Maureen Stapleton across the street from the Plymouth Theatre during the run of The Gingerbread Lady

The Gingerbread Lady is a 1970 play by Neil Simon, written specifically for actress Maureen Stapleton, who won both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her performance. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Neil Simon (1966) Neil Simon (born Marvin Simon July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City), is an American playwright and screenwriter. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Maureen Stapleton. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... Created in 1955, the Drama Desk Award was created to recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows in addition to Broadway shows. ...

A major departure from Simon's previous lighthearted romps, The Gingerbread Lady was a dark drama with comic overtones centering on Evy Meara, a cabaret singer whose career, marriage, and health all have been destroyed by alcohol. Having just completed a ten-week stint in a rehab facility to overcome her addiction, she returns home to the welcome of friends with their own problems - an overly vain woman who fears the loss of her looks and a homosexual actor in danger of losing a part in a play - her devoted but anxious teenaged daughter, and a worthless ex-lover. Evy's efforts at hosting a party crumble when she falls off the wagon and careens toward a tragic end. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Drug rehabilitation (often shortened to drug rehab or just rehab) is an umbrella term for the processes of medical and/or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs , and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. ... Addiction is a chronic disorder proposed to be precipitated by a combination of genetic, biological/pharmacological and social factors. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

After twelve previews, the Broadway production - directed by Robert Moore - opened on December 13, 1970 at the Plymouth Theatre, where it ran for 193 performances. It proved to be one of Simon's least successful plays on Broadway, although it frequently is performed in summer stock and by community theater groups. Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Robert Moore (August 7, 1927 - May 10, 1984) was an American stage, film and TV director, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is a Broadway theatre. ...

In 1981, Simon adapted his play for the screen under the title Only When I Laugh, with his then-wife Marsha Mason in the lead role. His reworking of his original script transformed it into a comedy with dramatic overtones, and the film was a critical and commercial success nominated for three Academy Awards. // Events January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. ... Only When I Laugh is a 1981 film which tells the story of an alcoholic Broadway actress who tries to stay sober while dealing with the problems of her friends and family. ... Marsha Mason with Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942, St. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ...

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing