John Paul Barry was born February 13, 1910, in Boston, Massachusetts, and died on October 22, 1990, in Quincy, Massachusetts. He was a 1931 graduate of Boston College. Barry collected programs and a small number of tickets for numerous theatrical productions in a variety of locations: Boston and other Massachusetts towns, New York, N.Y., other East Coast cities, California, Canada, England, Ireland, and the Netherlands. In 1938, Barry won an essay contest sponsored by Boston Traveler and the Colonial Theatre with an entry on why Shakespeare would enjoy Orson Welles' production of "Julius Caesar." This collection also includes clippings of Boston Globe theater season retrospectives and coverage of the Boston-New York train line reopening in 1938. Two programs from New York film presentations are included.

This series measures 4 linear feet and is arranged into eight subseries by region, reflecting the existing order: A. Boston, Mass., theaters; B. Massachusetts theaters; C. New York, N.Y., theaters; D. Other East Coast theaters; E. California theaters; F. Canada theaters; G. British Isles and Netherlands theaters; and H. Unidentified theaters. Within each subseries, items are arranged alphabetically. Barry's essay and related clippings and correspondence have been placed at the beginning of the Boston theaters series.