Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: I was thinking the same thing..... | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 12:34 pm EDT 08/28/18 | |
| In reply to: I was thinking the same thing..... - portenopete 03:00 pm EDT 08/27/18 | |
|
|
|
| I think that three or four of Simon's plays may stand the test of time: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Broadway Bound and just perhaps Biloxi Blues (though probably not that one). Otherwise, they were products of their times. Some were successful, some less so. Still, three plays surviving is rare enough. The fact that he wrote so many plays that I think do not hold up may make it seem like less of an achievement. Watching the interview on the Times obit page made me wonder if The Odd Couple, whose third act has never really worked as well as the first two acts, might work better today with that original third act (although it works well enough with the third act we have). On the other hand, I'm not sure I trust what Simon said there as at least some of it was certainly at variance what he himself had said in earlier times (and what other people who were involved in the creation have said). I'd be interested in reading that original Odd Couple last act and the original last act of The Gingerbread Lady. But Simon was not like Tennessee Williams in having different versions of the same play published. And it looks like they are not on the third floor at the Library for the Performing Arts (although they may be somewhere else). |
|
| reply to this message |
| "The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Which is more than I could say for the liver." | |
| Posted by: seeseveryshow 04:13 pm EDT 08/28/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I was thinking the same thing..... - AlanScott 12:34 pm EDT 08/28/18 | |
|
|
|
| One of the many great lines from BRIGHTON BEACH. I had the good fortune to see every one of his plays and musicals during their original runs on Broadway (except STAR-SPANGLED GIRL). I think you had to live through the time to appreciate the excitement, the long ticket-buying lines, engendered by his biggest early hits, like BAREFOOT, PLAZA SUITE, and ODD COUPLE. This was before online ticket sales. These were the so-called blockbusters....with hundreds of people lining up early on morning after the reviews came out hoping to buy a pair of tickets at the box office. A new Neil Simon play was always greeted with enthusiasm, even the later works which had shorter runs. My first standing room experience was at the Plymouth, for ODD COUPLE. I once sat next to Marsha Mason on a flight to LA... this was after her breakup with Neil. She spent virtually the entire 6 hour flight writing a letter to him. We chatted briefly. One of my favorite Neil Simon film's is the section of CALIFORNIA SUITE featuring Maggie Smith as an Oscar nominee. Also, Jane Fonda in BAREFOOT. |
|
| reply to this message |
Time to render: 0.008049 seconds.