The Royal Family (play)

The Royal Family is a play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Its premiere on Broadway was at the Selwyn Theatre on 28 December 1927, where it ran for 345 performances to close in October 1928. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1927–1928.

The Royal Family
First edition (1928)
Written byGeorge S. Kaufman
Edna Ferber
Date premiered28 December 1927
Place premieredSelwyn Theatre
New York City
Original languageEnglish
GenreComedy
Settinga New York City duplex apartment in 1927

Characters

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  • Fanny Cavendish – Cavendish family matriarch
  • Julie Cavendish – Fanny's daughter
  • Tony Cavendish – Fanny's son
  • Gwen Cavendish – Fanny's granddaughter
  • Herbert Dean – Fanny's brother
  • Kitty Dean – Fanny's sister-in-law
  • Oscar Wolfe – Cavendish family's long-time agent
  • Gilbert Marshall – Julie's love interest
  • Perry Stewart – Gwen's fiancee

Productions

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The 1977 Great Performances presentation of the 1975 all star Broadway revival starring Rosemary Harris, Eva Le Gallienne, Sam Levene & Ellis Raab was released on DVD.

Adaptations

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Lobby card for The Royal Family of Broadway (1930)

The play was adapted in 1930 by Herman Mankiewicz for the film The Royal Family of Broadway, released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner, and stars Ina Claire and Fredric March.

Several live television adaptions were produced, including one in 1952, a BBC film for television, starring Morton Lowry as Tony Cavendish and Charmion King as Julia, re-named as "Theatre Royal".[5]

Awards and nominations

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Awards

References

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  1. ^ "Lyric Theatre", The Times, October 24, 1934, p. 12
  2. ^ "Television This Week: Of Special Interest". The New York Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  3. ^ Nightingale, Benedict. "Revival that celebrates the lure of greasepaint", The Times, November 2, 2001, p. 15
  4. ^ "The Royal Family", Internet Broadway Database, retrieved April 29, 2023
  5. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | THEATRE ROYAL (1952)". 2009-02-13. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2020-11-19.

Further reading

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  • Kaufman, George S.; Ferber, Edna (1928). The Royal Family; A Comedy in Three Acts (First ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. OCLC 1490010.
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