The Royal Family (play)

The Royal Family
	First edition (1928)
Written by	George S. Kaufman; Edna Ferber
Date premiered	28 December 1927
Place premiered	Selwyn Theatre; New York City
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
Setting	a New York City duplex apartment in 1927

The Royal Family is a play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Its premiere on Broadway was at the Selwyn Theatre on 28 December 1927, where it ran for 345 performances to close in October 1928. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1927–1928.

Plot summary

Characters

Fanny Cavendish – Cavendish Family Matriarch
Julie Cavendish – Fanny's daughter
Tony Cavendish – Fanny's son
Gwen Cavendish – Fanny's granddaughter
Herbert Dean – Fanny's brother
Kitty Dean – Fanny's sister-in-law
Oscar Wolfe – Cavendish Family's Long-time Agent
Gilbert Marshall – Julie's Love Interest
Perry Stewart – Gwen's Fiancee

The story is a parody of the Barrymore family of actors, with particular aim taken at John Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore. The character Tony Cavendish, a heavy-drinking womanizer, represents John Barrymore. Julie Cavendish is the prima donna Broadway star Ethel Barrymore. Ethel Barrymore was offended and her critical comments were quoted by the press; however John Barrymore saw the production in Los Angeles and was amused, and congratulated Fredric March on his performance as Tony Cavendish. (Otto Kruger had played the role on Broadway.)

Productions

The 1977 Great Performances presentation of the 1975 all star Broadway revival starring Rosemary Harris, Eva Le Gallienne, Sam Levene & Ellis Raab was released on DVD.

In England, Noël Coward directed the West End version of the play in 1934, with a cast that included Marie Tempest as Fanny Cavendish, Madge Titheradge as Julie Cavendish and Laurence Olivier as Tony Cavendish. The play was retitled "Theatre Royal".[1]
The play was revived in the 1975–76 season on Broadway. Directed by Ellis Rabb, it starred Rosemary Harris as Julie Cavendish, George Grizzard as Tony, and Eva Le Gallienne as the theatrical matriarch, Fanny and Sam Levene as Oscar Wolfe. Rabb received the 1976 Tony Award for best director. The production was telecast on the PBS series Great Performances on November 9, 1977,[2] with Rabb replacing Grizzard as Tony. This version was released on DVD.
In 2001 Peter Hall directed a West End revival of the play (under its original title) with Judi Dench as Fanny, Harriet Walter as Julie and Toby Stephens as Tony; also in the cast were Peter Bowles, Julia McKenzie and Emily Blunt.[3]

Adaptations

Lobby card for The Royal Family of Broadway (1930)

The play was adapted in 1930 by Herman Mankiewicz for the film The Royal Family of Broadway released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner and stars Ina Claire and Fredric March.

Several live television adaptions were produced, including one in 1952, a BBC film for television, starring Morton Lowry as Tony Cavendish and Charmion King as Julia, renamed as 'Theatre Royal'[4] and one in 1954, with Fredric March reprising his role as Tony, Helen Hayes as Fanny, and Claudette Colbert as Julie.

Awards and nominations

Awards

1975 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play
2010 Nominated for Best Revival of a Play

References

"Lyric Theatre", The Times, October 24, 1934, p. 12
"Television This Week: Of Special Interest". The New York Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
Nightingale, Benedict. "Revival that celebrates the lure of greasepaint", The Times, November 2, 2001, p. 15
BFI.org

External links

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[1] "Lyric Theatre", The Times, October 24, 1934, p. 12

[2] "Television This Week: Of Special Interest". The New York Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved 2016-09-23.

[3] Nightingale, Benedict. "Revival that celebrates the lure of greasepaint", The Times, November 2, 2001, p. 15

[4] BFI.org