The Impossible Years

Last updated
Sam Levene in The Impossible Years, 1966 Playbill cover, Playhouse Theatre, original Broadway production Sam Levene in The Impossible Years Playbill.jpg
Sam Levene in The Impossible Years, 1966 Playbill cover, Playhouse Theatre, original Broadway production

The Impossible Years is a 1965 comedy play written by Robert Fisher and Arthur Marx, son of comedian Groucho Marx. After two previews, the Broadway production, directed by Arthur Storch, opened on October 13, 1965, at the Playhouse Theatre, where it ran for 670 performances. [1] The original cast included Alan King, Sudie Bond, Bert Convy, Neva Small, and Scott Glenn. Ed McMahon temporarily assumed the role of Dr. Jack Kingsley for eight performances from January 17, 1966, to January 22, 1966, so Alan King could honor a previously scheduled Miami night club engagement. [2]

Contents

On August 22, 1966, Sam Levene replaced Alan King in the starring role of Dr. Jack Kingsley, a psychiatrist, in the Broadway production of The Impossible Years, performing the role for 322 performances until the show closed May 27, 1967 at the Playhouse Theatre. [3] After the Broadway production closed, Sam Levene starred in the first U.S. national company production of The Impossible Years and performed the hit comedy for the duration of 1967 until March 10, 1968, when the production starring Sam Levene closed at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. National tour stops included performances at New York's Mineola Theatre; Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey; The Playhouse Theater in Wilmington, Delaware; Royal Alexandria Theatre in Toronto, Canada; Detroit, Michigan; Shubert Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio; The National Theatre in Washington, D.C.

The play was adapted into a 1968 film of the same name starring David Niven, Lola Albright, Chad Everett, and Cristina Ferrare.

Plot

The comedy revolves around Jonathan Kingsley, a teaching psychiatrist at the local university, his wife, and their two teenage daughters. Complications arise when the older one develops an active interest in the opposite sex, and her younger, impressionable sister begins to emulate her misadventures.

Film adaptation

Related Research Articles

<i>The Little Foxes</i> Play by Lillian Hellman

The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in 1900, it focuses on the struggle for control of a family business. Tallulah Bankhead starred in the original production as Regina Hubbard Giddens.

<i>The Sunshine Boys</i> Play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972

The Sunshine Boys is an original two-act play written by Neil Simon that premiered December 20, 1972 on Broadway starring Jack Albertson as Willie Clark and Sam Levene as Al Lewis and later adapted for film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Ebb</span> Musical artist

Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.

<i>Guys and Dolls</i> 1950 musical by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows

Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner". The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine.

<i>Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre</i> American anthology TV series (1963–1967)

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramatic, and comedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Reed</span> American actor (1907–1977)

Alan Reed was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, including Days of Glory, The Tarnished Angels, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Viva Zapata!, and Nob Hill, and various television and radio series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Levene</span> Russian-American actor and director (1905–1980)

Sam Levene was a Russian-American Broadway, films, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and drama theatrical stage productions. He also acted in over 50 films across the United States and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Weston</span> American actor (1924–1996)

Jack Weston was an American actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1976 and a Tony Award in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Theatrical Productions</span> Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company

Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (DTP), also known as Disney on Broadway, is the stageplay and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment, a major division and business unit of The Walt Disney Company.

<i>Twentieth Century</i> (play) 1932 play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur

Twentieth Century is a 1932 play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur based on the unproduced play Napoleon of Broadway by Charles B. Millholland, inspired by his experience working for the eccentric Broadway impresario David Belasco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lois Smith</span> American actress

Lois Arlene Smith is an American character actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film East of Eden, and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including Five Easy Pieces (1970), Resurrection (1980), Fatal Attraction (1987), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Falling Down (1993), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Dead Man Walking (1995), Twister (1996), Minority Report (2002), The Nice Guys (2016), Lady Bird (2017), and The French Dispatch (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erin Davie</span> American actress and singer

Erin Davie is an American actress and singer, best known for her performance as the young Edith Bouvier Beale in the Broadway production of the musical Grey Gardens, taking the part on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre in 2006, after its initial run Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons.

<i>The 39 Steps</i> (play) Play written by Patrick Barlow

The 39 Steps is a parody adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. The original concept and production of a four-actor version of the story was written by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, and premiered in 1996. Patrick Barlow rewrote this adaptation in 2005.

<i>Three Men on a Horse</i>

Three Men on a Horse is a three-act farce co-authored by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. The comedy focuses on a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself. Originally titled Hobby Horse by John Cecil Holm, Three Men On A Horse was a property controlled and produced by Alex Yokel, who reached out to Warner Bros. for financial assistance; Warners agreed to provide financing on the condition Yokel find someone to doctor the script and direct the Broadway production. George Abbott, the director, who had since 1932 directed and produced each of his Broadway productions, immediately saw the potential and rewrote the script and agreed to direct if he received co-author credit and split the author's royalties with Holm. Abbott wrote a third act, resulting in a new three-act play titled Three Men on a Horse.

Andrew Keenan-Bolger is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for originating the roles of Crutchie in Newsies and Jesse Tuck in Tuck Everlasting on Broadway. His other Broadway credits include Robertson Ay in Mary Poppins, Jojo in Seussical, and Chip in Beauty and the Beast.

Donald Ragan Stephenson IV, known as Don Stephenson, is an American actor and stage director. He has numerous credits on both television and in the theatre.

<i>Chaplin</i> (2006 musical)

Chaplin: The Musical, formerly titled Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, is a musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis and book by Curtis and Thomas Meehan. The show is based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. The musical, which started at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006, debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010, and then premiered on Broadway in 2012.

Rob McClure is an American actor and singer, best known for his work on the Broadway stage.

<i>Beautiful: The Carole King Musical</i> 2014 jukebox musical

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a jukebox musical with a book by Douglas McGrath that tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King, using songs that she wrote, often together with Gerry Goffin, and other contemporary songs by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector and others.

<i>Paris Is Out!</i> 1970 comedic play in English

Paris Is Out! is a 1970 Broadway comedy by Richard Seff that starred Sam Levene and Molly Picon as Daniel and Hortense Brand, a married couple planning a vacation. The Broadway production ran for 96 performances after 16 previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre between February 2 and April 18, 1970.

References