- Twentieth Century (play)
:"For the 1934 film of the same name, see Twentieth Century".
.
The Hecht-MacArthur
comedy is set in the observation car of the "Twentieth Century Limited ", travelling fromChicago to New York'sGrand Central Terminal . Aboard the luxury train areegomania caltheatre producer Oscar Jaffe, desperately in need of a hit, and his former paramour and protégé,temperamental actress Lily Garland (born Mildred Plotka), who abandoned him for aHollywood career. Oscar is determined to sign her for his new show, and Lily is just as determined to ignore his advances, both professional and personal.Broadway
The first Broadway production, directed by
George Abbott , opened onDecember 29 ,1932 at theBroadhurst Theatre , where it ran for 152 performances.Moffat Johnston andEugenie Leontovich were the stars, withWilliam Frawley in a featured role. [ibdb title|11702|Twentieth Century (1932)] It was adapted for a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name two years later.The play has been revived on Broadway twice. The first, directed by
José Ferrer , opened onDecember 24 ,1950 at the ANTA Playhouse, where it ran for 233 performances. The production starred Ferrer as Oscar andGloria Swanson , who designed her own gowns, as Lily.Werner Klemperer andEdward Platt were also in the cast. [ibdb title|1899|Twentieth Century (1950)]After twenty-seven previews, the second revival, an adaptation by
Ken Ludwig directed byWalter Bobbie , opened onMarch 25 ,2004 at theRoundabout Theatre Company 'sAmerican Airlines Theatre , where it ran for 84 performances.Alec Baldwin andAnne Heche headed a cast that includedDan Butler andTom Aldredge .Tony Award nominations went to Heche and Aldredge, and the production earned aDrama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Set Design of a Play. [ibdb title|12294|Twentieth Century (2004)]Television
"Twentieth Century" has been presented on television at least three times:
*OnOctober 7 , 1949, the Ford Theatre production withFrederic March andLili Palmer under the direction ofMarc Daniels ;
*OnOctober 12 , 1953, the Broadway Television Theatre version directed byRobert St. Aubrey and starringFred Clark andConstance Bennett ;
*OnApril 7 , 1956, the Ford Star Jubilee presentation, produced byArthur Schwartz and starringOrson Welles andBetty Grable . [TCM [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=27561&category=Notes Notes] ]Musical adaptation
"
On the Twentieth Century " a musical adaptation of the play byBetty Comden ,Adolph Green , andCy Coleman opened on Broadway onFebruary 19 , 1978 withJohn Cullum andMadeline Kahn as the stars. It was directed byHarold Prince and played for 11 previews and 449 performances. [ibdb title|4040|On the Twentieth Century]Notes
External links
*
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.