''The Moon Is Blue'' is a play by

F. Hugh Herbert Frederick Hugh Herbert (May 29, 1897 - May 17, 1958) was a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, and infrequent film director. Biography Born in Vienna, Austria, Herbert was educated at the University of London. He emigrated in ...

. A comedy in three acts, the play consists of one female and three male characters.

Performance history

''The Moon Is Blue'' premiered at The Playhouse in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

on February 16, 1951 for

tryout ''Tryout'' was an amateur press journal published from 1914 to 1946 by Charles W. Smith of Haverhill, Massachusetts. It was connected to the National Amateur Press Association. Smith (1852–1948) was a friend and correspondent of H. P. Lovecraft ...

performances in preparation for the New York stage. This was followed by further tryout performances at the

Wilbur Theatre The Wilbur Theatre is a historic performing arts theater at 244–250 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The Wilbur Theatre originally opened in 1914, but underwent renovations in 2008. The Wilbur Theatre sits in the heart of Boston's histo ...

in Boston in early March 1951. The production premiered 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 March 8, 1951 at

Henry Miller's Theatre The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 124 West 43rd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Owned by the Durst Organization and managed by the Roundabout Theatre ...

with

Barbara Bel Geddes Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the t ...

as Patty O'Neill, Donald Cook as David Slater,

Barry Nelson Barry Nelson (born Robert Haakon Nielsen; April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond. Early life Nelson was born in San Francisco, the son of Norwegian imm ...

as Donald Gresham, and

Ralph Dunn Ralph Dunn (May 23, 1900 – February 19, 1968) was an American film, television, and stage actor. Early years Dunn was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania. His father was a veterinarian for the U.S. Army during World War I, and his mother ...

as Michael O'Neill. Produced by Richard Aldrich, Richard Myers, and

Julius Fleischmann Julius Augustus Fleischmann (June 8, 1871 – February 5, 1925) was an American businessman, the long-time president of Fleischmann's Yeast, and a former mayor of Cincinnati. A bon vivant, sailor, and sportsman, he was the son of yeast magnate ...

, the production was staged by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

. A hit, the play closed in 1953 after 924 performances. Given the audience response to the work, the same production team mounted a concurrent national tour starring

Maggie McNamara Marguerite "Maggie" McNamara (June 18, 1928 – February 18, 1978) was a stage, film, and television actress and model from the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', March 22, 1978, page 46. McNamara began her career as a teenage fashion model. Sh ...

as Patty O'Neill, Murray Hamilton as Donald Gresham,

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry L. Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rememb ...

as David Slater, and Wallace Rooney as Michael O'Neill which began in Detroit on April 20, 1951. Prior to going on tour, the cast performed scenes from the play on the television program ''Showtime, U.S.A.'' McNamara later replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Patty in the Broadway production in 1952. A second national touring company operated by

Warren Caro Warren Caro (24 February 1907 − 1 January 1995) was an American theatre executive and lawyer. He was the executive director of the Theatre Guild from 1946 through 1967, and director of theater operations and projects development director for The ...

and the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...

began its tour in Pittsburgh on October 20, 1951 with a cast including

Hiram Sherman Hiram Sherman (February 11, 1908 – April 11, 1989) was an American actor. Biography Hiram Sherman was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Clifford Leon Sherman, worked in the art department of ''The Boston Globe''. He made his Broa ...

and

Coleen Gray Coleen Gray (born Doris Bernice Jensen; October 23, 1922 – August 3, 2015) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles in the films '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947), '' Red River'' (1948), and Stanley Kubrick's '' The Killing'' ...

. The play received several stagings internationally including at the J.C. WIlliamson Theatre in Melbourne, Australia (1951), the Alléteatern in Stockholm Sweden (1952), the Jofestadt Theatre in Vienna, Austria (1952)., and Hamilton Theatre in Hamilton, Bermuda (1953). In July 1952 the

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

staged the play with

Diana Lynn Diana Marie Lynn (born Dolores Eartha Loehr, July 5, 1926 – December 18, 1971) was an American actress. Early years Lynn was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Louis Loehr, was an oil supply executive, and her mother, Martha Loe ...

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

, and Jack Shea. An eight week tour of the play throughout Texas starring

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

and

Joanne Dru Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock;Known as Joan Lacock in th1930 United States census/ref> January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as '' Red River'', ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbo ...

occurred in the summer of 1953. The play debuted on London's West End at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

on July 7, 1953 with Diana Lynn as Patty O'Neill,

Biff McGuire William "Biff" McGuire (October 25, 1926 – March 9, 2021) was an American actor. Best known as Inspector Kramer in ''Nero Wolfe'' (1979). Early years McGuire attended Hamden High School and the University of Massachusetts, where he studied agr ...

as Donald Graham,

Robert Flemyng Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory th ...

as David Slater, and Harry Fine as Michael O'Neill. The play was revived

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 1961 at the 41st St Theatre. Staged by

Matt Cimber Matt Cimber (born Thomas Vitale Ottaviano; 1936) is an American producer, director, writer, and occasional actor in films, television, and theatre. He is known for directing genre films including '' The Candy Tangerine Man, The Witch Who Ca ...

, the production starred

Patricia Bosworth Patricia Bosworth (née Crum, April 24, 1933 – April 2, 2020) was an American journalist and biographer, memoirist, and actress. She was a faculty member of Columbia University’s school of journalism as well as Barnard College, and was a wi ...

as Patty O'Neill, William Severs as Donald Gresham, Walter Flanagan as Michael O'Neill, and Donald Cook is a reprisal of his Broadway role as David Slater.

Film adaptation

A 1953 film adaptation of the play was released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. Otto Preminger, who had directed the original stage production, also directed this film. Maggie McNamara and David Niven reprised the roles that they had played on stage in the film.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Moon Is Blue at IBDB
1951 plays Broadway plays Plays by F. Hugh Herbert