Never Too Late (play)
| Never Too Late | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Sumner Arthur Long |
| Characters | Harry Lambert Edith Lambert Kate Clinton Charlie Clinton Grace Kimbrough James Kimbrough |
| Date premiered | 27 November 1962 |
| Place premiered | Playhouse Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | The living room of the Lambert home in Calverton, Massachusetts. |
Never Too Late is a 1962 Broadway play by Sumner Arthur Long.
Never Too Late starred Paul Ford and Maureen O'Sullivan as Harry and Edith Lambert, a middle-aged couple about to become parents once again. Starring as the couple's adult daughter Kate and her husband Charlie Clinton were Fran Sharon and Orson Bean, as well as Leona Maricle and House Jameson as Grace and James Kimbrough.
Production
[edit]Never Too Late originally opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on November 27, 1962. The play, directed by George Abbott and produced by Elliot Martin and Daniel Hollywood, ran for a total of 1,007 performances until its end on April 24, 1965.
In his book on Broadway The Season, William Goldman gave the play's success as an example of a freak success that can happen due to good reviews. "Paul Ford has been Paul Ford for a million years, always the same, always wonderful. But on the night that Never Too Late opened, the critics decided not to give the usual Paul Ford notice: “Mr. Ford struggles nobly with his material, but it is a losing battle.” That night it’s hats in the air and a 1,000-performance run and fortunes for everybody. There is simply no conceivable way of knowing when this contagion will strike the boys on the aisle. But one of the reasons that so many inconceivable plays get to Broadway is that when they're dying out of town they dream of the Never Too Lates and come on in."[1]
Film
[edit]A film version based on the play was released in November 1965 with Ford and O’Sullivan reprising their Broadway roles.[2]
Awards and nominations
[edit]Original Broadway production
[edit]| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play | Paul Ford | Nominated |
| Best Direction of a Play | George Abbott | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ Goldman, William (1969). The Season. Harcourt, brace & world. pp. 255–256.
- ^ Never Too Late tcm.com
External links
[edit]- Never Too Late at the Internet Broadway Database
- Never Too Late at the Internet Broadway Database
- Review of Broadway production at Variety
- Complete play at Internet Archive