Loading...
Creator
Dunning, Phillip, 1890-1968
Call number
*T-Mss 2001-075
Physical description
2.5 linear feet (5 boxes, 2 volumes, 2 oversized folders)
Preferred Citation

Philip Dunning papers, *T-Mss 2001-075. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Philip Dunning (1890-1968) was a playwright and a theatrical producer and director. The Philip Dunning papers, dating from 1912 to 1968, document Dunning's life and career through production files, scrapbooks, and letters. Half of the collection relates to the play Broadway.

Biographical/historical information

Philip Dunning (1890-1968) was a playwright and a theatrical producer and director. He and George Abbott co-wrote and directed the play Broadway, a hit of the late 1920s that played New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and other cities in the United States, as well as London. They also teamed up as producers for several musicals and plays, including Lilly Turner, which Dunning co-wrote, and Heat Lightning. Dunning produced several plays on his own, some of which he wrote. Among the plays Dunning wrote or co-wrote were Remember the Day and The Drums Begin.

Scope and arrangement

The Philip Dunning papers, dating from 1912 to 1968, document Dunning's life and career through production files, scrapbooks, and letters.

Production files are composed of annotated scripts, account ledgers, programs, clippings, letters, and photographs. Most of the files document plays written or co-written by Dunning, and also include scripts produced or considered for production by Dunning and various partners, including George Abbott. Some scripts contain notes from Dunning offering details about the play's production, or stating why it was not produced.

Half of the production files relate to the play Broadway. Scripts contain various versions of the play, including drafts, a prompt script, and a revision that was to be used for a 1940 revival. The latter script also includes letters and production notes. Account ledgers, dating from 1925 to 1930, record the financial performance of the New York, Boston, Chicago, and London productions, as well as for regional touring companies in the southern and western United States. One folder of production information holds wardrobe, prop, and electrical requirements.

The production files hold other scripts written or co-written by Dunning, including Lilly Turner, Remember the Day, Anything for a Laugh, Big City Feller, The Dead Level, Face Value, Happy Hour, Home Sweet Home, Knee Deep in Diamonds, and a script with the provisional title of A New Play. Also present are scripts for Ladies' Money, a play by George Abbott; the plays Twentieth Century and The Drums Begin (both produced by Dunning); and The Last Song, a musical with a book by Dunning and Jack McGowan and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Also among the scripts is Great Scenes from Great Plays, a collection compiled by Dunning. Two scripts hold photographs. One of them, a publicity photograph for Remember the Day, is a signed portrait of Claudette Colbert. There are two folders of untitled manuscripts.

Two scrapbooks, dating from 1912 to the 1960s, hold photographs of Dunning, his family, friends, and colleagues. The single folder of letters mainly has condolences sent to Dunning's widow, Frances Fox Dunning.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged by format.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Adam Kurzer, 2001.

Processing information

Compiled by Matthew Snyder, 2014

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatre@nypl.org.