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Mary, Mary
As Howard Taubman of the New York Times describes: You will not be overwhelmed to discover that Mary is contrary and that her trouble is basic insecurity. Seems she had an older sister, a stunner. Oh, the traumatic effect on Mary! In high school she went out for the literary monthly instead of with boys. She learned to compensate for her drabness by being clever. When we meet her, she is as witty as well, Jean Kerr. She appears at the apartment of her former husband, Bob, because his lawyer has summoned her to help with Bob's sticky tax returns. Their marriage, it seems, foundered on the rocks of Mary's unrelenting sense of humor. The moment she arrives she gives us some excellent samples of it. It takes Dirk Winston, a handsome film hero whose star is in decline, to understand Mary. Dirk makes her face up to her secret. He also kisses her and offers her the kind of adoration her practical and obtuse husband has been unable to manage. Just in time, Bob, who has been on the verge of marrying a rich, young health fiend named Tiffany Richards, realizes that he may still needs Mary afterall.
94 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Jean Kerr
52 books55 followersJean Kerr was an American author and playwright, best known for her humorous bestseller, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and the plays King of Hearts and Mary, Mary. She was married to drama critic Walter Kerr and was the mother of six children.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 18, 2011
I usually don't read books like this, but my dad recommended it and I just sat down and finished it... it's short and quick but, well, good.
It's a play, by the way. The whole story takes place in the living room of this one guy's house, in the time span of one Saturday morning, late that night, and the next morning. The guy, Bob, is getting remarried when his ex-wife turns up. It becomes a big drama with all kinds of things happening, and a good lot of humor. The characters and their personalities come out in good time, with only dialogue (obviously) to help.
I loved how everything ends up happening in the living room - that was really creative. I also like the ending - it was sweet. My type of ending! No more on that, though - though this book seems a bit random, it's a light, fun read for most ages (that is, I'd say above thirteen because then you'd actually understand...). No action or stuff like that, nothing heavy - one of those in between books for just a relaxation. Good nonetheless!
It's a play, by the way. The whole story takes place in the living room of this one guy's house, in the time span of one Saturday morning, late that night, and the next morning. The guy, Bob, is getting remarried when his ex-wife turns up. It becomes a big drama with all kinds of things happening, and a good lot of humor. The characters and their personalities come out in good time, with only dialogue (obviously) to help.
I loved how everything ends up happening in the living room - that was really creative. I also like the ending - it was sweet. My type of ending! No more on that, though - though this book seems a bit random, it's a light, fun read for most ages (that is, I'd say above thirteen because then you'd actually understand...). No action or stuff like that, nothing heavy - one of those in between books for just a relaxation. Good nonetheless!
March 26, 2019
Jean Kerr is the author of Please Don't Eat the Daisies (still dated, but one more people might have heard of). My mom had a WHOLE bunch of her plays and I inherited them and this is still one of my all-time favorite plays in the whole world. Jean is SUCH a solid writer that you can SEE the action played out even on the written page. It's laugh-out-loud funny, it's REAL, it's a COMFORT read, and I can't recommend her stuff enough.
August 21, 2013
This is a really enjoyable play. The characters are fun. The situation is unique, if a little predictable. It is fast-paced and clever. I particularly liked the different relationships the characters have with each other. This is definitely going on my list of shows to do.
January 13, 2011
A delightful drawing room play. One of the best I've read. Excellent dialogue.
March 14, 2017
Beautiful, well-crafted comedy. So simple. So elegant. So funny.
September 27, 2021
Play #27
Mary, Mary by Jean Kerr
Mary, Mary opened on Broadway in March of 1961 at the original Helen Hayes Theater. It ran for 3 years and 9 months before it transferred to the Morasco. It ended up closing December 12, 1964 after 1,572 performances.
Let me say it again--- 1,572 performances.
That makes it the longest-running non-musical play of the 1960s. The play ran much longer than the film adaptation of it.
Now, if you were to have asked me what the longest-running Broadway non-musical play of the 1960s had been I probably would have guessed one of Neil Simon's comedies, either The Odd Couple or Barefoot in the Park.
How happy I am to have been wrong! I confess, I find it incredibly refreshing that a female playwright writing a character about a woman who has grown in to finding her agency was such an incredible success. And here's the thing--- it is a pure joy to read, and I imagine is even more fun to see onstage.
Mary, Mary begins with Bob, divorced for about nine months, in the midst of planning to get remarried to Tiffany. He is having money and tax problems, so his friend Oscar, an accountant, comes to his apartment to help him out. Unbeknownst to Bob, Oscar has asked Bob's ex-wife, the titular Mary, to come and help, as she might be able to help, as she and Bob had shared expenses before their divorce. Bob is nervous to see Mary, to the extent that he doesn't want to be left alone with her, and certainly doesn't want Tiffany, his new bride-to-be to meet her. When Mary arrives, she is stronger, more fashionable and perhaps a bit more confident than her ex-husband remembers.
And she is very funny.
Yes, I think Mary is a very cool character who, after the divorce (which was her husband's idea), has worked to become the version of herself that she wants to be. Yes, she still has feelings for ex-husband, and yes, sometimes her confidence wavers, but this is a character who, as John Gassner put it, is just as intelligent and funny as... well, Jean Kerr herself. I like how the play even ends on Mary's own terms. Further, the role of Tiffany, the younger new wife, is also treated like a genuine character, in a role that many playwrights might have written as an airhead young trophy wife, Tiffany also shows her own agency and deeper layers.
There is a subplot about a movie star who wants to publish a book with Bob's publishing company who meets Mary and develops feelings for her, seeing her in a way that Bob never did... until, perhaps, it was too late.
Or was it?
This is by no means a perfect play, but I understand why it was so successful. These characters are pleasant to be around. Jean Kerr, also known for her best-selling collection of essays, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, has one-liners that even Neil Simon would admire. And sorry to keep making the Neil Simon comparison, but I just find it strange that I had never really heard of Jean Kerr's plays until recently. I wonder why she or this comedy isn't as widely produced as some of Simon's classics. Yes, the play is a little dated perhaps, but so are Neil's.
In any case, the play didn't exactly end as I had wanted it to, but it ended in an honest way that, again, didn't short change Mary's growth as a character, and even allowed Bob a little growth, too. Underneath the jokes, there are some genuine ideas about relationships and men and women that might not be groundbreaking, but are interesting.
Jean Kerr was married to the Broadway writer and critic Walter Kerr, and they collaborated on such projects as Goldilocks the Musical and the Tony award-winning King of Hearts.
Jean Kerr passed away in 2003 at the age of 80. Her last play, Lunch Hour was staged in 1980.
Mary, Mary by Jean Kerr
Mary, Mary opened on Broadway in March of 1961 at the original Helen Hayes Theater. It ran for 3 years and 9 months before it transferred to the Morasco. It ended up closing December 12, 1964 after 1,572 performances.
Let me say it again--- 1,572 performances.
That makes it the longest-running non-musical play of the 1960s. The play ran much longer than the film adaptation of it.
Now, if you were to have asked me what the longest-running Broadway non-musical play of the 1960s had been I probably would have guessed one of Neil Simon's comedies, either The Odd Couple or Barefoot in the Park.
How happy I am to have been wrong! I confess, I find it incredibly refreshing that a female playwright writing a character about a woman who has grown in to finding her agency was such an incredible success. And here's the thing--- it is a pure joy to read, and I imagine is even more fun to see onstage.
Mary, Mary begins with Bob, divorced for about nine months, in the midst of planning to get remarried to Tiffany. He is having money and tax problems, so his friend Oscar, an accountant, comes to his apartment to help him out. Unbeknownst to Bob, Oscar has asked Bob's ex-wife, the titular Mary, to come and help, as she might be able to help, as she and Bob had shared expenses before their divorce. Bob is nervous to see Mary, to the extent that he doesn't want to be left alone with her, and certainly doesn't want Tiffany, his new bride-to-be to meet her. When Mary arrives, she is stronger, more fashionable and perhaps a bit more confident than her ex-husband remembers.
And she is very funny.
Yes, I think Mary is a very cool character who, after the divorce (which was her husband's idea), has worked to become the version of herself that she wants to be. Yes, she still has feelings for ex-husband, and yes, sometimes her confidence wavers, but this is a character who, as John Gassner put it, is just as intelligent and funny as... well, Jean Kerr herself. I like how the play even ends on Mary's own terms. Further, the role of Tiffany, the younger new wife, is also treated like a genuine character, in a role that many playwrights might have written as an airhead young trophy wife, Tiffany also shows her own agency and deeper layers.
There is a subplot about a movie star who wants to publish a book with Bob's publishing company who meets Mary and develops feelings for her, seeing her in a way that Bob never did... until, perhaps, it was too late.
Or was it?
This is by no means a perfect play, but I understand why it was so successful. These characters are pleasant to be around. Jean Kerr, also known for her best-selling collection of essays, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, has one-liners that even Neil Simon would admire. And sorry to keep making the Neil Simon comparison, but I just find it strange that I had never really heard of Jean Kerr's plays until recently. I wonder why she or this comedy isn't as widely produced as some of Simon's classics. Yes, the play is a little dated perhaps, but so are Neil's.
In any case, the play didn't exactly end as I had wanted it to, but it ended in an honest way that, again, didn't short change Mary's growth as a character, and even allowed Bob a little growth, too. Underneath the jokes, there are some genuine ideas about relationships and men and women that might not be groundbreaking, but are interesting.
Jean Kerr was married to the Broadway writer and critic Walter Kerr, and they collaborated on such projects as Goldilocks the Musical and the Tony award-winning King of Hearts.
Jean Kerr passed away in 2003 at the age of 80. Her last play, Lunch Hour was staged in 1980.
November 18, 2010
While I found this an amusing romantic comedy, I'm hard-pressed to understand why it was such a monster hit on Broadway when, in terms of literary quality, it seems no more memorable than dozens of other similary-themed comedies from that era.
October 27, 2008
Predictable, but charming nonetheless. Enjoying her work as I do, it would have been surprising if I hadn't liked the play.
June 6, 2013
Read with Portland Playreaders
July 28, 2024
This play was reckoned as one of the best comedies by none other than the glorious P.G.Wodehouse. That tells you or certainly ought to tell you a great deal about how brilliant this play is. I first came across it when I was 8 and an adaptation of this drama into my mother tongue (called Manju Manju) was aired on television. My sister had the foresight to record it so I've seen this atleast 85 times and know all of Kerr's jokes & Mary's innumerable wisecracks. Only a couple of years ago did I get to read the original and it was every bit as funny and wonderful as I'd come to expect from the adaptation. I'm an amateur astrologer so I tend to put Bob as a classic air & earth type (rational) whereas Mary bless her is all water & fire. Of course they didn't get one another but opposites will attract. Presumably to compensate for one's own imbalances. They both are extremely endearing characters and you breath a sigh of relief that Bob has the good sense to realize that he'll never be happy with the health mad Tiffany and they're reconciled in a can't live with 'em & can't live without 'em way. You can be sure they're not going to understand each other a whole lot better but will manage in their own nutty version of HEA.
October 19, 2025
only good because the play was good
December 3, 2018
Reminded me of My Favorite Wife with some truly great banter and a fun conclusion.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews