Room Service (play)
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File:Room-Service-Alcazar.jpg production of Room Service in San Francisco (1938)]]
Room Service is a farce written by Allen Boretz and John Murray. It was originally produced by George Abbott and debuted at the Cort Theatre in New York City on May 19, 1937. Its initial production ran for 500 performances, closing on July 16, 1938.[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/room-service-12226 "Room Service" (1937)] at the Internet Broadway Database The play, starring Jack Lemmon in the role of Leo Davis, was revived on Broadway for a short run of 16 performances in 1953.
RKO Pictures purchased the film rights for a then-record $225,000 and used it as the basis for the film of the same title as a vehicle for the Marx Brothers.{{Cite book | last = Mitchell | first = Glenn | title = The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia | publisher = Reynolds & Hearn | year = 2003 | location = London | pages = 247–248 | isbn = 1-905287-11-9}} In 1944, RKO released a musical film adaptation entitled Step Lively starring Frank Sinatra.
The original 1937 Broadway production starred Sam Levene as Gordon Miller, Eddie Albert as Leo Davis and Phillip Loeb as Harry Binion.[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/room-service-2227#OpeningNightCast "Room Service" (1953)] at the Internet Broadway Database
Original 1937–38 Broadway cast
class="wikitable" width="50%" style="text-align: center" |
colwidth="50%"|Character
!colwidth="50%"|Actor |
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Leo Davis |
Sasha Smirnoff |
Timothy Hogarth
|Jack Byrne |
Joseph Gribble
|Clifford Dunstan* |
Hilda Manney |
Faker Englund
|Teddy Hart |
Senator Blake's Secretary
|William Howard |
Gordon Miller |
Harry Binion |
Gregory Wagner |
Bank Messenger
|William Mendrek |
Senator Blake
|Ralph Morehouse |
Christine Marlowe |
Dr. Glass
|Hans Robert |
Simon Jenkins
|Philip Wood* |
- Reprised the role in the film adaptation.
In popular culture
- The basic plot of Room Service was used for the "Monkees, Manhattan Style" episode of The Monkees (season 1, episode 30, first broadcast April 10, 1967, also known as "Monkees in Manhattan").Pearlman, Louie (ndg) [http://www.rebeatmag.com/every-monkees-episode-the-monkees-in-manhattan-s1e30/ "Every ‘Monkees’ Episode: “Monkees in Manhattan” (S1E30)"] Rebeat MagazineStaff (ndg) [http://monkeestv2.tripod.com/season1/manhattan.html "The Monkees in Manhattan"] MonkeesTVStaff (ndg) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0650681/movieconnections/?tab=mc&ref_=tt_trv_cnn "Monkees, Manhattan Style: Connections"] IMDb.com
References
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External links
{{Commons category|Room Service (play)}}
- [http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=7615 Room Service at the Internet Broadway Database]
Category:American plays adapted into films
Category:Plays set in New York City
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