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| Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Last Edit: raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| Posted by: raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Did anyone here see the OBC of Twigs with Sada Thompson ? The two TV versions (with Carol Burnett in 1971 and Cloris Leachman in 1985) evidently can only be seen at The Paley Center. Curious how the script had similarities to the Company libretto. |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:20 pm EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: Twigs play by George Furth - raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| I believe the Cloris Leachman production, shot live, was available on commercial VHS so it's out there. Yes, as noted by others below, one or two of the Twigs plays had their origins in the plays written for the nonmusical titled Company, announced in December 1968 for a production to open in March 1969 starring Kim Stanley. Later, John McMartin and Ron Leibman were announced to appear with Stanley in the seven one-act plays that were to comprise the evening. Later accounts of the creation of the musical have sometimes said it was to have been eleven plays, but news accounts at the time say seven plays. |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:34 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: Twigs play by George Furth - raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Saw it in DC when it toured. Over the holidays late 1972. I remember being most fascinated by the make-up: it was applied in layers, so that the top could be removed for a quick change between two scenes, with another face below it. I read about that and couldn't imagine taking off one character without another coming off, too. Think Passionella in Apple Tree perhaps. The play was forgettable, and critics said so, but I always thought Zach's lines in Chorus Line about "directing my first play" were Bennett specific and referenced Twigs. I'm sure someone will correct me if I misremembered, but I if memory serves, we all said it at the time. | |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: raydan 08:40 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - Delvino 08:34 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| I started watching the Company OBC recording on YouTube last and when I saw Furth, it kicked off my OCD in wanting to know how he came to writing it in the first place. Hence, I read about the Twigs connection. This link to the NY Public Library (which houses his papers) gives an interesting read of his bio. | |
| Link | https://archives.nypl.org/the/22296 |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: lanky 08:27 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: Twigs play by George Furth - raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| I saw the original production twice. Sara Thompson, as others here point out, gave a bravura performance. (It would be interesting to see the four scenes played by different actors, an approach that's probably been tried.) One of the plays -- the second one, I believe -- was sombre in tone, but the others were entirely comedic and light in tone. They weren't as serious, at their core, as are the scenes in "Company." I don't see much correlation between "Twigs" and "Company." | |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 08:46 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:41 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - lanky 08:27 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| Wikipedia claims some of the material was originally written for a project that later evolved into Company (my shorthand). Certainly Wikipedia isn't especially reliable. That said, it's referencing this, from the Furth papers in the NY Public library "Furth followed up Company with a collection of four one-acts called Twigs, which opened on Broadway in 1971. Some of the plays used in Twigs had been written for the project which eventually became Company..." Link below. |
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| Link | https://archives.nypl.org/the/22296#overview |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: raydan 10:38 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - Delvino 08:41 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| I saw that and was even more fascinated by Furth’s bio. Especially how his early Broadway career overlapped with the leaving the Army. Then jumping to Hollywood where it appears during his filming activities he begins to write the short stories that would eventually become Company/Twigs. I find not only his bio, but his two careers on opposite coasts occurring really fascinating. I just found another interesting link about Furth, Mary Rodgers, Prince and Sondheim. |
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| Link | https://www.nypl.org/blog/2023/02/06/merrily-we-roll-along-alternative-autobiography |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: WWriter 03:49 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: Twigs play by George Furth - raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| I don't remember it well enough to compare it to Company. For me, the show was ultimately about how amazing, amazing, amazing Sada Thompson was. The writing wasn't that impressive per se, IIRC, but it was a fabulous star-turn delivery system. |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: dbg 01:16 pm EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - WWriter 03:49 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| So agree with what you say about Sada Thompson's very memorable performance. At this point, more than 50 years after seeing Twigs, I don't remember a lot about the play, but back then I wrote a letter to Sada and received a very nice note that said, "Your praise, very special to me. Thank you for it and for your warm appreciate letter. Sincerely, Sada Thompson." | |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: twiceroyale 08:12 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - WWriter 03:49 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| It's also a very distant memory for me. However, I remember a hysterically foul mouthed final speech as the curtain poured in. | |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 11:42 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: Twigs play by George Furth - raydan 11:35 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Thompson was brilliant! They were playlets ( like Company was originally) with Thompson playing 3 sisters and finally the horrible mother who helped explain why her daughters were so troubled. | |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: Fasslercom 04:46 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - Billhaven 11:42 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| On Sada Thompson and "Twigs." | |
| Link | https://ronfassler.medium.com/the-name-above-the-title-7b1789272681 |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 02:54 pm EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - Fasslercom 04:46 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| I remember seeing it, and, given the dates, I must have seen it on my first theatre trip to NYC, in 1971. I also saw “Follies” on that trip, and between the two of them I was hooked for life. Bill, in San Diego, gearing up for the next NYC trip in a couple of weeks |
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| re: Twigs play by George Furth | |
| Posted by: andyboy 08:27 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Twigs play by George Furth - Fasslercom 04:46 am EDT 05/17/23 | |
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| Thanks for that! Great read! And if anyone's looking for a copy of the play, the link is below (I would have posted a Drama Book Shop link since I'd prefer to support them but incredibly, when I put "Twigs" or even "George Furth" into their search engine, it tells me their are no results!). | |
| Link | Twigs by George Furth |
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