Title | : | The West Side Waltz. (Acting Edition for Theater Productions) |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 0822212331 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9780822212331 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Paperback |
Number of Pages | : | 72 |
Publication | : | First published January 1, 1982 |
Holding out indomitably against advancing age, dwindling finances and failing health, Margaret Mary Elderdice, a widow and former concert pianist, resists the attempts of her violin-playing spinster neighbor, Cara Varnum, to move in with her. While she enjoys playing duets with Cara and gossiping about the other tenants in their upper West Side apartment building, Margaret Mary values her independence above the dubious comforts that the constant presence of the priggish Cara might provide. So Cara is shocked when Margaret Mary engages Robin Bird, a rather kooky young would-be actress, as her paid, live-in companion. Relations between the three are strewn with hilarious pitfalls from the start, with additional comic complications being provided by a malaprop-prone Rumanian building superintendent and an eager young lawyer-suitor whom Robin Bird brings home for dinner. Ultimately things do fall into place, and largely so because of the spirited will of Margaret Mary, who goads the others to rise above their problems, to stake a personal claim on life, and to resist, with all their strength, the infirmities and misfortunes that flesh is heir to.
The West Side Waltz. (Acting Edition for Theater Productions) Reviews
-
2022: A highly enjoyable rereading of Thompson’s play from the early 80s. I laughed out loud and smiled a lot.
*******
2019: Nice, predictable old-fashioned play — the kind that used to be produced often on Broadway that spotlighted big stars.
I saw the national tour in Boston in the spring of 1982. I went to see Katharine Hepburn in person, but walked away thinking how outstanding Dorothy Loudon was.
Reading this play almost 40 years later was a nice reminder of how lucky I was in college to have had access to these kinds of experiences.