Everything in the Garden

Written by| Edward Albee
Giles Cooper
Date premiered| 13 March 1962
1967 (Albee version)
Original language| English

Everything in the Garden is a play by Giles Cooper, first produced by The Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 in London.

## Original production

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Everything in the Garden premiered in a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the New Arts Theatre Club, London, on 13 March 1962. Directed by Donald McWhinnie, the cast featured Geraldine McEwan (Jenny Acton), Betty Baskcomb (Leonie Pimosz), Diarmid Cammell (Roger), Brian Badcoe (Stephen), Geoffrey Chater (Tom), Carole Boyer (Beryl), Caroline Blakiston (Laura), Audine Leith (Louise), and Derek Godfrey (Bernard).[1]

John Elsom noted that the play "suffered from having no clear ending.... In a sense, Cooper's vision of mankind was too bleak to achieve surprise, happy or even definite endings."[2]

## American version

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An American adaptation by Edward Albee, dedicated to the memory of Giles Cooper, premiered on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre. The play opened on November 16, 1967, in previews and closed on February 10, 1968, after 14 previews and 84 performances. Directed by Peter Glenville, the cast featured Tom Aldredge (Gilbert), Charles Bazter (Perry), Barbara Bel Geddes (Jenny), Barry Nelson (Richard), Beatrice Straight (Mrs. Toothe), and Robert Moore (Jack).[3]

Barry Nelson and Barbara Bel Geddes had appeared together in The Moon is Blue (1951) and Mary, Mary (1961).[4]

The Albee version changes several aspects of the plot, including the names of some characters.[3][5]

The Broadway version was budgeted at $150,000. Film rights were sold to 20th Century Fox for $300,000. Fox "made a down payment of $3000,000 toward a ceiling price of $750,000."[6]

The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway.

Russ Meyer was going to direct the film version.[7]

## Overview

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The play takes place in the suburban house of Richard and Jenny, (Albee version) with the garden that is seen through a sunroom. The couple are trying to keep up with their neighbours, but are struggling. They are visited by a madam, and Jenny becomes a part-time prostitute.

## References

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1. ^ 'Everything in the Garden' Listing" theatricalia.com, accessed November 23, 2015
2. ^ Elsom, John. "How the West End was (nearly) won", Post-War British Theatre (Routledge Revivals), CRC Press, 2014, ISBN 1317557751, p. 92
3. ^ a b "'Everything in the Garden' Broadway" playbillvault.com, accessed November 23, 2015
4. ^ "'Mary, Mary' Listing" ibdb.com, accessed November 23, 2015
5. ^ Kerr, Walter. "The Artifice in Albee's 'Everything in the Garden'" New York Times, December 10, 1967
6. ^ Zolotow, Sam. "Albee Adaptation Acquired by Fox: Film Rights to 'Everything in Garden' Bring $300,000", New York Times, October 9, 1967, p. 60, ISSN 0362-4331
7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (December 16, 2018). "The A to Z of Russ Meyer". Filmink.

## External links

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* Internet Broadway Database Listing

* v
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Plays by Edward Albee

* The Zoo Story
* The Death of Bessie Smith
* The Sandbox
* The American Dream
* Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
* Tiny Alice
* A Delicate Balance
* Everything in the Garden
* Box
* All Over
* Seascape
* The Lady from Dubuque
* Lolita
* The Man Who Had Three Arms
* Finding the Sun
* Marriage Play
* Three Tall Women
* The Play About the Baby
* The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
* Occupant
* Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo
* Me, Myself and I

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