''The Gingerbread Lady'' is a play by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

. It was widely believed to have been written specifically for actress

Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...

, who won both the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

and

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for her performance. But in a later autobiography, Simon wrote that he'd feared Stapleton might be "hurt" if she assumed the character's flaws and personal damage were a direct dramatization of her life. Simon said that it was director

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

' suggestion to cast Stapleton in the role, and that Simon responded, "This is not really Maureen. It's ten, twenty different actresses I've met over the years."

Productions

''The Gingerbread Lady'' 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 ...

at the

Plymouth Theatre Plymouth Theatre or Plymouth Theater may refer to: * Plymouth Theatre (Boston) * Plymouth Theatre (Worcester) * Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New York City, formerly the Plymouth Theatre * H Street Playhouse The H Street Playhouse was a black box ...

on December 13, 1970 and closed on May 29, 1971, after 193 performances and 12 previews. Directed by Robert Moore the cast featured, in addition to

Betsy von Furstenberg Countess Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway plays, films and tele ...

(Toby Landau), Michael Lombard (Jimmy Perry),

Ayn Ruymen Ayn Ruymen (born July 18, 1947) is an American former actress and theater director. She began her career as a stage actress, starring in a Broadway production of Neil Simon's ''The Gingerbread Lady'' (1970–1971), for which she won a Theatre Worl ...

(Polly Meare) and

Charles Siebert Charles Alan Siebert (March 9, 1938 – May 1, 2022) was an American actor and television director. As an actor, he is probably best known for his role as Dr. Stanley Riverside II on the television series ''Trapper John, M.D.'', a role he portra ...

(Lou Tanner). It proved to be one of Simon's least successful plays on Broadway. The production used costume designs by

Frank Thompson Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented in the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the United State ...

. Stapleton won the 1971

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The award is given to actresses for quality leadi ...

, while Ruymen won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

. In the UK, the play premiered at the

Theatre Royal Windsor The Theatre Royal is an Edwardian theatre on Thames Street in Windsor in Berkshire. The present building is the second theatre to stand on this site and opened on 13 December 1910. Built for Sir Wiliam Shipley and Captain Reginald Shipley, it was ...

on June 25, 1974 with

Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...

in the lead, and

Vivien Merchant Ada Brand Thomson (22 July 1929 – 3 October 1982), known professionally as Vivien Merchant, was an English actress. She began her career in 1942, and became known for dramatic roles on stage and in films. In 1956 she married the playwright H ...

Kevin Lindsay Kevin Lindsay (17 April 1924 – 26 April 1975) was an Australian actor, born in Bendigo, Victoria. He came to Britain in 1959 and is best known for his appearances in the '' Doctor Who'' series. He appeared as Cho-Je in ''Planet of the Spi ...

Stephen Greif Stephen John Greif (; 26 August 1944 – 23 December 2022) was an English actor known for his roles as Travis in ''Blake's 7'', Harry Fenning in three series of ''Citizen Smith'', Signor Donato in ''Casanova'' and Commander John Shepherd in '' ...

and Jenny Quayle in support. The production belatedly transferred to the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End on October 23, with Merchant and Greif replaced by Sarah Marshall and Blain Fairman. Like the Broadway version, this one ran for just over five months. The play was revived by the

Equity Library Theater The Equity Library Theatre (ELT) was a New York City theatre company active from 1943 until 1989. The original company Founded in 1943 by Sam Jaffe, representing Actors' Equity, and George Freedley, at the time curator of the New York Public Lib ...

(New York City) in 1987.

Plot overview

A major departure from Simon's previous lighthearted plays, ''The Gingerbread Lady'' was a dark drama with comic overtones centering on Evy Meara, a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

singer whose career, marriage, and health all have been destroyed by alcohol. Alvin Klein noted that "The play was Mr. Simon's first attempt to play it straight and serious."Klein, Alvin
"Theater in Review; 'Gingerbread Lady' Lacks Spice"
''The New York Times'', December 20, 1981 Having just completed a ten-week stint in a rehab facility to overcome her

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

, she returns home to the welcome of friends with their own problems. These include Toby, an overly vain woman who fears the loss of her looks and Jimmy, a gay actor in danger of losing a part in a play, her devoted but anxious teenaged daughter, and a worthless ex-lover. Evy's efforts at hosting a party crumble when she falls off the wagon and careens toward a tragic end.

Film

In 1981, Simon adapted his play as a film with the title '' Only When I Laugh'', starring his then-wife

Marsha Mason Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress: for her performances in ''Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), ''The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chapter Two'' ...

in the lead role.; Mason received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination as

Best Actress in a Leading Role The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...

. According to Susan Fehrenbacher Koprince (associate professor of English at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks), the film "is radically changed" from the play, and used "less than half" of the play. For example, the former

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

Evy becomes Georgia, "a divorced actress who is battling alcoholism as she struggles to establish a closer relationship with her daughter." Georgia, unlike Evy, is not a nymphomaniac and is not as self-destructive. Koprince concludes that the optimistic ending for the film is "more plausible" than the "tacked-on happy ending to the play".

Reception

According to Thomas S. Hischak, "critics were mixed in their reaction, one stating that Simon's 'characteristic wit and humor are at their brilliant best, and his serious story of lost misfits can often be genuinely and deeply touching' but another noting that 'what is written is not serious but earnest.'" They "all lauded Stapleton's penetrating performance." The play ran "a disappointing five months, the shortest run yet for a Simon play."Hischak, Thomas S
"1970–1971"
''American Theatre: a Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1969–2000'' (2001), (books.google.com), Oxford University Press, , p. 25

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gingerbread Lady, The Plays by Neil Simon 1970 plays Broadway plays American plays adapted into films Plays set in New York City Plays set in the 1970s