The Wayward Stork
| The Wayward Stork | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Harry Tugend |
| Directed by | Dan Levin |
| Date premiered | January 19, 1966 |
| Place premiered | 46th Street Theatre, New York |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | artificial insemination |
| Genre | comedy |
| Setting | Los Angeles, California. Present time. |
The Wayward Stork is a 1966 American stage play by Harry Tugend.[1][2]
Synopsis
A sterile man asks a doctor to artificially inseminate his wife without her knowledge. The wrong woman is artificially inseminated. And the sterile man learns his wife is pregnant.
Production
In 1962 it was announced that Elliot Kastner and Stan Shpetner would produce the play.[3]
In 1964 it was announced the play would be the first of three produced by Garrick Productions in a recently formed alliance of play and film production with United Artists.[4]
The Broadway production starred Robert Cummings and Lois Nettleton. The tour started in October 1965 and went for several months before reaching Broadway where it only ran for five performances.[5] It was Cummings' first Broadway appearance since Faithfully Yours in 1951. The play lost an estimated $125,000. United Artists had paid $60,000 for film rights, but the play did not run on Broadway the required three weeks that permit a producer and his backers to share in film money.[6]
Critical
A review in The New York Times said Cummings "is not in top form. He sounded a bit hoarse and somewhat strained. Usually he is a quite acceptable, breezy farceur."[7]
John Garver wrote "Every season seems to have at least one show that could and should just stay on tour and not come to Broadway. This... was a prime example."[5]
References
- ^ "The Wayward Stork – Broadway Play – Original". IBDB.
- ^ The Wayward Stork at Concord Theatricals
- ^ "Kastner Shpetner to do first Hollywood play". Box office. 3 September 1962. p. 16.
- ^ "Story first for Garrick US". Motion Picture Exhibitor. 1 April 1964. p. 4.
- ^ a b Gaver, Jack (1966). Season in, season out, 1965-1966. Hawthorn Books. p. 152.
- ^ Gaverp 125
- ^ Stanley Kauffmann (January 20, 1966). "Theater: Prime Time TV: Bob Cummings Stars in 'Wayward Stork'". The New York Times. p. 27.
External links
- The Wayward Stork at Playbill