Barrymore (play)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barrymore is a one-person play by William Luce which depicts John Barrymore a few months before his death in 1942 rehearsing a revival of his 1920 Broadway triumph as Richard III.
Barrymore's attempted revival of his Richard III never actually took place and was a device that was invented for the play, but it served as a dramatic framework for the actor to reminisce about various episodes in his life and about his career downslide due to alcoholism.
Though classified as a one-person play, Barrymore actually makes frequent use of a second character, Frank the stage manager, who interacts with Barrymore over the theatre loudspeaker.
The play was originally produced at the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1996 and went to Broadway the following year, winning Christopher Plummer a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as John Barrymore.
