The Philanthropist (play)

A CurtainUp! review gave the following summary:

{{blockquote|The prelude to the play is so very clever and it must have marked out the young Christopher Hampton for notice. It reminded me of [Tom] Stoppard's The Real Thing when everything isn't as it seems and the audience are strung along. Philip and Donald are in a tutorial with a student, John, discussing John's play which has a dramatic but unbelievable ending. The first act continues in Philip's rooms in college where his fiancée Celia is cooking dinner for six. First on the guest list is fellow don, and English lecturer, Donald, colleague and confidant of Philip. They are to be joined by a writer, Braham, Araminta and Liz. After a pairing off with lifts offered home, the six mix and meld. The next morning they reap the aftermath of the previous night's sexual activity or even inactivity.}}

The original Royal Court Theatre production opened in August 1970.Charles Isherwood. [http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/theater/reviews/27phil.html "The Mildest of Manners Have Perils"]. The New York Times.BWW News Desk. [http://broadwayworld.com/article/THE_PHILANTHROPIST_Opens_on_Bdwy_426_20090426 "'THE PHILANTHROPIST' Opens on Bdwy 4/26"]. BroadwayWorld. After five weeks it transferred direct to the May Fair Theatre and remained there until late 1973.

The Philanthropist premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 15, 1971, following previews from March 11. As in London, the cast featured Alec McCowenThe Broadway League. [http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=15608 "Alec McOwen | IBDB"]. Internet Broadway Database. in the lead role. David Merrick and Michael Codron produced.

The Broadway production ran for 64 performances, closing on May 15, 1971. The New York Times described it as "a good evening of high-class theatrical highjinks that says more than might be seen on the surface".Alexis Soloski. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/01/the-philanthropist-christopher-hamilton "Broderick on Broadway – a Philanthropist that's enough to turn anyone into a misanthrope"]. Guardian. The show was nominated for three Tony Awards, including the 1971 Tony Award for Best Play, and McCowen won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance.Broadway League. [http://www.ibdb.com/awardproduction.asp?id=3591 "Production Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024022949/http://www.ibdb.com/awardproduction.asp?id=3591 |date=2012-10-24 }}. IBDB. Robert Kidd directed the production,{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=15312 |title=Robert Kidd |work=Internet Broadway Database |accessdate=2009-01-29 }} which featured set design by John Gunter, costumes by Sara Brook, and lighting by Lloyd Burlingame.[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3591] 1971 production listing IBDB

The first US revival opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club on September 27, 1983, playing a limited engagement run until November 20, 1983.[https://books.google.com/books?id=TiYrAAAAIAAJ&q=the+philanthropist+christopher+hampton "The Best plays of 1983-1984"], Google Books, accessed 30 April 2011. The play has been produced regionally many times, including the Bench Theatre Group's 1978 production at the Havant Arts Centre in Havant, Hampshire,[http://www.benchtheatre.org.uk/plays70s/philanthropist.php "The Philanthropist"], Bench Theatre Group. and in Duluth, Minnesota in March 2003.[http://www.d.umn.edu/~mharvey/philanthropist.html "The Philanthropist"], The University of Minnesota Duluth Department of Theatre.

A major London revival was staged by Kenneth Ives at Wyndham's Theatre in 1991; with Edward Fox in the lead, it ran from May to October.'Production News', The Stage 2 May 1991, p.11. A further revival was directed by David Grindley at the Donmar Warehouse, running from September to October 15, 2005, and starring Simon Russell Beale as Philip with Anna Madeley as Celia and Siobhan Hewlett as Araminta.Loveridge, Lizzie. [http://www.curtainup.com/philanthrophist.html "The Philanthropist - Curtain Up Review"]. CurtainUp, September 15, 2005.

In 2009 the Roundabout Theatre Company produced a revival starring Matthew Broderick, which opened on April 26 at the American Airlines Theatre in New York City. The revival met with mixed reviewsBWW Staff. [http://broadwayworld.com/article/Broadway_Blogs_Review_Roundup_The_Philanthropist_and_More_20090427 "Broadway Blogs - Review Roundup: The Philanthropist and More..."]. BroadwayWorld. and closed on June 28, 2009, after 73 performances.[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=481454] 2009 IBDB listingJoan Marcus. [http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/gallery/442.html "The Philanthropist, with Matthew Broderick, Arrives on Broadway"]. Playbill Photos. This production was directed by David Grindley; sets were by Tim Shortall, lighting was by Rick Fisher, and costumes were by Tobin Ost, with sound design by Gregory Clarke.Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/130602-Roundabouts-Philanthropist-Ends-June-28 "Roundabout's Philanthropist Ends June 28"], playbill.com, June 28, 2009.

In 2017 it was revived at London's Trafalgar Studios, directed by Simon Callow, with a cast including Simon Bird, Matt Berry, Charlotte Ritchie, Lily Cole and Tom Rosenthal.

A BBC television adaptation, starring Ronald Pickup as Philip, Helen Mirren as Celia and James Bolam as Don, was screened in October 1975 and is contained in a 6 DVD set of Mirren's work for the BBC.Ward, Philip (2019). Becoming Helen Mirren. Troubador Press. {{ISBN|9781838597146}}.

Casts of major productions

Note: In later versions of the piece, "Elizabeth" replaced the character "Liz".

;1970 Theatre Critics AwardsMethuen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GDRaAAAAMAAJ&q=the+philanthropist+best+new+play+critics "The Best of Plays and players, 1969-1983"], 1989, accessed 15 April 2010

• Best New Play (winner)

;1971 Tony Awards

• Best Play (nominee)
• Best Actor in Play (McCowen, nominee)
• Best Featured Actor in a Play (Zimmermann, nominee)

;1971 Drama Desk Awards

• Outstanding Performance (McCowen, winner)

;2005 Evening Standard Awards{{cite web|title=Awards|url=http://www.donmarwarehouse.com/p51.html|work=Donmar Warehouse|accessdate=30 April 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020093111/http://www.donmarwarehouse.com/p51.html|archivedate=20 October 2008}}

• Best Actor (Beale, winner)

;2006 Critics' Circle Awards

• Best Actor (Beale, winner)

{{reflist|2}}

• {{IBDB show|7069|The Philanthropist}}

{{Christopher Hampton}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philanthropist}}

Category:American plays

Category:Broadway plays

Category:1970 plays

Category:Plays based on works by Molière

Category:Plays by Christopher Hampton

Category:Works based on The Misanthrope