The Marriage-Go-Round

The Marriage-Go-Round is a 1958 play written by Leslie Stevens. The 1961 film adaptation of the same name, written and produced by Stevens, stars Susan Hayward, James Mason and Julie Newmar, who reprised her role in the film version.

The Marriage-Go-Round
Written byLeslie Stevens
CharactersPaul Delville
Content Lowell (Mrs. Paul Delville)
Katrin Sveg
Ross Barnett[1]
Date premieredOctober 29, 1958 (1958-10-29)
Place premieredPlymouth Theatre
Original languageEnglish
GenreSex comedy
SettingTraditional college town up the river from New York City, present-day[1]

The play was inspired by a suggestion that dancer Isadora Duncan supposedly made to playwright George Bernard Shaw: The two of them should have a child because "with your mind and my body, think what a person it would be!"[2] The play, a sex comedy, was a Broadway theatre success with a run of over 700 performances; it did poor box office .[3]

Play

The play's original production on Broadway starred Charles Boyer as Dr. Paul Delville, a professor of cultural anthropology at a New York college, Claudette Colbert as Dr. Content Lowell, the Dean of Women at the college and Delville's wife, Julie Newmar as Katrin Sveg, and Edmon Ryan as Ross Barnett.[4]

Reception

Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times called the Broadway production at the Plymouth Theatre "droll and buoyant" and its direction by Joseph Anthony "immaculate."[5]

At the 13th Tony Awards, Newmar won for her performance as Featured Dramatic Actress and Colbert received a Tony nomination for her performance as a Dramatic Actress.[6] Colbert lost to Gertrude Berg, who won for her performance in A Majority of One.

The play was in part a success due to charity theater parties, such as one sponsored by Maternity Center Association, which bought all seats for one night's performance in November 1958, paying $5,700 and netting $16,000 after selling tickets to its members that were priced between $10 and $30.[7]

References
  1. The Marriage-Go-Round at the Internet Broadway Database
  2. The Marriage-Go-Round, a January 7, 1961 New York Times review of the film adaptation
  3. "Marriage Go-Round" looks at love and fidelity from the website of the Redding Record Searchlight
  4. The Marriage-Go-Round at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. Joseph Anthony, 80, a Director And Stage and Film Actor, Dies, a January 22, 1993 obituary from The New York Times
  6. The Marriage-Go-Round Awards from the Internet Broadway Database
  7. Theater Parties, a December 1, 1958 article from Time magazine
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