"He was a virtuoso in all departments of show business," The New York Times wrote in 1973. Few figures in theatre are remembered as well rounded as Sir Noël Coward, British playwright, director, composer. He could sing, act, wrote genre-defining plays, musicals, and songs to such a high degree that during his time he was often referred to as "The Master." But while Broadway lovers often cite Rodgers and Hammerstein or Andrew Lloyd Webber, Coward’s name and work are less well known and presented in the mainstream today.

Arianne Johnson Quinn, scholar, archivist, and librarian seeks to rectify this. She has received the inaugural Noël Coward Fellowship presented by the Billy Rose Theater Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts supported by the Noël Coward Foundation. Dr. Quinn, who received her Ph.D. in Historical Musicology from Princeton University and currently works at Florida State University, became interested in Noël Coward through her dissertation research on Cole Porter’s works for the London stage. She plans on using the fellowship to explore and bring to light the archive at the Library for the Performing Arts, using new essays, programs, and research guides to provide a kind of road map for future scholars.

"The Billy Rose Theatre Division has had a long relationship with Noël Coward’s work, and I am extremely pleased that Arianne will make our Coward holdings more discoverable to Coward scholars and artists worldwide," said Doug Reside, Curator. "I am delighted that Arianne Quinn has been selected for the inaugural Fellowship," Noël Coward Foundation Chair, Alan Brodie said. "Dr. Quinn has a real love and passion for Noël Coward and her expertise in the American and British musicals make her an ideal person to take up this role. Our collaborations with The New York Public Library have been extremely successful over many years and we look forward to our partnership continuing in the years ahead.”

"Noël Coward is at the center of everything theatrical in Britain," Quinn explained. "He knew everyone," she said, "but also was influenced by everyone and influenced everyone—he played such a key cultural role." Yet, despite this extraordinary impact Coward had on the theatre world, and while there are many Coward enthusiasts today, "much of our scholarly attention has been focused on the main figures in American musical theatre, or focused on people from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s generation onward. I felt like this was a fascinating person that had a lot of connection to and a lot to say about British cultural life, but there was a very serious gap that I thought I could address."

When Coward came to New York in 1921 he was unknown in the theatre world at that time, but by 1925 he took Broadway by storm. Within three months of his arrival, three plays by him appeared on Broadway stages—The Vortex, in which he acted a leading part, Hay Fever, and Easy Virtue. From then on, Coward was at the heart of a powerful cultural exchange between Britain and the United States. Quinn intends to use her fellowship to explore this cultural connection and increase awareness so that future scholars can continue the work. "What I keep hearing from colleagues of mine in relation to Coward is that they don’t know an archive of his exists, or where to find it. Especially because I’m an archivist/librarian, and a scholar, I want something that connects those pieces for people coming after me."

Arianne plans to spend several weeks throughout the year in New York, spending much of her time in the Library for the Performing Arts. Stay tuned for the future public programming she will bring us through her scholarly research, and for more updates about all things Coward.

Dr. Arianne Johnson Quinn

Dr. Arianne Johnson Quinn is the Music Special Collections Librarian at the Warren D. Allen Music Library, Florida State University.  She holds an MA and PhD in Musicology from Princeton University, MA in Music/Women’s and Gender Studies from Brandeis University, and BA (Honors) in Music from the University of New Mexico. She is formerly a member of the Honors Program Faculty at FSU, and has also taught at South Georgia State College, Tallahassee Community College, Princeton University, and Brandeis University. Her research focuses on the intersections between the American and British musical in London’s West End from 1920–1960, particularly Noël Coward, Kurt Weill, Lerner and Loewe, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein.  She has a forthcoming monograph on the history of the musical from 1920–1970 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (Palgrave MacMillan).

The outcome of the fellowship will be a research guide publication of Coward holdings at the Library for the Performing Arts, digitization of significant holdings, a publication related to her research, and she will also curate a case exhibition for the Library. Dr. Quinn will present her work in the Bruno Walter Auditorium. 

The Noël Coward Foundation was set up as a charitable Trust in 2000 by Graham Payn and Dany Dasto. Its aim is to award grants to educational and development projects across the Arts and to continue the keen interest Coward himself took in charitable work during his lifetime. The Foundation is proud to support a diverse range of outstanding organizations working in theatre, music, dance, playwriting, technical training, academic research, and many other areas.