Though I did not see it, I was visiting in NYC around when this play opened and all the reports on the street from people were it was a lovely play. Heartwarming. Genuine. Touching.
Well, I got nervous for it, as that is almost the stamp of doom in New York critics' circles.
I know it has been performed a lot. Just didn't know how much. Glad it has had such a life.
There are some other plays like "Over The Tavern" and "To Grandmother's House We Go" that have had long lives without NYC. These plays also have had long-run commercial productions as well as amateur productions. I saw them both in Chicago and they were wonderful.
Can anyone name a few other plays they know of that have been quite successful without an NYC imprimatur?
Kind of funny, from my perspective as someone who writes mainly for high schools. By "successful" do you mean having lots and lots of productions and performances? If so, take a look at something like "Hard Candy" by John Rand--we're talking thousands of performances. But the New York critics have never had a chance to pan such a show. Frankly, if one were looking to make a living at writing plays, he/she would be more likely to do it by writing for the educational sector than for Broadway.
