The Gingerbread Lady

by Neil Simon

Dramatic Comedy
3 males, 3 females
Interior

Maureen Stapleton won Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actress for the role of Evy Meara, a popular singer who has hit the skids. After a short stay in rehab, her best friend age-defying Toby, her daughter Polly, and Jimmy Perry, a gay actor try to help her adjust to sobriety with a jolly birthday party. Enter Lou Tanner, a former lover, who ends up giving her a black eye. The party is a wash out, the "gingerbread lady" falls off the wagon and hits the ropes once again. Later rewritten by Neil Simon as the film Only When I Laugh starring Marsha Mason.

"He has combined an amusing comedy with the atmosphere of great sadness. His characteristic wit and humor are at their brilliant best, and his serious story of lost misfi ts can often be genuinely and deeply touching." - New York Post

"Mr. Simon's play is as funny as ever-the customary avalanche of hilarity, and landslide of pure unbuttoned joy." - The New York Times

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Humor, Drama

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Marvin Neil Simon was an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 plays and he received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. He was one of the most reliable hitmakers in Broadway history, as well as one of the most performed playwrights in the world. Though primarily a comic writer, some of his plays, particularly the Eugene Trilogy and The Sunshine Boys, reflect on the twentieth century Jewish-American experience.

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what Neil Simon offers: offbeat characters with quirks and gags a plenty going through a tough time that still makes the reader/audience cry a tear or two. Well, if you're into melodrama anyway (and when Neil Simon is behind it, I totally am!).

Here we have a recovering alcoholic - Evy Maera - who was once a singer and now is just barely a friend. Her daughter - Polly - moves in with her as Evy comes home from rehab. The next three weeks are what is shown onstage. Very funny with lots of growing tension as a bottle of champagne comes out.

[Gael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple, but very moving.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly likely the first foray into a drama laced with comedy by Neil Simon. The comedy is sparse, however, and is mostly mirthful through the pain vocalized by the main characters laced with self deprecation and humorous asides on New York life in 1970. This 3 Act play about a divorced woman returning from a stay at a retreat to battle her alcoholism, her search for a job, her reuniting with her teenage daughter who comes to stay with her, and her two very neurotic best friends who pop in to console and to complain is a bit sparse and anti-climatic, It seems so simple in its telling and may be better seen performed. It was made into a film in the 80s re-titled ONLY WHEN I LAUGH and I have vague memories of it and recall it being a favorite of a friend at the time. I just don't recall the film version being as filled with angst as the play ... which is unusual for Neil Simon, though I would argue that THE ODD COUPLE, regardless of how cliched it has become with TV versions and such, is a sad play, as well. It is very much laden with funny set ups, but underneath these characters is melancholy, as it is here in THE GINGERBREAD LADY.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Evy is a failed lounge singer and drunk, having a difficult time hanging on.

This is a difficult play to review. It is very much a product of its time, and considering it was first on stage in 1970, that's a long way gone from 2018. What a difference nearly 50 years makes. There is casual racism in the book, and so much sexism I wanted to scream. What makes it worse is that it is the female characters talking about their only value being their looks. Ugh. This is why some men should not write female characters. However bad Toby the foil was, I will say that Evy is a fantastically realistic character. She is broken and battered, and very nearly beaten, but she still has one weapon left-her wit. Boy does she have attitude and some fantastic dry wit. The best lines in the play are hers. She, unlike the other characters, was fully developed and complex. She would be a great role to play.

As for plot, there really wasn't much there. It's more of a concept and character piece than a plot-driven one. Nonetheless, I found myself turning pages rapidly, just to find out what witticism Evy would deliver next. It was a worthwhile read in the end, even if I have some definite problems with the script's details. It has some really funny lines, but the topic material is dark. This is no happy frolic.

[Elizabeth Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, punchy, tragic, and absolutely heart breaking. "Gingerbread Lady" is a subtle concoction of Chekhov, Arthur Miler, and a dash of Shelagh Delaney. Neil Simon has mastered the delicate balance of wit and great sadness in this perfect cocktail about the things people are willing to sacrifice for those they love. What I would give to play any of these fantastic characters. My new favorite Neil Simon play!

[Alessandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this play up on a whim at my library. I wasn't expecting such a impactful story line when I grabbed it off the shelf. At it's core, this is a story about relationships. I found it to be a surprising and interesting read. I've never seen the film. The content can be a bit dated in parts, as expected. But!
I'm so glad I decided to pick it up...

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alcoholic singer returns to her NYC apartment after 10 weeks in a rehab clinic. Her 17-year old daughter shows up to spend time with her. There's a lot of flippant dialogue, some of it quite funny, but there's not as much heart in this Neil Simon comedy. The Broadway version ran for 6 months in 1970/71 with Maureen Stapleton in the lead role.

[Martin J Saxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and funny, but you can see the mechanics of the gags. It reads more like a TV show than a play.

The characters are just a little too superficial to have real impact.

A serious theme treated too lightly.

[David Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so loved this 1971 play when I read it in high school. Sadly, it has not aged well at all. Many jokes fall flat, and are tone deaf with racism and homophobia.
In spite of that, there is some very smart dialogue. Doesn't compare to the terrific movie version, "Only When I Laugh."

[Andrea Janov · Rating 2 out of 5]

This play was fine, but not earth shattering or even a deep look at the (broken) human condition. I think that it just began to scratch the surface of some deeply broken and sad characters, but we were never able to really see their depth.

[Kathleen]

Acting class. A good monologue. I was Toby.

[Nicole Fairbairn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not his best

[Brian McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad little play with many one-liners. What is most unfortunate is that these characters reflect part of the mainstream urban voice of the early 70s. I'm interested how this was turned in to the film ONLY WHEN I LAUGH.

2023 ==> So dated, especially in how addicts and gay characters are characterized stereotypically via pithy OVE-liners. I liked it a little better on the beginning than last reading, but it hasn’t aged well.

[Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite plays, the movie based off of it, 'Only When I Laugh' is also a favorite.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, had some funny lines as is common with Neil Simon, some dated dialogue but storyline serious for comedy...