Editing Plaza Suite

{{short description|Play written by Neil Simon}}
{{for|the film adaptation of this play|Plaza Suite (film)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = May 2020}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = Plaza Suite
| image      = PlazaSuitePoster.jpg
| caption    = Broadway poster
| writer     = [[Neil Simon]]
| chorus     = 
| characters = Sam Nash<br />Karen Nash<br />Jesse Kiplinger<br />Muriel Tate<br />Roy Hubley<br />Norma Hubley
| mute       = 
| setting    = Suite 719<br />[[Plaza Hotel]]<br />New York City
| premiere   = {{Start date|1968|02|14}}
| place      = [[Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre|Plymouth Theatre]]<br />[[New York City]]
| orig_lang  = English
| series     = 
| subject    = 
| genre      = Comedy
| web        = 
}}

'''''Plaza Suite''''' is a comedy play by [[Neil Simon]].

==Plot==
The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of [[New York City]]'s [[Plaza Hotel]]. The first act, ''Visitor From [[Mamaroneck (village), New York|Mamaroneck]]'', introduces the audience to not-so-blissfully wedded couple Sam and Karen Nash, who are revisiting their honeymoon suite in an attempt by Karen to bring the love back into their marriage. Her plan backfires and the two become embroiled in a heated argument about whether or not Sam is having an affair with his secretary. The act ends with Sam leaving (allegedly to attend to urgent business) and Karen sadly reflecting on how much things have changed since they were young.

The second act, ''Visitor from [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]'', involves a meeting between movie producer Jesse Kiplinger and his old flame, suburban housewife Muriel Tate. Muriel—aware of his reputation as a smooth-talking ladies' man—has come for nothing more than a chat between old friends, promising herself she will not stay too long. Jesse, however, has other plans in mind and repeatedly attempts to seduce her.

The third act, ''Visitor from [[Forest Hills, Queens|Forest Hills]]'', revolves around married couple Roy and Norma Hubley on their daughter Mimsey's wedding day. In a rush of nervousness, Mimsey has locked herself in the suite's bathroom and refuses to leave. Her parents make frantic attempts to cajole her into attending her wedding while the gathered guests await the trio's arrival downstairs. It appears that the marriage will go ahead, as the act ends.

==Background==
The play originally had four acts, one of which was cut during pre-production. Simon later expanded it for the 1970 [[feature film]] ''[[The Out-of-Towners (1970 film)|The Out-of-Towners]]''.<ref name=TCM>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/86828/plaza-suite ''Plaza Suite'' at Turner Classic Movies]</ref>

==Productions==
Before its Broadway run, ''Plaza Suite'' premiered in 1968 at the [[Shubert Theatre (New Haven)|Shubert Theatre]] in New Haven and the [[Colonial Theatre (Boston)|Colonial Theatre]] in [[Boston]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Ryan | last=McPhee | date=September 19, 2019 | title=Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker to Return to Broadway Together in Neil Simon's ''Plaza Suite'' | url=http://www.playbill.com/article/matthew-broderick-and-sarah-jessica-parker-to-return-to-broadway-together-in-neil-simons-plaza-suite | work=[[Playbill]] | access-date=February 17, 2020}}</ref> ''Plaza Suite'' opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre|Plymouth Theatre]] on February 14, 1968, and closed on October 3, 1970, after 1,097 performances and two previews. Directed by [[Mike Nichols]], the cast featured [[George C. Scott]] and [[Maureen Stapleton]] who appeared in each of the three acts with [[Bob Balaban]] in two acts.<ref name=barnes>Barnes, Clive. "Theater: 'Plaza Suite,' Neil Simon's Laugh Machine: 3 Farces at Plymouth Directed by Nichols Maureen Stapleton and George C. Scott Star", ''The New York Times'', 15 Feb 1968, p.49</ref> [[Clive Barnes]] in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that "after a slow start with the first, warms up with the second and ends with an all-stops-out, grandstand finish with the third."<ref name=barnes/> Later in the run, they were replaced by [[Dan Dailey]], [[E. G. Marshall]], [[Don Porter]], [[Nicol Williamson]], [[Barbara Baxley]], and [[Peggy Cass]].

The play was profiled in the [[William Goldman]] book ''[[The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway]]''. [[Noël Coward]], who three years earlier had written ''[[Suite in Three Keys]]'', later said of ''Plaza Suite'', "Such a good idea having different plays all played in a hotel suite! I wonder where Neil Simon got it from?"{{sfn|Coward|Payn|Morley|2000|page=676}}

Mike Nichols won the [[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play]]. Neil Simon was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Play]] but lost to [[Tom Stoppard]] for ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]''. Maureen Stapleton was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play]] but lost to [[Zoe Caldwell]] in ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (novel)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]''.

A West Coast production, with engagements in [[San Francisco]] and [[Los Angeles]], opened on September 16, 1968. It starred [[Dan Dailey]] and [[Lee Grant]]. The production closed March 1, 1969.

The play's first national tour, starring [[Forrest Tucker]] and [[Betty Garrett]] and [[Dana Ivey]] in the supporting female roles, opened on October 7, 1968. Replacement actors included [[Howard Keel]] and [[Larry Parks]]. Among the tour's stops was [[Chicago]] for a nearly eight-month engagement. It concluded on February 14, 1970, in [[Philadelphia]].

Garrett and Parks, married in real life, starred in a bus and truck tour that lasted from October 16, 1970, through April 25, 1971.

A Broadway revival was initially set to play at the [[Hudson Theatre]], beginning with previews on March 13, 2020, and officially on April 13, following a pre-Broadway run at the Colonial Theatre in Boston in February 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sarah Jessica Parker And Matthew Broderick Take The Stage In 'Plaza Suite'|url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/02/18/sarah-jessica-parker-matthew-broderick-plaza-suite|last1=Hobson|first1=Jeremy|last2=Hagan|first2=Allison|date=February 18, 2020|website=WBUR|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref> However, due to the closure of Broadway houses caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the Broadway run was postponed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Broadway To Remain Closed Through June 7, Possibly Ending 2019-2020 Season Early|url=https://deadline.com/2020/04/broadway-closed-june-7-coronavirus-2019-2020-season-ends-1202903469/|last=Evans|first=Greg|date=April 8, 2020|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=April 9, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Broadway's 'Plaza Suite' Starring Matthew Broderick And Sarah Jessica Parker Postpones Opening For A Year|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/broadway-plaza-suite-matthew-broderick-sarah-jessica-parker-postpone-2021-1202932556/|last=Evans|first=Greg|date=May 12, 2020|website=Deadline|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref> In June 2021, it was reported that the production would begin preview performances on February 25, 2022, and officially open on March 28.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Petski|first=Denise|date=2021-06-29|title=Broadway's 'Plaza Suite' Starring Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker To Premiere In 2022|url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/broadway-plaza-suite-matthew-broderick-sarah-jessica-parker-2022-premiere-1234783248/|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref> The production starred [[Matthew Broderick]] and [[Sarah Jessica Parker]] and is directed by [[John Benjamin Hickey]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker to Return to Broadway Together in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/matthew-broderick-and-sarah-jessica-parker-to-return-to-broadway-together-in-neil-simons-plaza-suite|last=McPhee|first=Ryan|date=September 10, 2019|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref> In April 2022, the production temporarily paused performances after both Broderick and Parker tested positive for [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Broadway's "Plaza Suite" cancels performances after Sarah Jessica Parker contracts COVID|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/broadway-covid-19-plaza-suite-show-canceled-sarah-jessica-parker-and-matthew-broderick-test-positive/|last=Reardon|first=Sophie|date=April 7, 2022|website=CBS News|access-date=April 24, 2022}}</ref> The revival was initially set to close on June 28, 2022, but its run was later extended to July 10 of that year to compensate for cancelled performances.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Plaza Suite' Extends Broadway Engagement To Make Up For Covid Cancellations; 'Paradise Square' Cancels Performances Through Weekend – Update|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/sarah-jessica-parker-covid-broadway-plaza-suite-cancellation-matthew-broderick-1234996750/|last=Evans|first=Greg|date=April 8, 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=April 24, 2022}}</ref>

In June 2023 it was announced that the Broadway production of ''Plaza Suite'' would transfer to [[West End theatre|London's West End]], with Broderick and Parker reprising their respective roles, and Hickey returning to direct.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/plaza-suite|title=Plaza Suite|work=Time Out London |date=June 9, 2023}}</ref> The production opened at the [[Savoy Theatre]] in previews from January 17, 2024, with an official opening night on January 28. Announced as a strictly-limited run of ten weeks, playing until March 30, due to demand the production extended its run by two weeks, and it played until April 13.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/plaza-suite-with-matthew-broderick-and-sarah-jessica-parker-extends-west-end-run_1566501/ |title=Plaza Suite with Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker extends West End run |date=January 26, 2024 }}</ref>

==Film adaptations==
Simon adapted his play for a [[Plaza Suite (film)|1971 film]] starring [[Walter Matthau]], Stapleton, [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]], and [[Lee Grant]], but he was unhappy with the outcome. He felt the conceit of one actor playing the lead role in all three acts worked on stage but not on screen, especially if the actor was Matthau, who he felt was the right choice only for the beleaguered father-of-the-bride, Roy Hubley.<ref name="Plaza Suite"/>

On December 31, 1982, HBO broadcast a production (shot in front of a live audience) starring [[Lee Grant]] and [[Jerry Orbach]] playing all three roles.

In 1987, [[Carol Burnett]] starred in a [[television movie]] in which she portrayed all three female roles. Starring opposite her were [[Hal Holbrook]] as Sam Nash, [[Dabney Coleman]] as Jesse Kiplinger, and [[Richard Crenna]] as Roy Hubley. Burnett was also the executive producer with direction by Roger Beatty and Kenny Solms.<ref name="Plaza Suite">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/470488/plaza-suite#credits|title=Plaza Suite|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|access-date=October 9, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Shirley|first=Don|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-03-ca-26114-story.html|title=TV REVIEW : Carol Burnett Checks Into ABC's 'Plaza Suite,' Playing Three Roles|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=[[Los Angeles]]|date=December 3, 1987|access-date=October 9, 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book|last1=Coward|first1=Noel|last2=Payn|first2=Graham|first3=Sheridan|last3=Morley|year=2000|title=The Noël Coward Diaries|edition=2nd Revised|location=[[Boston]]|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=978-0306809606|page=676}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Plaza Suite}}
* {{IBDB show|11089}}
* {{Playbill production|plaza-suite-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009595|Plaza Suite|(Broadway, Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 1968)}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120712071900/http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/9595/Plaza-Suite archive])

{{Neil Simon}}

[[Category:1968 plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:American plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Plays by Neil Simon]]
[[Category:Plays set in New York City]]
[[Category:Plays set in hotels]]