Cactus Flower is afarcical play byAbe Burrows.[1] It played for years onBroadway before being adapted byI.A.L. Diamond into a1969 feature film directed byGene Saks.
| Cactus Flower | |
|---|---|
 Rare Broadway poster including the name of Joseph Campanella, who was replaced by Barry Nelson before opening night. | |
| Written by | Abe Burrows. Based on a play byPierre Barillet andJean-Pierre Gredy |
| Characters | Stephanie Julian Igor Toni |
| Date premiered | 8 December 1965 (1965-12-08) |
| Place premiered | Royale Theatre,New York City |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | Manhattan |
Based on the playFleur de cactus byPierre Barillet andJean-Pierre Gredy, the comedy focuses on the relationship between young, wild Toni and her older, married lover Julian, a dentist. Convinced the two have no future together, Toni attemptssuicide, and a guilt-ridden Julian rashly proposes he leave his wife so the couple can be together. However, Julian has never revealed to Toni that his "marriage" is actually an elaborate lie concocted to keep Toni at arm's length. Toni refuses to break up his household without first meeting and talking with Julian's soon-to-be-ex, so Julian enlists the aid of his shyspinster assistant Stephanie to pose as his non-existent wife. Complications arise when Toni decides the two must find her a new beau so everyone concerned can live happily ever after.
After two previews, theBroadway production, directed by Burrows, opened on December 8, 1965, at theRoyale Theatre.[2] There it ran for two years and nine months before transferring to theLongacre, for a total run of 1,234 performances, ending on November 23, 1968. The original cast includedLauren Bacall,Barry Nelson,Brenda Vaccaro, andBurt Brinckerhoff.Lloyd Bridges,Kevin McCarthy, andBetsy Palmer were replacements later in the run. Both Vaccaro and Brinckerhoff were nominated forTony Awards for their featured performances.
The play was adapted for film several times: first in 1969 as the Egyptian movieHalf an Hour of Marriage, (Arabic: نص ساعة جواز"); then, the same year, asCactus Flower withWalter Matthau,Ingrid Bergman andGoldie Hawn (for which Hawn won theAcademy Award forBest Supporting Actress); in 2005 as a Bollywood movieMaine Pyar Kyun Kiya? (Why did I fall in love?) withSalman Khan,Sushmita Sen andKatrina Kaif; and again in 2011, asJust Go With It starringAdam Sandler,Jennifer Aniston andBrooklyn Decker.
References
edit- ^Guernsey, Otis L. (1987).Curtain Times: The New York Theatre, 1965-1987. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 34.ISBN 978-0-936839-24-0.
- ^Taubman, Howard (9 December 1969)."Theater: 'Cactus Flower'; Abe Burrows Comedy Opens at the Royale".The New York Times. Retrieved26 November 2024.