''Any Wednesday'' is a 1964 American stage play by Muriel Resnik. It ran for 983 performances from 1964 to 1966, making it one of the most successful comedies on Broadway in the 1960s,"Any Wednesday"
on the

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and was turned into a feature film of the same name in 1966. The play's star,

Sandy Dennis Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama '' Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1966), she ...

, won a

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for her performance;

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Aca ...

called it "one of the personal triumphs of the decade." It was also an early success in the career of

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...

. The show had a tortured history. The script began as a short piece for the

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to use as a rehearsal scene before being expanded. It went through four different directors, and star

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the ...

left the cast, being replaced at short notice by

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film, and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on '' Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the ...

Amanda Barrie Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent; 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the '' Carry On'' films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role she played on and off ...

played the lead role in the London production which was less successful.

Opening Night Cast

as Ellen Gordon *

as John Cleves *

as Cass Henderson *

Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her perfo ...

as Dorothy Cleves

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said "Long-shot winners are always exciting, and last week’s surprise kick opening of 'Any Wednesday' was no exception. The advance dope was that the Muriel Resnik comedy was a foregone clinker. It turned out to be a sleeper however, with an added kick in the emergence of a new star in a previously little-known actress, Sandy Dennis... 'Any Wednesday' is a plausible, adroitly wacky and not only consistently funny but also infectiously warm and enjoyable romantic comedy." William Goldman later analysed the play's success in his book ''The Season'':

''Any Wednesday'' has a premise that might prove touching: a mistress turning thirty... A mistress on such a day might logically have cause for reflection and just as logically not like the picture she sees. And if she becomes unhappy, which she assuredly must, so will we. But 'Any Wednesday' is Popular Theatre. Love will find a way, and so they didn’t cast someone turning thirty; they cast Sandy Dennis, who was probably around twenty-seven, but who looked twenty-two and acted eighteen. She said she was turning thirty, but we never had to face the reality of believing her, so the pain of the play was, happily, not there for us.Goldman p 274

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Any Wednesday
at Playbill
Any Wednesday - complete text
at

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1964 plays Comedy plays Plays adapted into films {{1960s-play-stub