Look After Lulu!
Encyclopedia
Look After Lulu! is a play by British
actor and playwright Noël Coward
, based on "Occupe-toi d'Amelie" by Georges Feydeau
. It is set in Paris in 1908. The farcical story concerns an attractive prostitute who is entrusted to a friend by her lover, when he goes into the army. The friend tricks her into a mock wedding.
The play premiered in 1959 on Broadway
and then played in London later the same year.
and his wife Madeleine Renaud had recently revived Feydeau's farce successfully at the Comédie-Française
. They suggested that Coward should adapt it for Laurence Olivier
and Vivien Leigh
to play in London. Olivier was not interested, and Leigh was not immediately available. Coward therefore decided to open the play in America first. His first choice to play Lulu was Shirley MacLaine
, who was not available; his next choice, Carol Channing
, did not wish to play a prostitute. Cyril Ritchard
, who directed the production, and Roddy McDowall
, who co-starred in it, suggested Tammy Grimes
, who had not done a Broadway "book" show; Coward saw her cabaret act and promptly offered her the role.
After a tryout in New Haven, Connecticut
, the play premiered on Broadway
at the Henry Miller's Theatre
on 3 March 1959 and closed on 4 April 1959 after 39 performances. The play featured Grimes, McDowall, Jack Gilford
, Ellis Rabb
, Barbara Loden
and Kurt Kasznar
. TIME Magazine
wrote: "Coward's dialogue for this turn-of-the-century French farce is broad more often than bright, and Cyril Ritchard's direction is often as agitated as it is agile."
The play opened in the West End
on 29 July 1959, at the Royal Court Theatre
, and transferred to the New Theatre (later renamed the Noël Coward Theatre
), where it ran until December 1959. It was directed by Tony Richardson
and starred Vivien Leigh, with Robert Stephens
, Anthony Quayle
and Max Adrian
. The Daily Mail wrote: "I came away reflecting that Noel Coward is Noel Coward, French farce is French farce, and never the twain should meet." Harold Hobson
in The Sunday Times
concurred: "If Look After Lulu! is only half a success, the reasons are more than complimentary to everyone concerned. The trouble is that Mr Coward is too witty, and Miss Leigh too beautiful. For the kind of play that Look After Lulu! is, beauty and wit are about as necessary as a peach melba at the North Pole."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor and playwright Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, based on "Occupe-toi d'Amelie" by Georges Feydeau
Georges Feydeau
Georges Feydeau was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his many lively farces.-Biography:Georges Feydeau was born in Paris, the son of novelist Ernest-Aimé Feydeau and Léocadie Bogaslawa Zalewska. At the age of twenty, Feydeau wrote his first comic...
. It is set in Paris in 1908. The farcical story concerns an attractive prostitute who is entrusted to a friend by her lover, when he goes into the army. The friend tricks her into a mock wedding.
The play premiered in 1959 on 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...
and then played in London later the same year.
Background
Jean-Louis BarraultJean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
and his wife Madeleine Renaud had recently revived Feydeau's farce successfully at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
. They suggested that Coward should adapt it for Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
to play in London. Olivier was not interested, and Leigh was not immediately available. Coward therefore decided to open the play in America first. His first choice to play Lulu was Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, who was not available; his next choice, Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, did not wish to play a prostitute. Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Ritchard was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is probably best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in the Mary Martin musical production of Peter Pan....
, who directed the production, and Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
, who co-starred in it, suggested Tammy Grimes
Tammy Grimes
-Early life:Grimes was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eola Willard , a naturalist and spiritualist, and Nicholas Luther Grimes, an innkeeper, country-club manager, and farmer. She attended high school at the then-all girls school, Beaver Country Day School, in Chestnut Hill,...
, who had not done a Broadway "book" show; Coward saw her cabaret act and promptly offered her the role.
After a tryout in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, the play premiered on 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...
at the Henry Miller's Theatre
Henry Miller's Theatre
The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theatre located at 124 West 43rd Street, between Broadway and 6th Avenue, in Manhattan's Theatre District.-History:...
on 3 March 1959 and closed on 4 April 1959 after 39 performances. The play featured Grimes, McDowall, Jack Gilford
Jack Gilford
Jack Gilford was an American actor on Broadway, films and television.-Early life:Gilford was born Jacob Aaron Gellman on the lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, and grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn...
, Ellis Rabb
Ellis Rabb
Ellis Rabb was an American actor and director who in 1959 formed the Association of Producing Artists, a theatre company that brought new works and noteworthy revivals to Broadway and to regional theatres...
, Barbara Loden
Barbara Loden
Barbara Loden was an American film and stage actress and film director....
and Kurt Kasznar
Kurt Kasznar
-Early life:Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married a Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s for The Eternal Road in which he...
. TIME Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
wrote: "Coward's dialogue for this turn-of-the-century French farce is broad more often than bright, and Cyril Ritchard's direction is often as agitated as it is agile."
The play opened in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
on 29 July 1959, at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, and transferred to the New Theatre (later renamed the Noël Coward Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
), where it ran until December 1959. It was directed by Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
and starred Vivien Leigh, with Robert Stephens
Robert Stephens
Sir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
, Anthony Quayle
Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
and Max Adrian
Max Adrian
Max Adrian was a Northern Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre....
. The Daily Mail wrote: "I came away reflecting that Noel Coward is Noel Coward, French farce is French farce, and never the twain should meet." Harold Hobson
Harold Hobson
Sir Harold Hobson was an influential English drama critic and author.He was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England and read History at Oxford University. He was an assistant literary editor for the Sunday Times from 1944 and later became its drama critic...
in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
concurred: "If Look After Lulu! is only half a success, the reasons are more than complimentary to everyone concerned. The trouble is that Mr Coward is too witty, and Miss Leigh too beautiful. For the kind of play that Look After Lulu! is, beauty and wit are about as necessary as a peach melba at the North Pole."