''Aren't We All?'' is a comic play by

Frederick Lonsdale Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including '' King of Cadonia'' (1908), ''The Balkan Princess'' (1910), ''Betty'' (1 ...

. At the core of the

drawing room comedy A drawing room play is a type of play, developed during the Victorian period in the United Kingdom, in which the actions take place in a drawing room or which is designed to be reenacted in the drawing room of a home. The common practice of entertai ...

's slim plot is the Hon. William Tatham who, having been consigned to the proverbial doghouse for a romantic indiscretion, is determined to catch his self-righteous wife in an extramarital kiss of her own, while a society

grande dame Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places * Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroi ...

attempts to snare herself a peer prone to afternoon assignations with shopgirls at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The play 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 May 21, 1923, with a cast that included

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' and was one ...

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, O ...

Cyril Maude Cyril Francis Maude (24 April 1862 — 20 February 1951) was an English actor-manager. Biography Maude was born in London and educated at Wixenford and Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship ...

Alma Tell Alma Tell (March 27, 1898 – December 29, 1937) was an American stage and motion picture actress whose career in cinema began in 1915 and lasted into the sound films of the early 1930s. Early years Tell was born in New York City, the youn ...

Mabel Terry-Lewis Mabel Gwynedd Terry-Lewis (born as Mabel Gwynedd Lewis) ( 28 October 1872 – 28 November 1957) was an English actress and a member of the Terry-Gielgud dynasty of actors of the 19th and 20th centuries. After a successful career in her twe ...

, and Jack Whiting. Neither this production nor a revival two years later was successful. Six decades later, a West End revival directed by Clifford Williams and presented by impresario

Douglas Urbanski Douglas Urbanski is an American film producer and occasional film actor. He is a twice Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe Nominated and BAFTA-winning motion picture producer. Life and career Urbanski was born in Somerville, New Jersey. In addition t ...

opened at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

in 1984. It transferred to Broadway and, after nineteen previews, opened on April 29, 1985, at the

Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert J ...

, where it enjoyed a sold out limited run of only 93 performances; the all-star cast included

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...

John Michael King John Michael King (May 13, 1926 – August 17, 2008) was an American actor most often associated with his roles in musical theatre. Biography The son of actor Dennis King, John Michael King was born in New York City. He made his Broadway ...

, and George Rose.

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 ...

nominations went to Redgrave as Outstanding Actress in a Play and the production as Outstanding Revival. Following the Broadway run (where

Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), Granada TV series from 1984 ...

replaced King, and

Brenda Forbes Brenda Forbes (14 January 1909 – 11 September 1996) was a British-born American actress of stage and screen. Personal life Born as Dorothy Brenda Taylor in Wandsworth, London, the daughter of Ernest John and Ethel Louise Taylor. Her m ...

joined the cast), the production toured successfully for nearly a year, playing in Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and a sold-out run at Washington's National Theatre.

Film adaptation

A film version was made in 1932. This starred

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

and

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his mo ...

, and was produced by

Walter Morosco Walter Morosco (February 1, 1899 – December 30, 1948 ) was an American film producer, writer, actor and director. Morosco was born in San Francisco, the son of theater impresario Oliver Morosco and grandson of Walter M. Morosco (1846-1901). ...

and directed by

Harry Lachman Harry B. Lachman (June 29, 1886 – March 19, 1975) was an American artist, set designer, and film director. He was born in La Salle, Illinois on June 29, 1886. Lachman was educated at the University of Michigan before becoming a magazine and bo ...

External links

*The full text of
Aren't We All?
' at

HathiTrust Digital Library HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

* (1923 production) * (1985 production) * * {{Frederick Lonsdale 1923 plays Broadway plays Plays by Frederick Lonsdale West End plays British plays adapted into films