''Time for Elizabeth'' is a 1948 play written by

Norman Krasna Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year ca ...

and Groucho Marx. Krasna and Marx were good friends and Krasna says writing it took 10–15 years.*McGilligan, Patrick, "Norman Krasna: The Woolworth's Touch", ''Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age'', University of California Press,1986 p218 The original Broadway production was directed by Krasna, and starred Otto Kruger. Opening at the

Fulton Theatre The Fulton Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in Manhattan, New York City, that was opened in 1911. It was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982. Since the former Little Theatre be ...

, it only ran for eight performances, from September 27 to October 2, 1948. The reviews were universally bad, with

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...

at ''

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 ...

'' writing that "Mr. Marx has everyone's permission to throw down the pen and put back the moustachio any time he pleases." However, film rights were sold to Warner Bros for $500,000. The play toured as a

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...

production in the summers of 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1963, with co-author Groucho Marx playing the lead. Thanks to Marx's presence and an increasing number of Groucho-style jokes added to the script over time, the tours were well received. ''Time for Elizabeth'' was adapted for TV in 1964, with Marx playing the lead.

References

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archive

Review of play
at Variety {{Norman Krasna Plays by Norman Krasna 1948 plays Broadway plays