Good Hunting (play)

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Good Hunting is a 1938 play written by Nathanael West, in collaboration with Joseph Schrank. The play, a satire about World War I, opened in New York City on November 21, 1938, and ran for two performances.

Process of writing[edit]

West met Schrank in 1936 and suggested that they collaborate on a play. They discussed ideas for the play over several weeks, after which Schrank dictated a 40-page outline to a secretary. West used the outline to write a first draft, which he completed in May 1937. Schrank revised West's draft during the summer, and West produced a third version by October. In February 1938, Jerome Mayer, a Broadway producer, agreed to stage the play, then titled Gentlemen, the War!;[1] over the summer West and Schrank made further revisions, finally retitling the play Good Hunting.

References[edit]

  1. ^ 'Gentlemen, the war! a play in 3 acts, by N. West and J. Schrank', Library of Congress Copyright Office Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1 Group 3 : Dramatic Compositions and Motion Pictures, New Series, Vol 10, No. 1, 1937 (United States Government Printing Office: Washington, 1937), p. 9027.

The final version of Good Hunting appears in the Library of America edition of West's writing:

  • West, Nathanael. Novels & Other Writings. Ed. Sacvan Bercovitch. New York: The Library of America, 1997. 467–620.