Georgi Mihailov writes…
On Neil Simon's 90th birthday, which would you say are your favorite and least favorite of his plays? I also have a question about The Gingerbread Lady. Some say it is based on the life of Judy Garland, while others cite the original actress Maureen Stapleton as the source material. Do you know who Evy was based on?
My favorite Neil Simon play is easy: The Odd Couple. It may be my favorite play by anyone, though the last few times I've seen it, I was a bit bored. I know it so well and I've seen it done so well that I don't have a whole lot of tolerance for those who do not do it well. (One of the worst productions of it I ever saw, by the way, was when Jack Klugman and Tony Randall were touring in it. They both just kind of seemed to be on auto-pilot, racing through the lines like they were eager to get to dinner.)
Least favorite? Well, I never saw his last few like Rose's Dilemma, The Dinner Party, 45 Seconds From Broadway or Proposals. I did see and didn't particularly like Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple, which updated (and for me, diminished) a play which I thought should be encased in lucite and never again altered. But I even less liked Rumors, so I guess that's my answer. It struck me as a very ordinary farce comedy, indistinguishable from all the others where they pile lies on misunderstandings and misunderstandings on lies.
As for The Gingerbread Lady: In one of his autobiographies, Rewrites, Simon tells of finishing the play, sending it to Mike Nichols (who wound up directing it) and having Nichols tell him that the only actress who could play the role was Maureen Stapleton. Simon then says he said…
I said, "God, I know this isn't really Maureen's life, but there's parts of Evy that she might see in herself, in her past. I don't want to hurt her. This is not really Maureen. It's ten, twenty different actresses I've met over the years who could be Evy. Some people might even think it's Judy Garland."
Maureen Stapleton did play the part and that's one reason a lot of people thought it was based mainly on her…but I think we should take what Simon wrote at face value. Most times when any kind of writer bases any kind of work on someone, that person is a point of starting inspiration and then the work veers off into speculative fiction. Usually, you don't just write about that person and change their name. There are exceptions to this but they're pretty obvious…and even then, a certain amount of fiction always creeps in. A lot of actresses were cited as models for the lead character in The Gingerbread Lady. Elaine Stritch thought it was her and was angry with Simon that he hadn't cast her in it.
Incidentally, I must quietly note that it has been several years since Neil Simon made any sort of public speaking appearance or was interviewed, and he hasn't had a new play or screenplay in over ten years. I don't want to spread or start rumors about illness or incapacity because I honestly know little about his current life. As an admirer though, I have to note how sad it is that we are hearing no more from this witty, once-incredibly-prolific man.
