Two-time Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick and two-time Emmy Award winner Sarah Jessica Parker will return to Broadway in the first-ever New York revival of Neil Simon's classic comedy about marriage, Plaza Suite, in a production by Tony Award winner John Benjamin Hickey.
Plaza Suite will mark the first time Broderick and Parker will share a Broadway stage since the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. This event will also mark Broderick's return to the words of Neil Simon, having won his first Tony Award for creating the role of Eugene Jerome in Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, followed by its sequel, Biloxi Blues.
Two world-class actors play three hilarious couples in this uproarious and piercing look at love and marriage from legendary playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Neil Simon. This new production will mark the first revival of a Neil Simon play following his passing last August at the age of 91. He is remembered as one of the most celebrated, successful and beloved writers in Broadway history having written more than 30 plays and musicals.
Aside from the odd dated reference - Dr. Joyce Brothers, hello? - and some unfortunate reminders of our current time - like that powerful Hollywood producers using hotel rooms for seduction isn't very funny anymore - 'Plaza Suite' definitely feels more than 50 years old. It's stuck in the mid-20th century with its privileged elites, offering pre-feminist musings on midlife crises and the elusiveness of marital bliss, all over a room service double scotch. It is being staged for the very people who feel the need to burst into applause when they first see John Lee Beatty's gorgeous Plaza set, complete with chandeliers, sconces and timelessly elegant chairs. They know they'll be gently taken care of in here, like guests at a stuffy, hyper-expensive hotel living off its legacy, that has endured. Not challenged or stretched. It is an elegant looking past, yes, but it's time for the new. Today, it has to be new.
In the midst of domestic political tensions, overseas conflict, the pandemic, and emotionally-charged cultural debates, 'Plaza Suite' offers sitcom comedy, sharp one-liners, sentimental and nostalgic touches, straightforward direction (by actor John Benjamin Hickey), and performances by two familiar stage and screen stars. It's the equivalent of feel-good comfort food, like grandma's chicken noodle soup - at least until it becomes clear that the production is not as good as it ought to be.
1968 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2024 | West End |
London Production West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Sarah Jessica Parker |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | Jane Greenwood |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Jane Greenwood |
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