One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Kirk Douglas - 1963.jpg
Kirk Douglas and Joan Tetzel starring in the 1963 Broadway production
Written by Dale Wasserman
Date premieredNovember 13, 1963 (1963-11-13)
Place premiered Cort Theatre
New York City
Original languageEnglish
Subject One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
by
Ken Kesey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1963) is a play based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name. [1] The play had its Broadway debut in 1963 with an adaptation by Dale Wasserman starring Kirk Douglas as Randle McMurphy, a mental patient and Joan Tetzel as Nurse Ratched. The play had a Broadway revival in 2002 earning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play as well as a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play starring Gary Sinise.

Contents

Background

The play is based off the 1962 novel of the same by Ken Kesey. It was adapted by Dale Wasserman.

Summary

The plot revolves around mental hospital patient Randle McMurphy who leads a revolt against cold Nurse Ratched.

Cast and characters

CharacterBroadway debutFeature filmBroadway revivalWest End revival
1963197520012003
Randle McMurphy Kirk Douglas Jack Nicholson Gary Sinise Christian Slater
Nurse Ratched Joan Tetzel Louise Fletcher Amy Morton Frances Barber
"Chief" Bromden Ed Ames Will Sampson Tim SampsonBrendan Dempsey
Dale Harding William Daniels William Redfield Ross Lehman Owen O'Neill
Billy Bibbit Gene Wilder Brad Dourif Eric Johner Mackenzie Crook
Charlie Cheswick Gerald S. O'Loughlin Sydney Lassick Rick Snyder Phil Nichol
Max TaberN/A Christopher Lloyd N/AN/A
MartiniAl Nesor Danny DeVito Danton Stone Ian Coppinger
Dr. John Spivey Rex Robbins Dean Brooks K. Todd Freeman Tim Ahern

Origin

Dale Wasserman's stage adaptation, with music by Teiji Ito, made its Broadway preview on November 12, 1963, its premiere on November 13, and ran until January 25, 1964, for a total of one preview and 82 performances. [1] The 1963–64 Broadway production starred Douglas as Randle Patrick McMurphy, Gene Wilder as Billy Bibbit, William Daniels as Harding, Ed Ames as "Chief" Bromden, Al Nesor as Martini, and Joan Tetzel as Nurse Ratched. Douglas retained the rights to make a film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for a decade, but was unable to find a studio willing to make it with him. Eventually, he gave the rights to his son Michael, who succeeded in getting the film produced. At that time, Kirk Douglas was deemed too old for the role of McMurphy, and the role was given to Jack Nicholson.

Productions

Since then, the play has had two revivals: first off-Broadway in 1971, directed by Lee Sankowich with Danny DeVito as Martini and William Devane as McMurphy, [2] then as a Broadway production in 2001 with Gary Sinise as McMurphy. The film version One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was released in 1975, whose movie rights were secured through Kirk Douglas's rights to the play. [3] DeVito reprised his stage role in the 1975 film of the same name directed by Milos Forman starring Jack Nicholson. [4]

A scene from a Bashkir Academic Drama Theater production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Cuckoo's nest.jpg
A scene from a Bashkir Academic Drama Theater production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

In 1982 Greg Hersov directed a production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Jonathan Hackett as Randle McMurphy, Linda Marlowe as Nurse Ratched and Tim McInnerny as Billy Bibbitt. [5] In April 1988, the Playhouse Theatre was the site for the first London production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The play was brought to the London stage by Cuckoo Productions, formed by Diane Hilton, Karin Parnaby, and Judy Kershaw. They raised £100,000 in 24 hours to bring the play to the London theatre. In 2001, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company produced a Broadway revival, winning the Tony Award for Best Play Revival. This production was directed by Terry Kinney and starred Gary Sinise, Amy Morton, Tim Sampson (playing Chief, his father Will Sampson's role in the film version), Eric Johner, and Ross Lehman. [6]

In 2004, Guy Masterson and Nica Burns mounted a production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Christian Slater, Mackenzie Crook and Frances Barber and a cast of comedians including Owen O'Neill. [7] Masterson famously resigned as director & co-producer just prior to opening citing "ill health" and the production was finally delivered by Terry Johnson and Tamara Harvey. The show was a huge box office hit and transferred to London's Gielgud Theatre where it ran for over 20 weeks. This production was itself revived in 2006 with Alex Kingston taking over the role of Nurse Ratched. It then toured the UK in 2007 with Shane Richie playing McMurphy and Sophie Ward as Nurse Ratched. [8]

A production of the play was staged by London's Tower Theatre Company from 23 to 27 October 2012 at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate, London. [9] In 2018, After Hours Theatre Company in Los Angeles created an immersive version of the work. The Oregon State Hospital was recreated in a 7,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Burbank. Each audience member was provided a costume and a patient wristband. During the immersive pre-show, audience members were tasked with finding clues as to why they have been admitted to the hospital that eventually led them to join the patient revolution. This production was nominated for six Ovation Awards, including a win for Best Lighting Design, Intimate Theatre. [10] In 2022, an Australian adaptation of Dale Wasserman's play, directed by Chris McRae was created by Luke Miller, McRae and Samuel Yombich Pilot-Kickett, and performed by Darlington Theatre Players in Perth, Western Australia. The adaptation recontextualised the play to 1960s Australia, with the reimagining of the "Chief" Bromden character as a local Aboriginal man, as well as some adjustment of language to fit the Australian idiom. The production included musical composition by Kieran Ridgway, with the inclusion of didgeridoo and didgeribone as part of the underscoring to reflect the new setting. [11]

Awards and nominations

2001 Broadway revival

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
2001 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play Won
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Gary Sinise Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Play Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Revival of a PlayWon
Drama League Award Distinguished Production of a RevivalWon

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 IBDB entry
  2. ↑ "60. Danny DeVito, Everybody: The Always Sunny Podcast". YouTube.com. 19 December 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ Kirk Douglas retained the movie rights due to an innovative loophole of basing the rights on the play rather than the novel, despite Kesey's objections. See Kirk Douglas entry and https://deadline.com/2020/02/kirk-douglas-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-movie-michael-douglas-spat-1202852836/
  4. ↑ "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Theatricalia. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ Pogrebin, Robin (5 April 2001). "Unwound and Ready for Some Cuckoo Time". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Christian Slater Opens in London Cuckoo's Nest Sept. 15". Playbill. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  8. ↑ "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". BBC. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Tower Theatre Company : One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" . Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ "LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards: 2018". abouttheartists. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  11. ↑ "WA Theatre Reviews & Database : One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest:An Australian Adaptation" . Retrieved July 17, 2022.
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