Angela Lansbury Looking to Return to Broadway in 2013 with ‘The Chalk Garden’

Angela Lansbury may be 87-years-old, but she is showing no signs of slowing down as she eyes a return to Broadway in the upcoming revival of “The Chalk Garden.”

The five-time Tony winner revealed the news in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, and the production reportedly is set for a fall 2013 premiere. Lansbury was interviewed because she is in the midst of playing the title role in an Australian tour of “Driving Miss Daisy,” a production that also stars James Earl Jones.

She notes in the interview that she is anticipating the role, and says that she finds energy from working.

“You could call it a power play in a sense,” she told the Australian paper. “Maybe that’s what we, as actors, kind of think about it… we’re in control – nobody can stop us… Once that curtain goes up, the audience is ours to entertain and to bring the story to and I think that it’s a terrific high, it really is.”

Enid Bagnold’s “The Chalk Garden” originally premiered in 1955 and won the Tony Award for Best Play the following year. The play follows a wealthy grandmother (Mrs. St. Maugham) attempting to find a suitable governess for her granddaughter Laurel, who always tries to expose the sordid pasts of potential caregivers.  However, a mysterious governess named Miss Madrigal comes along and shakes things up as she finds a way to grow flowers in a sterile garden.

A revival was produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company in 1982 that starred Irene Worth in the role of Ms. St. Maugham. A London production soon followed. Despite the speculation, however, Playbill reports that after inquiring with several producers and organizations, no Broadway or Off Broadway venues have released any official announcements about presenting “The Chalk Garden.”