- The House of Blue Leaves
"The House of Blue Leaves" is a play by
John Guare .Set in
Sunnyside, Queens in 1965, on the dayPope Paul VI visitedNew York City , theblack comedy featuresnuns , a political bombing, a GI headed forVietnam , azookeeper who dreams of making it big inHollywood as asongwriter , and his wife Bananas, a schizophrenic destined for the institution that provides the play's title.The first production of the play, directed by
Mel Shapiro , opened onFebruary 10 ,1971 at theoff-Broadway Truck and Warehouse Theatre , where it ran for 337 performances. The cast includedFrank Converse ,Harold Gould ,Katherine Helmond ,William Atherton , andAnne Meara .A revival, directed by Jerry Zaks, played from March 19-April 20, 1986 at the Off-Broadway Mitzi Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It moved to Broadway by moving upstairs to the
Vivian Beaumont Theatre on April 29, 1986, where it played for five months before transferring to thePlymouth Theatre , for a total run of 398 performances. The opening night cast includedSwoosie Kurtz ,John Mahoney ,Stockard Channing ,Danny Aiello ,Ben Stiller , andJulie Hagerty .Christine Baranski andPatricia Clarkson joined the production later in the run.A taped version of the Broadway production aired on
television in 1987.The play is a popular choice with
summer stock and regional andcommunity theatre groups.1986 awards and nominations
*
Tony Award for Best Play (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Mahoney, winner)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Kurtz, winner; Channing, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (winner)
*Tony Award for Best Scenic Design (winner)
*Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Lighting Design (nominee)
*Theatre World Award (Hagerty, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival (winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Mahoney, nominee)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Kurtz and Channing, nominees)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design (winner)
*Clarence Derwent Award (Mahoney and Helmond, winners)External links
* [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3375/ 1971 off-Broadway production]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4411/ 1986 Broadway production]
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