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.
The 86-year-old Elaine May - who last appeared on Broadway 52 years ago in a show that ran for about 30 seconds - was gifted with a face formed in the shape of a smile. And anyone who remembers her iconic 1960s comedy routines with the late Mike Nichols knows that nobody, but nobody, listens to her scene partners as intensely as May. Especially now, it is revealed. She imbibes the energy of other actors like she's getting a blood transfusion, live on stage. That grinning visage, and that palpable zest for life, combine to make May's performance atop a starry new Broadway production of Kenneth Lonergan's 'The Waverly Gallery' (she's working with those kids Michael Cera, Joan Allen, Lucas Hedges and David Cromer) both one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see in a Broadway theater and one of the most profoundly sad.
What a pleasure to see improv queen Elaine May, erstwhile half of a legendary comedy double-act with Mike Nichols, back on Broadway after 50-plus years at 86, her timing as sharply idiosyncratic as ever. Even for those of us who know her acerbic style only from recordings, movies and playwriting, there's a special satisfaction in watching this influential humorist perform. She's alternately funny, maddening and heartbreaking as a longtime Greenwich Village fixture whose mind is deteriorating faster than her body in Kenneth Lonergan's The Waverly Gallery.
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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