Plaza Suite

Infobox Film
name = Plaza Suite


image_size = 200px
caption = Film poster
director =
producer =
writer = Neil Simon
narrator =
starring = Walter Matthau
Barbara Harris
Lee Grant
Maureen Stapleton
Louise Sorel
Jenny Sullivan
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = May 12th, 1971 USA
runtime =
country = flagicon|USA USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0067589

"Plaza Suite" is a play by Neil Simon.

It is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act introduces the audience to not-so-blissfully wedded couple Sam and Karen Nash, who are revisiting their honeymoon suite in an attempt - by Karen - to bring the love back into their marriage. Her plan backfires and the two become embroiled in a heated argument about whether or not Sam is having an affair with his secretary. The act ends with Sam leaving (allegedly to attend to urgent business) and Karen sadly reflecting on how much things have changed since they were young. This is by far the most serious of the three vignettes.

The second act involves a meeting between former movie producer Jesse Kiplinger and his old flame, suburban housewife Muriel Tate. Muriel - aware of his reputation as a smooth-talking ladies' man - has come for nothing more than a chat between old friends, promising herself she will not stay too long. Jesse, however, has other plans in mind and repeatedly attempts to seduce her.

The third act revolves around married couple Roy and Norma Hubley on their daughter Mimsey's wedding day. In a rush of nervousness, Mimsey has locked herself in the suite's bathroom and refuses to leave. This is the most comic of the acts, filled with increasingly outrageous slapstick moments depicting her parents' frantic attempts to cajole her into attending her wedding while the gathered guests await the trio's arrival downstairs.

After two previews, the Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, opened on February 14 1968 at the Plymouth Theatre, where it ran for 1097 performances. George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton appeared in each of the three acts. Later in the run, they were replaced by Dan Dailey, E. G. Marshall, Don Porter, Nicol Williamson, Barbara Baxley, and Peggy Cass.

Nichols won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a play. Nominations went to Simon and Stapleton as well.

In 1970, Simon adapted his play for a film starring Walter Matthau, Stapleton, Barbara Harris, and Lee Grant, but was unhappy with the outcome. He felt the conceit of one actor playing the lead role in all three acts worked on stage but not on screen, especially if the actor was Matthau, whom he felt was the right choice only for the beleaguered father-of-the-bride, Roy Hubley.

Quotations

*Sam Nash: "I don't have to accept being fifty-one years old. I don't accept getting older." - Karen Nash: "Good luck to you. You'll be the youngest one in the cemetery."
*"I just want to do it all over again. I'd like to start the whole damn thing right from the beginning." (Sam Nash, on his life)
*"Why do you always start the most serious discussions in our life when I'm halfway out the door?" (Sam, to Karen)
*"All right, so we yell and scream a little. So we fight and curse and aggravate each other. So you blame me for being a lousy mother. I accuse you of being a rotten husband. That doesn't mean we're not happy, does it?" (Norma Hubley to Roy Hubley)

Film trivia

* In the third act, an exterior shot shows Matthau on the ledge outside the room, but he obviously is not on the seventh floor.
* New York City Mayor John Lindsay was on hand to wish the crew and actors "good luck" before filming started in October 1970.
* Exterior shots were filmed on location, but most of the interiors were filmed on the Paramount Pictures soundstages in Hollywood.

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3124 Internet Broadway Database listing]
*imdb title|0067589
* [http://www.mpctheatreco.com Monterey Peninsula College presents Plaza Suite]