Auntie Mame (play)

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Auntie Mame
Written by Jerome Lawrence
Robert E. Lee
Date premieredOctober 31, 1956
Place premiered Broadhurst Theatre
Original language English
GenreComedy
Setting East Village, Manhattan, 1900s.

Auntie Mame is a comedic stage play written by American playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. [1] The play was adapted from the novel of the same name first published in 1955 by Patrick Dennis. The play was a critical and commercial success, and was nominated for five Tony Awards, running for 639 performances. [2]

Contents

Production history

The play premiered on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 31, 1956, and closed on June 28, 1958, after 639 performances. The original Broadway production was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Actress for Rosalind Russell, Best Stage Technician (Joseph Harbuck), and Best Scenic Design (Oliver Smith). Peggy Cass won the award for Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Agnes Gooch. Russell and Cass reprised their roles for a 1958 film of the same name, for which they were both nominated for Academy Awards. [3]

Following the Broadway production, the show went on a national tour starring Eve Arden in the title role, [4] and opened on Londons West End at the Adelphi Theatre, starring Beatrice Lillie. [5] Lillie had also taken over the role of Auntie Mame in the Broadway production. After Rosalind Russell's contract ended, the role was taken over by Greer Garson, and then Lillie. Florence MacMichael replaced Peggy Cass as Agnes Gooch in the Broadway production, and then continued playing the role on tour. [6]

Rosalind Russell and Polly Rowles in the original 1956 Broadway production of Auntie Mame RozRussellAuntieMame.jpg
Rosalind Russell and Polly Rowles in the original 1956 Broadway production of Auntie Mame

Original cast and characters

CharacterBroadwayTourWest End
195619581958
Auntie Mame Rosalind Russell Eve Arden Beatrice Lillie
Vera Charles Polly Rowles Benay Venuta Florence Desmond
Agnes Gooch Peggy Cass Florence MacMichael Rosamund Greenwood
Beauregard BurnsideRobert SmithBrooks WestGeoffrey Toone
Sally Cato-MacDougall Marian Winters Elizabeth Talbot-MartinHelen Horton
Doris UpsonDorothy BlackburnPamela Simpson
Claude UpsonWalter Klavun Willard Waterman Donald Stewart
Gloria UpsonJoyce LearSuzanne TurnerJacqueline Ellis
Mother BurnsideEthel Cody Spivy Natalie Lynn
Ito Yuki Shimoda John A. Tinn
Pegeen RyanPatricia JenkinsJacqueline Holt Jill Melford
M. Lindsay WoolseyJohn O'HareDavid LewisGerald Welch

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References

  1. 'dramatists.com Official Play licensing website accessed 04/15/2024
  2. Atkinson, Brooks (11 November 1956). "ROZ RUSSELL IN TOP FORM; as Pivotal Character in 'Auntie Mame' She Compensates for a Lack of Coherence in the Stage Adaptation Characterization Comic Combustion". The New York Times.
  3. "Eve Arden "AUNTIE MAME" Benay Venuta / Yuki Shimoda 1958 San Francisco Broadside at Amazon's Entertainment Collectibles Store". Amazon.
  4. Wearing, J. P. (1993). The London stage, 1950-1959 : a calendar of plays and players. Metuchen, New Jersey. ISBN   0-8108-2690-9. OCLC   27897126.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. "Eve Arden as Auntie Mame Russ Auditorium San Diego, Calif Play Bill August 1958".