"Noël's Birthday" Broadcast -- Coward on the Coast

A touring exhibition, Star Quality has evolved and expanded as it moves from venue to venue. Its four locations to date are: Ten Chimneys, the National Theatre, the Museum of Performance & Design, and the Academy's Fourth Floor Gallery.

Ten Chimneys: Genessee Depot, Wisconsin
In 2007, at Ten Chimneys (a museum and National Historic Landmark in the magnificent country home of Coward's friends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne), Erika Kent and Ten Chimney's President Sean Malone developed the first exhibit with support from The Noel Coward Estate, the Noel Coward Foundation, and the Noel Coward Society.

Titled "Noel Coward in Ten: Ten Chimneys Presents Ten Views of the Master", the exhibit included "... ten dramatic panels that detail his iconic life and career ... complemented by music, video clips, and a handful of delightful personal artifacts."

Ten Chimneys web page

The National Theatre: London
For the exhibition's run at London's National Theatre from January 21 through March 29, 2008, Curator Rosy Runciman customized and expanded the set of "delightful personal artifacts" and titled the show "Star Quality: Aspects of Noël Coward."

Drawing on the Coward archives and many other sources, Rosy added numerous items about Coward's life and career, including special memorabilia from relationships with Laurence Olivier and with theatre historians Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson.

The Noel Coward Estate has produced a 15-minute video to mark this exhibition (to play the video, click on the Tab labeled "Film and Video"):

Video from National Theatre, London 2008

The Museum of Performance and Design (MPD): San Francisco, California
Curator Brad Rosenstein of the Museum of Performance & Design worked with Rosy to create an exhibition enriched by more detail, with an even larger set of artifacts (ranging from a makeup box with toupee to stunning costumes worn by Coward's leading ladies), plus items (such as posters advertising his Hollywood films and Broadway shows) that highlighted Coward's career in the United States.

Titled "Star Quality: The World of Noel Coward", the exhibition ran from April 16 to August 29, 2009, accompanied by almost-weekly special events, including film screenings and celebrity lectures (Stephen Ross and John Lahr) in addition to an opening-night gala with a cabaret followed by a stunning performance by San Francisco's historic Lamplighters Music Theatre in "Bitter Sweet in Concert", a new adaptation by Barry Day.

Star Quality at the MPD

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Fourth Floor Gallery: Beverly Hills, California
Waiting in the wings is the next incarnation of Star Quality, which will open eight weeks from now.

Special emphasis will be on Coward's work in film as writer, director, producer, composer, lyricist, star, etc. (For Coward, there is always an et cetera ....)

With unparalleled access to the Coward Archives, and drawing on public and private collections in Europe and the U.S. as well as the Academy's own Margaret Herrick Library, the exhibition brings together dozens of rare photographs, drawings, paintings, original manuscripts, letters, sheet music, posters, playbills, set and costume designs, personal memorabilia, audio and video clips, and original costumes including several of the silk dressing gowns that became Coward's trademark.

For 2010, guest curators Brad and Rosy are collaborating with Ellen Harrington, the Academy's Director of Exhibitions and Special Events. Even if you traveled to San Francisco to see the show at the MPD, (or, perhaps, especially if you traveled to San Francisco for the show and are now going through separation pains), plan on a trip to Beverly Hills.

Brad recently mentioned what I think of as his "archeological digs", sifting through both walls and walls of boxes -- the archives in the Academy's library -- and a highly-guarded treasure trove: one collector's home filled with unique theatrical and movie memorabilia. The result: a number of exceedingly rare items, all with great Star Quality.

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