This collection has no access restrictions other than those noted in the front matter of the finding aid, or at the folder level.
Audiovisual and digital media is not fully processed. If you would like to use these materials, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.
Awards and Props Awaiting Permanent Housing are processed, but not housed in permanent housing as yet. These may be usable, but please check in advance of your visit.
This collection is located on-site.
Tony Kushner (b. 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. He received a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Angels in America: Millennium Approaches in 1993. The papers include address books, awards, certificates, correspondence, drafts and revisions, notebooks and notes, outlines, photographs, posters, press clippings, programs, production materials, promotional materials, proofs, props, research materials, scores, screenplays, scripts, speeches, and translations.
The collection includes a wealth of material related to Kushner's stage works. The collection includes materials related not only to Kushner's best-known work, but also to his early work and his student work. These materials include correspondence, drafts and revisions, notes and notebooks, outlines, production files, programs, promotional materials, and research files. For early works, programs and promotional materials were often designed by Kushner, and his design work is included in his files.
The collection also includes files related to Kushner's work in film and television. These works include Angels in America for HBO, Munich, Lincoln, and Fences. The papers include related materials such as correspondence, outlines, drafts, screenplays, revisions, and research materials, as well as posters, press clippings, promotional materials, and reviews. There is also material related to three works that were ultimately unproduced: Grim(m), The Illusion, and The Pushcart Wars. These materials include film treatments, drafts, outlines, manuscript pages, typescript pages, comments, and research.
There are records related to some of Kushner's book projects in the collection. There projects include The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present (2003), Brundibar (2003), Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue: Essays, A Play, Two Poems and a Prayer (1995), and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2003), edited with Alisa Solomon. For these projects, the files include corrections, correspondence, galleys, manuscripts, promotional materials, proofs, notes, typescripts, and reviews.
Kushner's other writing work is also represented in the collection. The collection includes materials related to Kushner's academic writing, articles, essays, introductions to books, and speeches. These files include drafts, proofs, publications, notes, and other materials.
Kushner also kept correspondence files. There is correspondence with the files for specific projects and professional files throughout the collection. There are also correspondence files that contain cards, letters, and correspondence received by Kushner; however, these were not organized into a filing system and were filed in small groups in various mailing envelopes. Most general correspondence is gathered in small groups that are similar by date; notes on letters from specific individuals were added to the finding aid based on notes from the seller's inventory. There are no outgoing correspondence files, and the collection does not include electronic mail files at this time.
Professional Files includes files related to awards, business, events, honorary degrees, organizations, professional activities, and research files. In addition, there are photographs, articles and other press related to Kushner's professional activities.
There are a small number of personal and biographical files in the collection. These files include address books, class notes, contact lists, family materials, transcripts, and yearbooks, as well as files with art, articles, clippings, programs, and other personal records.
There is a small amount of material by others in the collection. These manuscripts and other materials are filed in Series V: Material by Others.
The collection includes a small amount of analog and digital media as noted in the container list. This material includes photographs and video related to auditions, productions, events, and interviews. This material is not fully processed at this time.
There are several items that still require permanent housing: these are listed at the end of the container list at this time. These include two oversized props and several glass awards that did not originally have their own cases.
This series contains material related to Kushner's works. This series contains records related both to the creation of these works and to productions of the finished works. The records related to creation include correspondence, drafts and revisions, galleys and proofs, manuscripts, notes and notebooks, outlines, research files, screenplays, and scripts. Kushner also kept records for specific productions, including casting notes, contact sheets, correspondence, gifts, notebooks and notes, photographs, posters, press, programs, props, promotional materials, revisions, and schedules.
Series II: Correspondence, 1978-2017
This series contains cards, letters, and correspondence received by Kushner.
Kushner's correspondence was not organized into a filing system. The correspondence was filed in various mailing envelopes, so that most correspondence is gathered in small groups that are similar by date. Some names are noted in the scope and contents notes for individual files within the finding aid. There are also no outgoing correspondence files, and the collection does not include electronic mail files at this time.
This series also contains printouts of email and AOL chats between Craig Lucas and Tony Kushner for 1995-2001. These printouts comprise nearly 1500 pages, and were printed out by Lucas and given to Kushner.
There is additional correspondence with the files for specific projects and professional files throughout the collection.
Series III: Professional Files, 1983-2016
This series contains files and other materials related to awards, business files, events, honorary degrees, organizations, professional activities, research, and other subjects. It also includes photographs, articles and other press related to Kushner.
The series also contains a large set of interview notes and other research materials related to the Daily News strike in the early 1990s. These were gathered for a specific project for American Playhouse, but the project did not move forward and there is no related script.
Series IV: Personal and Biographical Files, 1920, 1980s-2016
This series contains address books, class notes, contact lists, diplomas, family materials, and transcripts, as well as files with art, articles, clippings, programs, and other personal materials.
Series V: Materials by Others, 1992-2011
This series contains a small amount of material and manuscripts related to others, including Caryl Churchill, Craig Lucas, Ellen McLaughlin, and Naomi Wallace.
This collection is arranged in five series and several subseries.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection has no access restrictions other than those noted in the front matter of the finding aid, or at the folder level.
Audiovisual and digital media is not fully processed. If you would like to use these materials, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.
Awards and Props Awaiting Permanent Housing are processed, but not housed in permanent housing as yet. These may be usable, but please check in advance of your visit.
This collection is located on-site.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Tony Kushner Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Oral history interview with Tony Kushner, 2017
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Additions are expected.
Source of acquisition--Tony Kushner. Method of acquisition--Deposit; Date of acquisition--2013. Accession number--2013-2014-M072.
Source of acquisition--Tony Kushner. Method of acquisition--Deposit; Date of acquisition--2014. Accession number--2013-2014-M139.
Source of acquisition--Tony Kushner. Method of acquisition--Deposit; Date of acquisition--2014. Accession number--2014-2015-M018.
Source of acquisition--Tony Kushner. Method of acquisition--Deposit; Date of acquisition--2017. Accession number--2017-2018-M134.
Source of acquisition--Tony Kushner (Represented by Glenn Horowitz). Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--2019. Accession number--2019-2020-M035.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
This collection was processed by Catherine C. Ricciardi, 2019-2022.
Finding aid written by Catherine C. Ricciardi, 2020-2022.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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