Lost play resurfaces among donated Irish theater works

Correction appended

A play thought lost for the past 80 years — even by its own author, well-known Irish playwright Sean O'Casey — resurfaced last month when Leonard Milberg '53 donated his extensive collection of Irish theater works to the University.

Milberg, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, spent the past five years gathering over 1,000 pieces for the collection. He donated it in honor of his friend Paul Muldoon, a Pulitzer Prizewinning poet who is also the director of the University's Center for the Creative and Performance Arts.

"I wanted it to be the best Irish Theater collection in the world," Milberg said.

To present the collection to the international academic community, the University is organizing a symposium next month, featuring such noteworthy Irish artists as actors Gabriel Byrne and Fiona Shaw and director Garry Hynes.

The symposium will also feature a performance of the lost play, "The Cooing of Doves," possibly the first such reading in its 83-year history.

"You want people in the rest of the world studying Irish theater to know Princeton's collection has the depth and breadth of the field," Theater and Dance director Michael Cadden said. "The fact that this play that was thought to be lost is sitting here, it has drawn a lot of attention."

This fall, Cadden is teaching a course in modern Irish drama that focuses on "The Cooing of Doves." This is in accordance with Milberg's wishes that the collection "be available to scholars in general, but first undergraduates at Princeton University."

"I insisted that there be a course taught based on the collection," Milberg said.

The poet and the philanthropist

Milberg met Muldoon at an English department function in 1994, when they were introduced by mutual friend and then-English professor Samuel Hynes. Since then Muldoon has fostered Milberg's interest in Irish writing.

"Paul [Muldoon] has many friends in Ireland and is very generous in sharing them with me," said Milberg.

The collection is "an honor to Paul's preeminence as an Irish and American poet," Cadden said, referring to Muldoon's Irish heritage. The poet moved to the United States from Ireland in 1987.

Muldoon composed the poem "True Colors" as a gift to Milberg on the occasion of his 50th reunion, in honor of their friendship and Milberg's previous donations.

Forming the collection

Over the five-year collection period, Milberg received counsel from not only Muldoon, but also Hynes, longtime consultant J. Howard Woolmer and McCarter Theater artistic director Emily Mann.

"It's fun," Milberg said, "we meet and it's kind of a social gathering as well."

The group's periodic meetings helped to advise Milberg on which works the University already owned, such as those of W. B. Yeats and Bernard Shaw.

The advice resulted in an extensive, but not redundant, collection, classified and explained in a "scholarly catalogue," Milberg said.

"I'm certain that Princeton will now be a destination for researchers both on Irish poetry and theater," Muldoon said in an email.

Milberg has donated several other collections to the University, including American and Irish poetry dedicated to the late Richard Ludwig, emeritus professor of English; Jewish-American literature dedicated to Harold Shapiro, the University's former president; and another group of Irish poetry, also dedicated to Muldoon.

"The principal reason I [collect] is because I enjoy it," Milberg said. "It's a labor of love."

Milberg's hobby highlights the continuing ties the University should have with its students, Muldoon said.

"The Milberg gift is a reminder that our responsibility to our students does not end with graduation," he said. "We're still engaged in an intellectual discussion with Leonard Milberg, even though he graduated over 50 years ago. It's a thrill to be part of that discussion."

Correction

The original version of this story incorrectly said that the University-organized symposium will take place this month. It actually begins Oct. 13.