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''Red Peppers'' is a short comic play by Noël Coward, one of the ten plays that make up ''Tonight at 8:30'', a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if, by careful writing, acting and producing I can do a little towards reinstating it in its rightful pride, I shall have achieved one of my more sentimental ambitions."〔(''Shaw Festival Study Guide, 2009'' ), p. 4. Accessed 17 March 2010.〕 The play was first produced in 1935 in Manchester and on tour and played in London (1936), New York (1936–1937) and Canada (1938). It has enjoyed several major revivals, and has been adapted for film and numerous times for television. At the London première ''Red Peppers'' was played on the same evening as ''Family Album'' and ''The Astonished Heart''. Like all the other plays in the cycle it originally starred Gertrude Lawrence and Coward himself.〔Hoare, pp. 268–70〕 ==History== Six of the plays (''We Were Dancing, The Astonished Heart, Red Peppers, Hands Across the Sea, Fumed Oak'' and ''Shadow Play'') were first presented at the Manchester Opera House beginning on 15 October 1935.〔''The Manchester Guardian'', 16 October 1935, p. 11〕 A seventh play, ''Family Album'', was added on the subsequent provincial tour. The final three were added for the London run.〔Conolly, Leonard. ("Shaw Festival Production History: Tonight at 8:30" ), Shaw Festival Theatre '09 Season〕 The plays were performed in various combinations of three at each performance during the original run. The plays chosen for each performance were announced in advance, although a myth evolved that the groupings were random.〔''The Times'', 20 January 1936, p. 10; 11 February 1936, p. 12; 2 March 1936, p. 12; 6 April 1936, p. 10; 2 May 1936, p. 12; 10 June 1936, p. 14.〕 Matinées were sometimes billed as ''Today at 2:30''. The first London performance was on 9 January 1936 at the Phoenix Theatre.〔''The Times'' 10 January 1936, p. 10.〕 It was one of the best-received plays in ''Tonight at 8:30'' (or ''Tonight at 7:30'' as it was billed in Manchester, to reflect the earlier starting time in the provinces in the 1930s).〔〔〔''The Observer'', 19 January 1936, p. 15〕 Coward directed all ten pieces, and each starred Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. Coward said that he wrote them as "acting, singing, and dancing vehicles for Gertrude Lawrence and myself".〔Coward (Plays: Three) unnumbered introductory page〕 Four of the plays in the cycle "break into spontaneous song ... in the most unexpected places".〔 For the onstage scenes in ''Red Peppers'', Coward wrote two pastiche music hall duets, "Has Anybody Seen our Ship?" and "Men About Town".〔 Coward described the play as "a vaudeville sketch sandwiched in between two parodies of music hall songs. We always enjoyed playing it and public always enjoyed watching us play it, which of course was highly satisfactory."〔Coward (Plays: Four), unnumbered introductory page〕 The Broadway openings for the three parts took place on 24 November 1936 (including ''Red Peppers''), 27 November 1936 and 30 November 1936 at the National Theatre, again starring Coward and Lawrence. ''Star Chamber'' was omitted.〔(''Red Peppers'' and other plays ) at the IBDB database〕 The London and New York runs were limited only by Coward's boredom at long engagements.〔Kenrick, John. ("Noel Coward 101: Coward's Musicals", ) ''Musicals 101: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film''〕 Major productions of parts of the cycle were revived in 1948 and 1967 on Broadway (including ''Red Peppers'' in 1948 but omitting it in 1967), 1981 at the Lyric Theatre in London (''Shadow Play'', ''Hands Across the Sea'' and ''Red Peppers''), starring John Standing and Estelle Kohler and at the Chichester Festival in 2006 (''Shadow Play'', ''Hands Across the Sea'', ''Red Peppers'', ''Family Album'', ''Fumed Oak'' and ''The Astonished Heart''). In 1971, the Shaw Festival revived three of the plays (but not ''Red Peppers''), and in 2000, the Williamstown Theatre Festival revived ''We Were Dancing'', ''Family Album'', ''Hands Across the Sea'' (all starring Blythe Danner), ''Red Peppers,'' ''Shadow Play'' and ''Star Chamber''.〔Brantley, Ben. ("How to Savor Fleeting Joys: Smiles Suave, Brows Arched", ) ''The New York Times'', 28 June 2000,〕 The Antaeus Company in Los Angeles revived all ten plays in October 2007, and in 2009 the Shaw Festival revived the full cycle in 2009.〔Belcher, David. ("Brushing Up Their Coward in Canada" ). ''New York Times'', 17 August 2009〕 In 1991, BBC television mounted productions of the individual plays with Joan Collins taking the Lawrence roles. Anthony Newley also starred in this version of ''Red Peppers''.〔Truss, Lynne. "Tonight at 8.30", ''The Times'', 15 April 1991〕 The sheer expense involved in mounting what are effectively ten different productions has usually deterred revivals of the entire ''Tonight at 8:30'' cycle, but the constituent plays can often be seen individually or in sets of three. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Red Peppers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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