Man and Boy (play)

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Man and Boy
Man and Boy (play).jpg
Charles Boyer on Playbill cover for original 1963 Broadway production
Written by Terence Rattigan [1]
Date premiered1963 [2]
Place premiered Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York(12 November 1963).
The Queen's Theatre, London(4 December 1963) [3]
Original language English

Man and Boy is a play by Terence Rattigan. It was first performed at The Queen's Theatre, London, and Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, in 1963, [4] with Charles Boyer starring as Gregor Antonescu. It had a Broadway revival in 2011 with Frank Langella and Adam Driver.

Contents

Synopsis

The play is a study of a ruthless, sociopathic businessman: his inability to love and the impact of this on others (notably, his son and his wife). The central character Gregor Antonescu was based on the lives of Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish Match King, [5] and Samuel Insull the Anglo-American investor. [6]

Cast and characters

CharacterBroadway debutWest End debutBroadway Revival
196320052011
Gregor Antonescu Charles Boyer David Suchet Frank Langella
Basil AnthonyBarry Justice Ben Silverstone Adam Driver
David Beeston William Smithers Will Huggins Michael Cristofer
Carol Penn Louise Sorel Jennifer Lee Jellicorse Virginia Kull
Sven Johnson Geoffrey Keen Colin Stinton Zack Grenier
Mark Herries Austin Willis David Yelland Brian Hutchison

Production history

The play, directed by Michael Benthall, originally opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway on November 12, 1963. [7] It was poorly received, with a limited London run and only 54 performances on Broadway; but was revived by Maria Aitken in 2005 at the Duchess Theatre, London, with David Suchet as Gregor Antonescu, to great acclaim. [8] [9] Maria Aitken again directed the play for Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway in the fall of 2011 at the American Airlines Theatre starring Tony Award winner Frank Langella as Antonescu. [10] The Australian premiere of Man and Boy was performed at the Garrick Theatre in Perth, Western Australia, in June 2007. [11]

It was announced in April 2025 that Britain’s National Theatre plans to revive the play at its London home, in a production with Ben Daniels in the lead rôle, directed by Anthony Lau.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef.
2011 Tony Awards Best Actor in a Play Frank Langella Nominated [12]

References

  1. ↑ Geoffrey Wansell (3 May 2012). Terence Rattigan: A Biography. Oberon Books. pp. 368–. ISBN   978-1-84943-267-2.
  2. ↑ John A. Bertolini (17 November 2016). The Case for Terence Rattigan, Playwright. Springer. pp. 95–. ISBN   978-3-319-40997-9.
  3. ↑ Geoffrey Wansell (3 May 2012). Terence Rattigan: A Biography. Oberon Books. pp. 459–. ISBN   978-1-84943-267-2.
  4. ↑ Owen O'Donnell; Sara Steen (20 July 1990). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale. ISBN   978-0-8103-2071-0.
  5. ↑ Lahr, John (17 October 2011). "Vile Bodies". The New Yorker . Vol. LXXXVII, no. 32. Condé Nast Publications. pp. 96–97. ISSN   0028-792X.
  6. ↑ Rattigan, Terence (1964). Man and Boy. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN   9780573612145.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  7. ↑ League, The Broadway. "Man and Boy – Broadway Play – Original – IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  8. ↑ "Man and Boy". The Actors Company Theatre. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  9. ↑ Aitken, Maria (22 October 2017). "Is this Rattigan's lost masterpiece?". The Telegraph.
  10. ↑ "The Art of Wreaking Havoc With Other People's Money". The New York Times. 10 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Man and Boy". theatre australia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Man and Boy (Broadway, 2011)". Playbill. Retrieved 21 April 2024.


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