The Waverly Gallery is a play by Kenneth Lonergan. It is considered a "memory play". The show, first produced Off-Broadway in 2000, follows a grandson watching his grandmother slowly die from Alzheimer's disease. The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001.
Summary Gladys Green owns a small art gallery in Greenwich Village. She is in her 80s and showing signs of Alzheimer's disease. Don, a young artist, arrives for a showing of his work. The landlord wants to close the art gallery and replace it with a restaurant. How her family – daughter Ellen, son-in-law Howard and grandson Daniel – deals with her decline is told by the grandson.
(The minor character of the landlord, onstage at the Williamstown production, was dropped for the Off-Broadway 2000 production. He was included in a later production at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2002.Shirley, Don. "Picture of a Family in Crisis Hangs in 'The Waverly Gallery'" The Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2002)
Cast RolePromenade Theatre Off-Broadway (2000)John Golden Theatre Broadway (2018)Gladys GreenEileen Heckart Elaine MayDaniel GreenJosh Hamilton Lucas HedgesEllen FineMaureen Anderman Joan AllenHoward FineMark Blum David CromerDon BowmanAnthony ArkinMichael Cera
Productions The play opened Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theater on March 22, 2000, and closed on May 21, 2000. Directed by Scott Ellis, the play starred Eileen Heckart as Gladys Green and Josh Hamilton as Daniel.Brantley, Ben. "A Shattered Mind, Jagged and Confused" The New York Times, March 23, 2000Simonson, Robert. " 'Waverly Gallery', Eileen Heckart, Take Their Final Exit, May 21" playbill.com, May 21, 2000 The play originally premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, running from August 11, 1999, to August 22, 1999. Joanne Woodward filled in for an ailing Eileen Heckart in the final four performances.Simonson, Robert."Woodward Subbed for Heckart at Lonergan's Williamstown Gallery" playbill.com, August 24, 1999
The play premiered on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre on September 25, 2018, in previews, officially on October 25. The cast included Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, Joan Allen, Michael Cera, and David Cromer. The revival was directed by Lila Neugebauer.Clement, Olivia. "The Band's Visit Director David Cromer Joins Cast of 'The Waverly Gallery' on Broadway" Playbill, August 9, 2018Clement, Olivia. " 'The Waverly Gallery' Begins Previews on Broadway September 25" Playbill, September 25, 2018 The play closed on January 27, 2019, after 109 performances.Clement, Olivia. " 'The Waverly Gallery', Starring Elaine May, Closes on Broadway January 27" Playbill, January 27, 2019
Critical reception Charles Isherwood in Variety said, "The life trauma being depicted has an inherent pathos, and in Lonergan's hands, no small amount of comic potential. And yet, while Lonergan mines his subject with delicacy and wit, he runs out of dramatic ore well before the evening's end."
Ben Brantley in The New York Times called the play a "finely observed story of the predations of old age...[it] isn't so much a proper play as an essayistic memoir given dramatic form. It is nonetheless deeply theatrical. Mr. Lonergan ... has one of the keenest ears of any working playwright.... is also often deeply funny."
Awards and nominations 2000 Off-Broadway The Waverly Gallery was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001."Pulitzer Prize for Drama" pulitzer.org, accessed September 14, 2014
Awards and Nominations: The 2000 Drama Desk Awards - Outstanding Actress (Heckart) - Winner The 1999–2000 Obie Award - Performance (Heckart) - Winner The 2000 Lucille Lortel Award - Outstanding Actress (Heckart) - Winner The 2000 Drama League Award - Distinguished Performance (Heckart) - Winner The 2000 Outer Critics Circle Award, John Glassner Award (Lonergan)"Off-Broadway Listing" Internet Off-Broadway Database, retrieved August 14, 2018 - Nominated
2018 Broadway revival
2019 Drama Desk AwardsMcPhee, Ryan. "Nominations for the 2019 Drama Desk Awards Announced; 'Oklahoma!', 'Tootsie', 'Rags Parkland' Lead the Pack" Playbill, April 25, 2019Fierberg, Ruthie. " 'Tootsie', 'Hadestown', and 'The Ferryman' Lead 2019 Drama Desk Award Winners" Playbill, June 2, 2019 Outstanding Revival of a Play - Winner Outstanding Actress in a Play (Elaine May) - Winner
2019 Tony AwardsMcPhee, Ryan. "2019 Tony Award Nominations: 'Hadestown' and 'Ain't Too Proud' Lead the Pack" Playbill, April 30, 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play - Nominated Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Elaine May) - Winner
On June 9, 2019, May won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Gladys in the Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan's The Waverly Gallery. She also received a Drama League Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. That same year, May's film A New Leaf was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
References
External links