| The House of Blue Leaves | |
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Poster by James McMullan |
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| Written by | John Guare |
| Date premiered | 1966 |
| Place premiered | Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Waterford, Connecticut |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | A zookeeper longs to write songs for the movies as his AWOL son and the Pope arrive in New York City |
| Genre | Black comedy |
| Setting | A bar and an apartment in Queens, New York, 1965 |
| IBDB profile | |
The House of Blue Leaves is a play by American playwright John Guare, first staged in 1966 by Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.
Set in Sunnyside, Queens in 1965, on the day Pope Paul VI visited New York City, the black comedy features nuns, a political bombing, a GI headed for Vietnam, a zookeeper who dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a songwriter, and his wife Bananas, a schizophrenic destined for the institution that provides the play's title.
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The House of Blue Leaves, directed by Mel Shapiro, opened on February 10, 1971 Off-Broadway at the Truck and Warehouse Theatre, where it ran for 337 performances. The cast included Frank Converse, Harold Gould, Katherine Helmond, William Atherton, and Anne Meara.
A 1986 revival directed by Jerry Zaks was staged Off-Broadway Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and then transferred to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where it played five months before transferring again to the Plymouth Theatre, for a total run of 398 performances. The opening night cast included Swoosie Kurtz, John Mahoney, Stockard Channing, Danny Aiello, Ben Stiller (in his stage debut), and Julie Hagerty. Christine Baranski and Patricia Clarkson joined the production later in the run. It won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival. It was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.
A 2011 Broadway revival was staged by David Cromer at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Starring Ben Stiller (Artie), Edie Falco (Bananas) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Bunny), the production began previews on April 4, with an opening date on April 15 for a limited 16-week engagement.[1]
Directed by Kirk Browning and Jerry Zaks, the play was staged at the Plymouth Theatre in 1987 with Swoosie Kurtz, John Mahoney, Christine Baranski, and Ben Stiller specifically for a broadcast on the PBS series American Playhouse. The film adaptation was shot with minicams before an audience.
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