''Goodbye Charlie'' is a 1959 play written by

George Axelrod George Axelrod (June 9, 1922 – June 21, 2003) was an American screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director, best known for his play ''The Seven Year Itch'' (1952), which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Marilyn Mon ...

. It opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

on December 16, 1959, and closed on March 19, 1960.

Settings

The show takes place at the beach home of Charlie Sorel, a few miles north of

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...

Productions

The show had five out of town tryouts in 1959, first Nixon Theatre in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, second was at the Shubert-Lafayette Theatre in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, third was at the

Hanna Theatre The Hanna Theatre is a theater at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is one of the original five venues built in the district, opening on March 28, 1921. The Hanna Theatre reopened in 2008 as the new home of Great La ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, fourth at Ford's Theatre in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and finally at the

Walnut Street Theatre The Walnut Street Theatre, founded in 1809 at 825 Walnut Street, on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest operating theatre in the United States. The venue is operated by the Walnut ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Later, this production transferred to Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on December 16, 1959, directed by Axelrod, set design Oliver Smith and lighting design

Peggy Clark Margaret Brownson Clark (1915June 19, 1996) was a lighting designer, costume designer, and set designer. She designed lighting for dance and opera, but she "is best known for her work on tagemusicals". Biography Peggy Clark graduated from Smith Co ...

. The cast included Frank Roberts (Greg Morris),

Sydney Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and director Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager in later life. Through their mother Hannah, they were o ...

(George Tracy), Michelle Reiner (Franny Saltzman), Clinton Anderson (Irving),

Dan Frazer Daniel Thomas Frazer (November 20, 1921 – December 16, 2011) was an American actor, born in a West Side neighborhood (formerly known as Hell's Kitchen) of Manhattan in New York City. He was probably best known for his role as Captain Frank McN ...

(Mr. Shriber), Sarah Marshall (Rusty Mayerling), and

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

(Charlie). Understudies included

Jerome Preston Bates Jerome Preston Bates is an American theater, film and television actor, director and playwright. Bates was born in Augusta, Georgia. The family moved to the New York/New Jersey area when he was six but returned to Georgia when Bates began hig ...

(Joe), Don Guillory (Spoon/Flip), Gretchen Hall (Kimber), and Zakiya Young (Cheryl, Taylor).

Awards and nominations

References

External links

''Goodbye Charlie'' at the Internet Broadway database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodbye Charlie 1959 plays Broadway plays Plays adapted into films Plays set in California