- Performances: 1,453.
- Open / Close: March 14, 1975 – September 3, 1978
- Theater: Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
- Tony Awards: Ellen Burstyn was the only winner (for Best Actress) out of the show’s three nominations. Charles Grodin wasn’t nominated by Gene Saks was for direction. Saks would win his first Tony two years later for directing the musical “I Love My Wife” and picked up two more for directing two Neil Simon plays in the 1980s.
- Fun Fact: The show would mark Grodin’s last appearance as an actor on Broadway. He would direct “Unexpected Guests” in 1977 but appeared only in movies and television for the rest of his career.
Podcast
Fall is a lovely time of year for cozy things – sweaters, snuggling next to a fire, drinking hot chocolate. The comic love story, “Same Time, Next Year,” is certainly cozy…but is it good?
My favorite arbiter on the merits of old shows, Dr. Jesse Rabinowitz, and I dig into this series of scenes built from a simple premise – what if a man and a woman met to fool around once a year for decades? It’s a fascinating concept and the show succeeds mostly on the merits of that concept. But, as Jesse and I have a great time discussing, there are some unfortunate deficits in the complete package.
This show also gives me the opportunity to call on Dr. Rabinowitz’s extensive background in psychology to orient this show’s attitudes toward marriage and relationships in history. You may tune in for theater talk but we can’t help but sneak in some history and psychology along the way.
If anyone out there really loves this show, I’d love to hear from you. I wanted to love it…I certainly loved Burstyn’s performance in the movie…but in the end it doesn’t quite develop the genius concept into a fully satisfying theater experience. Please tell me how I’m wrong!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPJClWArIj4
The link above is to Ellen Burstyn’s acceptance speech at the Tony Awards. Amazing for two reasons – 1) the competition she was up against! and 2) she basically just acknowledges Charles Grodin and that’s it!