The Watering Place
Encyclopedia
The Watering Place is a play written by Lyle Kessler
. His first full length, it debuted on Broadway, starring Shirley Knight
and William Devane
Michael Langham
, the initial director of the play, and future director at Juilliard, came to its producer Eugene Persson, and begged him to let him direct it. "Langham is known to be choosy and usually Producers hunt him down" an article in New York Magazine said at the time.
On February 17, 1969, Alan Schneider
took over the role as director for The Watering Place. The opening was delayed until March 6.
The play closed the first day it opened, but Kessler believed the reason for its lack of success on Broadway
had more to do with other variables than the merit of the play itself.
"....there were a lot of problems" Kessler said in an interview in 1990, "We'd had a change of directors, some of the casting wasn't right. And at the time, people didn't want to see anything about Vietnam."
Kessler, who went on to write Orphans
, won a Rockefellor Foundation grant for The Watering Place. The play has had segments published in a number of anthologies including "Best Plays of 1969-1970" and "Monologues--women: 50 speeches from the contemporary theatre, Volume 1" and memorabilia from the Broadway production are sold on Ebay as collectors items. Current used copies of The Watering Place go for as much as 130 dollars online.
Lengham said The Watering Place is one of the most significant plays about America he has "ever read"
Lyle Kessler
Lyle Kessler is an American playwright, screenwriter and actor, best known internationally for Orphans, the play he wrote in 1983.-Actor:...
. His first full length, it debuted on Broadway, starring Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight
Shirley Enola Knight is an American stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in 1960 for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and in 1962 for Sweet Bird of Youth....
and William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
Michael Langham
Michael Langham
Michael Langham was an English actor and director, who spent much of his career living and working in Canada and the United States....
, the initial director of the play, and future director at Juilliard, came to its producer Eugene Persson, and begged him to let him direct it. "Langham is known to be choosy and usually Producers hunt him down" an article in New York Magazine said at the time.
On February 17, 1969, Alan Schneider
Alan Schneider
Alan Schneider was an American theatre director and mentor responsible for more than 100 theatre productions. In 1984 he was honored with a Drama Desk Special Award for serving a wide range of playwrights...
took over the role as director for The Watering Place. The opening was delayed until March 6.
The play closed the first day it opened, but Kessler believed the reason for its lack of success 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...
had more to do with other variables than the merit of the play itself.
"....there were a lot of problems" Kessler said in an interview in 1990, "We'd had a change of directors, some of the casting wasn't right. And at the time, people didn't want to see anything about Vietnam."
Kessler, who went on to write Orphans
Orphans (Lyle Kessler play)
Orphans is a play by Lyle Kessler. It premiered in 1983 at the in Los Angeles starring Joe Pantoliano, Lane Smith and Paul Leiber, where it received critical and commercial success and won the Drama-Logue Award....
, won a Rockefellor Foundation grant for The Watering Place. The play has had segments published in a number of anthologies including "Best Plays of 1969-1970" and "Monologues--women: 50 speeches from the contemporary theatre, Volume 1" and memorabilia from the Broadway production are sold on Ebay as collectors items. Current used copies of The Watering Place go for as much as 130 dollars online.
Lengham said The Watering Place is one of the most significant plays about America he has "ever read"