Lettice and Lovage - Production History

Production History

Peter Shaffer describes Lettice and Lovage as a "very English piece" as far as its humor and references. He altered the ending for the American production, but not for the reason of "Americanizing" it:

"This version contains a significant rewrite. In the original... the two ladies were left at the end preparing to blow up a select list of modern architectural monstrosities with a petard - a medieval explosive device. This fantastic conclusion produced much laughter, but I was always aware of how assiduously it had been tacked onto the play in order to do just that. It was a forced climax, dismissing the piece into improbability... Finally the present one was born, and seemed to me both correct and pleasing... with this rewrite, Lettice prospers, and Lotte prospers with her, and their progenitor is happy."

In the introduction to his 1990 version of the play, Shaffer goes on to suppose that American audiences might not appreciate the comedic device of mocking English architecture, opining that America outranks England in their contemporary architecture and therefore would not find the issue as funny or relevant.

With the indomitable Maggie Smith in the role of Lettice, the play seemed to prosper. The New York Times' review on 26 March 1990 proclaimed, "Miss Smith's personality so saturates everything around her that, like the character she plays, she instantly floods a world of gray with color". But in other productions, perhaps the overarching English tone was too much for American audiences. In the June 28, 1992 review of the same play sans Smith, The New York Times observes, "It is bizarre to observe how a play that singlemindedly renounces dullness – this is what Lettice calls "the mere" – exudes such unshakable tedium." and "It is disillusioning to confront the defectiveness of Mr. Shaffer's construction without a star of transcendent artistry – or is it alchemy? – to hold it up." The Times also calls into question Shaffer's re-write, stating, "the third act... is a set-up for a last-minute upbeat switch, a solution for coping with the present that is inane and fake."

Lettice and Lovage was Shaffer's first comedic work in over 20 years. He had not written a comedy since 1964's Black Comedy, instead building a reputation with an entire generation of theatregoers as a master of drama with his plays Equus, Royal Hunt of the Sun, and Amadeus.