''All Over'' is a two-act play written in 1970 by Edward Albee. He had originally developed it in 1967 as a short play entitled ''Death'', the second half of a projected double bill with another play called ''Life'' (which later became '' Seascape'').

Production history

The play premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Martin Beck Theatre on March 28, 1971, and closed on May 1, 1971, after 40 performances. The director was

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

, and the cast featured

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...

(The Wife),

Madeleine Sherwood Madeleine Sherwood (born Madeleine Louise Hélène Thornton; November 13, 1922 – April 23, 2016) was a Canadian actress of stage, film and television. She was widely known for her portrayals of Mae/Sister Woman and Miss Lucy in both the Broadwa ...

(The Daughter) and Colleen Dewhurst (The Mistress).Albee, Edwar
Script
''All Over:a play in two acts'' (books.google.com), Samuel French, Inc., 1998, , pp. 2-3 The play was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

in London in January 1972. Directed by Peter Hall, the production starred

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

(The Wife),

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

(The Mistress), Sheila Hancock (The Daughter), Patience Collier (The Nurse), David Waller (the Son), and Sebastian Shaw (Best Friend). Regionally, the play received a strong revival at the Hartford Stage Company (Hartford, CT), as part of its 1975-1976 season. Paul Weidner's production starred Anne Shropshire (the Wife), Myra Carter (the Mistress), Anne Lynn (the Daughter), William Prince (the Best Friend), Pirie MacDonald (the Son), Margaret Thomson (the Nurse), and David O. Petersen (the Doctor). The production was subsequently filmed for television, presented by PBS ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...

'', and aired on 28 April 1976 on WNET Channel 13 in New York. The DVD is available through the Broadway Theatre Archive series. In February 2002, the play was again revived at the

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg. ...

, Princeton, New Jersey. Directed by Emily Mann, the cast featured

Rosemary Harris Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In ...

(the Wife), Pamela Nyberg (the Daughter),

Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is a distinguished American actor, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in ...

(the Mistress), William

Biff McGuire William "Biff" McGuire (October 25, 1926 – March 9, 2021) was an American actor. Best known as Inspector Kramer in ''Nero Wolfe'' (1979). Early years McGuire attended Hamden High School and the University of Massachusetts, where he studied agr ...

(the Doctor), John Christopher Jones (the Son), John Carter (the Best Friend), and Myra Carter (the Nurse).Brantley, Ben
"Theater Review. Albee Hides Death Behind Curtains, but Soon It's 'All Over'"
''New York Times'', February 25, 2002

Plot

A wife and mistress are waiting for the death of the man they both love. Their great love is a man who is wealthy and famous. The wife and mistress form an alliance in a ritual of the death watch.

Critical response

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, '' The New York Post.'' Barnes had sig ...

, in his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote "It is a lovely, poignant and deeply felt play. In no way at all is it an easy play -- this formal minuet of death, this symphony ironically celebrating death's dominion. It is not easy in its structure, a series of almost operatic arias demanding, in their precision, pin-point concentration from the audience, and it is certainly not easy in its subject matter."

Walter Kerr Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, genera ...

wrote that "The exercise at the Martin Beck is extraordinarily remote, detached, noncommittal. Its people seem to be waiting in a railroad station for the last train out, unaware that it has long since departed and the station itself is simply gathering dust and echoes while it waits to be torn down."Kerr, Walter
"Albee's 'All Over' -- The Living Are Dead, Too"
''New York Times'', April 4, 1971

Awards and nominations

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

, Best Actress in a Play :Colleen Dewhurst (nominee) * Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Performance :Colleen Dewhurst (winner)

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing
{{Edward Albee Plays by Edward Albee 1971 plays Broadway plays