Mary, Mary (play)
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Mary, Mary is a play by Jean Kerr.
The plot focuses on wisecracking cynic Mary and infuriatingly sensible Bob, on the verge of divorce following a nine-month separation, who meet at his apartment in the hope they can avert an audit by the IRS. A snowstorm forces Mary to spend the night, and the following morning mutual friend and attorney Oscar, Hollywood heartthrob and neighbor Dirk Winston, and Bob's considerably younger fiancée Tiffany arrive on the scene. The comedy's humor is derived from discussions about income taxes, marriage, alimony, divorce, remarriage, extra-marital affairs, weight-loss programs, exercise, and sex.
After two previews, the Broadway production, directed by Joseph Anthony, opened on March 8, 1961 at the original Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran for nearly three years and nine months before transferring to the Morosco for the last two weeks of its 1572-performance run. The original cast was comprised of Barbara Bel Geddes as Mary, Barry Nelson as Bob, Michael Rennie as Dirk, John Cromwell as Oscar, and Betsy Von Furstenberg as Tiffany. Bel Geddes was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Later in the run, Nancy Olson and Inger Stevens were among those who assumed the role of Mary, while Bob was portrayed by George Grizzard, Murray Hamilton, and Tom Poston. Hiram Sherman replaced Cromwell as Oscar, Edward Mulhare and Michael Wilding appeared as Dirk, and Carrie Nye was cast as Tiffany.
Richard L. Breen adapted Kerr's play for a 1963 film version directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Nelson, Rennie, and Sherman reprised their stage roles, with Debbie Reynolds as Mary and Diane McBain as Tiffany. Opening at Radio City Music Hall to lukewarm reviews, it had no impact on the financial success of the play, which was still running long after the film departed neighborhood movie houses.
