A powerfully poignant and often hilarious play, The Waverly Gallery is about the final years of a generous, chatty, and feisty grandmother's final battle against Alzheimer's disease. Gladys is an old-school lefty and social activist and longtime owner of a small art gallery in Greenwich Village. The play explores her fight to retain her independence and the subsequent effect of her decline on her family, especially her grandson. More than a memory play, The Waverly Gallery captures the humor and strength of a family in the face of crisis.
Among the many star turns on Broadway this fall - ranging from Bryan Cranston playing deranged newscaster Howard Beale to King Kong brought to life by an army of puppeteers and technicians - especially noteworthy is 86-year-old Elaine May giving her first performance on Broadway in more than 50 years in an otherwise underwhelming revival of Kenneth Lonergan's downbeat family drama 'The Waverly Gallery,' first produced Off-Broadway in 2000.
Okay, so the poignancy is a bit heavy-handed, even under the thoughtful direction of Lila Neugebauer. But the sentiments are genuine (Lonergan has said that he wrote the play about his own aging grandmother) and the emotions they raise are potent. Truth to tell, this is a hard play to watch - like a play that opens with a deathly ill person and doggedly follows that person to the grave. In fact, if they gave a prize for Most Depressing Play of the Season, this one would win in a walk.
2000 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2018 | Broadway |
Broadway Premiere Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Elaine May |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Waverly Gallery |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Elaine May |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | The Waverly Gallery |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Elaine May |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Joan Allen |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Waverly Gallery |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Elaine May |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Kenneth Lonergan |
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