''Legends!'' is a comedic play written by

James Kirkwood, Jr. James Kirkwood Jr. (August 22, 1924 – April 21, 1989) was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway h ...

It toured the United States with

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'' (194 ...

and

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...

in 1986, but never had a production on Broadway. The play concerns two aging rival film stars. Kirkwood wrote about the tour's adventures in his memoir ''Diary of a Mad Playwright''.

Production history

Mary Martin and Carol Channing at the Willard Hotel13357v

* Mary Martin and Carol Channing U.S. tour: Martin and Channing started the US tour in January 1986 in a

Center Theatre Group Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the ...

world premiere production at the

Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center. History The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr, the founder of H.F. Ahmanson & Co., an insurance and savings and ...

in Los Angeles, California and ended in Miami, Florida in January 1987, having played more than 300 performances. Although the producers of the show had hoped that it would open on Broadway, that did not happen. Martin left the production when her second-act speech about breast cancer was cut. * Joan Collins and Linda Evans tour:

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

toured North America with former ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' co-star Linda Evans. The tour started in September 2006 in Toronto and concluded in New Haven, Connecticut in May 2007 after a 30-week, multi-city tour. * Lypsinka in New York:

John Epperson John Epperson (born April 24, 1955) is an American drag artist, actor, pianist, vocalist, and writer who is mainly known for creating his stage character Lypsinka. As Lypsinka he lip-synchs to meticulously edited, show-length soundtracks culle ...

, better known as Lypsinka has adapted the play for two men in drag, and presented a staged reading on March 23, 2009 in New York City. The reading, which featured

Charles Busch Charles Louis Busch (born August 23, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and drag queen, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote and starred in his early plays Off-off- ...

, was a benefit for Friends in Deed - The Crisis Center for Life-Threatening Illness. In June 2010, Epperson brought the show to the Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, where he co-starred with James Lecesne. * Hayley and Juliet Mills Australian tour: ''Legends!'' made its Australian premiere in 2015 with

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising ...

and

Juliet Mills Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan ...

: The production, which featured Juliet Mills' husband

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (né Maxwell P.J. Newby; born 23 November 1959) is a British-American film, stage, and television actor and singer. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), '' The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The Su ...

, debuted at the QPAC (Brisbane) with a 2–14 June run having previewed from 28 May, subsequently playing a second and final 18 June-5 July engagement at the Theatre Royal (Sydney).

References

{{reflist

External links

Photo Coverage: ''Legends! Collins and Evans in Toronto, broadwayworld.com, September 18, 2006Review, Boston Globe, March 10, 2007''Legends!'' character descriptions
fro
StageAgent.com
American plays