George S. Kaufman had never even met the Royal Family—let alone crossed swords with them–but the great American comic dramatist was compelled to alter the title of one of his greatest comedies to suit them.

In 1927, Kaufman and his collaborator, the famed American novelist Edna Ferber, wrote a theatrical comedy of manners entitled The Royal Family. It was a love letter to stage actors, inspired by the dynasty of the Barrymore clan (siblings Ethel, Lionel, and John, as well as some of their aunts and uncles), celebrating their artistry while puncturing their pretensions; British audiences only have to think of the Terry/Craigs or the Redgraves. A huge hit on Broadway, the play was Kaufman’s first major transfer to the West End but keeping the original title clearly just wouldn’t do. In order to deflect any confusion or disrespect, the comedy was renamed Theatre Royal when it opened at the Lyric Theatre in 1934, directed by none other than Noël Coward. And who played Tony Cavendish, the comedy’s avatar of the dashing but egotistical John Barrymore? None other than the young Laurence Olivier.

For much of the twentieth century, George S. Kaufman reigned as the leading Broadway comic playwright of his generation. A master collaborator (Ferber, Moss Hart, the Marx Brothers, George and Ira Gershwin, among others), his comedies were successes on the Broadway stage, on the radio, and in a series of legendary Hollywood movies, such as Stage Door, Dinner at Eight, Animal Crackers, The Man Who Came to Dinner, and the Oscar-winning You Can’t Take It With You. He was a virtuoso in crafting a variety of comic styles; in some cases, his plays are reminiscent of the comedy of manners of Noël Coward; in others, the farces of Ben Travers; in still others, the intricately managed chaos of Alan Ayckbourn—all infused with that particular Broadway flair and panache.

Kaufman was also a giant of the American musical theater, crafting the books some of the genre’s most seminal shows. With the Gershwins, he wrote several highly regarded musical satires, including Strike Up the Band and Of Thee I Sing, the first musical to win America’s Pulitzer Prize. He helped create the personas of the merry Marx Brothers in shows such as The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers and, with Cole Porter, wrote the Cold War spoof, Silk Stockings. With Moss Hart, he wrote the 1934 play, Merrily We Roll Along, which Stephen Sondheim turned into a musical in 1981; that version has since become a worldwide success.

Kaufman created some of the greatest comic roles in the world repertoire, as Robert Morley discovered when his career hit new heights during the Second World War as the acerbic critic Sheridan Whiteside in the West End production of The Man Who Came to Dinner (the part was so dear to him that he named his son “Sheridan”—he grew up to be an important writer and critic).

There have been many major actors in the UK who scored career successes in Kaufman’s comedies: other stars who played Whiteside in the UK included John Wood (RSC 1989) and Richard Griffiths (Chichester, 1999). Other essential artists who appeared in Kaufman’s work include Judi Dench, Tony Stephens, and Harriet Walter in The Royal Family (given its proper title in a 2001 West End production). Zoe Wanamaker and Richard Griffiths romped through the Hollywood spoof Once in a Lifetime at the RSC (directed by Trevor Nunn) in 1979 and in 2006, David Suchet reprised his role as a motion picture mogul in the same comedy at the National, with Adrian Scarborough and Victoria Hamilton. Patricia Routledge has a big West End success with The Solid Gold Cadillac in 2004.

Kaufman himself was no stranger to London, having directed the West End production of his New York success, Guys and Dolls in 1953. His second wife was the British actress and playwright Leueen MacGrath and they lived in the Maida Vale neighborhood off and on in the late 1950s.

The comedies of George Kaufman have provided expansive and indelible star turns for great actors and gales of redemptive laughter for audiences. Two of his masterpieces (written in collaboration with Edna Ferber and made into immortal Hollywood films), Dinner at Eight and Stage Door have never had major productions in the UK and his most produced comedy in the US, You Can’t Take It With You, has only been stage intermittently on prestigious stages in the UK since its premiere in 1937.

More information about Kaufman, his theater, his circle, and his plays can be found on the website: georgeskaufman.com. In the UK and Europe, the First-class rights to his plays are represented by Alan Brodie Representation: https://www.alanbrodie.com

There’s no time like the present to raise the curtain on the resonant and risible classics by George S. Kaufman. We need as many laughs as we can get these days—and, after all, you can’t take them with you.