Laurence, Steve Ross, Marti Stevens, B.D. Wong, and many others talk about Sir Noël and sing his songs. Thus began a happy relationship between The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Estate of Noël Coward.

With the generous assistance of the Noël Coward Foundation, the Performing Arts Library is preparing web pages which will tell the story of Noël Coward in New York. The pages will combine an article by Barry Day on Coward's New York career with materials selected from the vast holdings of the Library's divisions, as well as clips from many of the public programs presented by the Performing Arts Library since that festive day in 1999.