The play is very close to the film. A few lines probably considered too racy or too dependent on insider knowledge (or both) were either altered or deleted (like Patrick's unpleasant mention of Mame's "airy-fairy friends from Fire Island"), and Comden and Green came up with a few very good new lines — which might be missed by audiences who know the movie virtually by heart — but I'd estimate that around 90 percent of the dialogue in the movie is directly from the play.
I do love this bit.
Emory (Sally Cato's younger brother): What's your name, Yankee boy?
Young Pat: Patrick Dennis.
Emory: If ya give me a dime, I'll take ya down to my shanty and show ya my dirty pitchas.
Young Pat: Maybe I'd better not—right now. (Making conversation) Your sister's nice.
Emory (incredulously): Nice?! You're plumb crazy. They teach ya how to spell up there, Yankee boy?
Young Pat: Sure.
Emory (lowering his voice): My sister is a B-I-T-C-H.
I bet they roared in 1956 at the Broadhurst. I wonder if it was dropped on some of the many tours, or at least in some cities.
Anyway, years back I posted here several times that I wished Roundabout would do it with Harriet Harris as Mame, even though my fear would be that Roundabout would screw it up. Then she played Vera to Baranski's Mame in the musical at the Kennedy Center, and now I think that Vera is probably more her role. There is no one who jumps out at me as a great idea for Mame in the play, except perhaps Martha Plimpton, who could also do the musical, but no one's going to produce a commercial production of it with her. And I'd much rather see the play. |
