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Deuce (play)
Encyclopedia
Deuce is a play by Terrence McNally
. The Broadway
production, directed by Michael Blakemore
, starred Angela Lansbury
as blue collar Leona Mullen and Marian Seldes
as well-bred Midge Barker, two former successful tennis
partners, now retired, who reunite to be honored at a women's quarterfinals match at the US Open. It began previews at the Music Box Theatre
on April 11, 2007 and opened on May 6. It ended its limited run on August 19, 2007, after 27 previews and 121 performances.
As the two women watch the match, they reminisce about such luminaries as Althea Gibson
and Babe Didrikson Zaharias and complain about the lack of form and scanty dress of the players, while commentators Kelly Short and Ryan Becker share patter and a starstruck middle-aged fan offers soliloquies
about his idols.
The production marked Lansbury's first time on the Broadway stage since her performance in the 1983 revival of Mame. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
but lost to Julie White
for The Little Dog Laughed
.
called the play a "flimsy excuse for a comedy" and "a grab bag of synthetic scraps of sentimental truisms and grumpy-old-broad humor." He added, "[Angela Lansbury] is so vitally and indelibly present that she even occasionally gives flesh to a play as wispy as ectoplasm
. . . [she] comes close to creating something like a fully woven character out of the random threads she has been given."
Eric Grode of The New York Sun described the play as a "moldy new comedy . . . [that] has stumbled onto Broadway with the grace of a John McEnroe
temper tantrum. This dispiriting waste of talent and time exists solely to let two grandes dames of the theater . . . engage in the sort of banter and bathos that went out of style with The Gin Game
. . . That these exchanges generate even a tiny handful of laughs has everything to do with the formidable pair of actresses and virtually nothing to do with Mr. McNally or director Michael Blakemore, who appears to have staged the play when he had a few hours to kill one afternoon."
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
. The Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed by Michael Blakemore
Michael Blakemore
Michael Howell Blakemore OBE is an Australian actor, writer and theatre director. In 2000 he became the only individual to win Tony Awards for best Director of a Play and Musical in the same year for Copenhagen and Kiss Me, Kate....
, starred Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as blue collar Leona Mullen and Marian Seldes
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes is an American stage, film, radio, and television actress whose career has spanned six decades and who was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Life and career:...
as well-bred Midge Barker, two former successful tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
partners, now retired, who reunite to be honored at a women's quarterfinals match at the US Open. It began previews at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
on April 11, 2007 and opened on May 6. It ended its limited run on August 19, 2007, after 27 previews and 121 performances.
As the two women watch the match, they reminisce about such luminaries as Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
and Babe Didrikson Zaharias and complain about the lack of form and scanty dress of the players, while commentators Kelly Short and Ryan Becker share patter and a starstruck middle-aged fan offers soliloquies
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
about his idols.
The production marked Lansbury's first time on the Broadway stage since her performance in the 1983 revival of Mame. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
but lost to Julie White
Julie White
Julie White is an American actress. She is known for her role in Grace Under Fire and for her role as Judy Witwicky in the Transformers film series.-Personal life:...
for The Little Dog Laughed
The Little Dog Laughed (play)
The Little Dog Laughed is a play by Douglas Carter Beane.The four characters are an actor, Mitchell, his acerbic agent Diane, a hustler named Alex, and Alex's girlfriend Ellen...
.
Additional cast
- Joanna P. Adler ..... Kelly Short
- Brian HaleyBrian HaleyBrian Haley is an American actor and stand-up comedian. His stand-up act is characterized by playing his all-American looks against manic outbursts and absurd situations...
..... Ryan Becker - Michael MulherenMichael Mulheren- Theatre :Mulheren's Broadway debut was in 1995 in On the Waterfront, after previously appearing in The Fantastickss off-Broadway run in the 1960s. He also appeared in the 1997 production of Broadway's The Titanic. Other Broadway credits include The Boy from Oz and La Cage aux Folles; his...
..... An Admirer
Production credits
- Producers ..... Scott RudinScott RudinScott Rudin is an American film producer and a theatrical producer.-Early life and work:Scott Rudin was born in New York City, NY, on July 14, 1958, and raised in the town of Baldwin on Long Island. At the age of sixteen, he started working as an assistant to theatre producer Kermit Bloomgarden...
, The Shubert OrganizationThe Shubert OrganizationThe Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of legitimate theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the Shubert brothers, Sam S. Shubert, Lee Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert of Syracuse, New York in the late 19th century in upstate New York,...
, Roger BerlindRoger BerlindRoger S. Berlind is a New York City theatrical producer and director of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc...
, Stuart Thompson, Maberry Theatricals, Debra Black, Bob Boyett, Susan Dietz, Daryl Roth - Scenic Design ..... Peter J. Davison
- Costume DesignCostume designCostume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
..... Ann RothAnn RothAnn Roth is an American costume designer for films and Broadway theatre.Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Roth was a Carnegie Mellon graduate who began her career as a scenery painter for the Pittsburgh Opera. She intended to remain in the field of production design until she met Irene Sharaff at the... - Lighting DesignLighting designerThe role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
..... Mark Henderson - Sound DesignSound designSound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
.... Paul CharlierPaul CharlierPaul Charlier is an Australian composer and sound designer who works primarily in theatre and film. He has also worked in radio and was a founding member of the Sydney post-punk band SoliPsiK...
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Ben BrantleyBen Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
called the play a "flimsy excuse for a comedy" and "a grab bag of synthetic scraps of sentimental truisms and grumpy-old-broad humor." He added, "[Angela Lansbury] is so vitally and indelibly present that she even occasionally gives flesh to a play as wispy as ectoplasm
Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm may refer to:* Ectoplasm , the outer part of the cytoplasm* Ectoplasm , supposed physical substance that manifests as a result of spiritual energy or psychic phenomenon...
. . . [she] comes close to creating something like a fully woven character out of the random threads she has been given."
Eric Grode of The New York Sun described the play as a "moldy new comedy . . . [that] has stumbled onto Broadway with the grace of a John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
temper tantrum. This dispiriting waste of talent and time exists solely to let two grandes dames of the theater . . . engage in the sort of banter and bathos that went out of style with The Gin Game
The Gin Game
The Gin Game is a two-person, two-act play by D.L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production.-Plot:...
. . . That these exchanges generate even a tiny handful of laughs has everything to do with the formidable pair of actresses and virtually nothing to do with Mr. McNally or director Michael Blakemore, who appears to have staged the play when he had a few hours to kill one afternoon."