Angela Lansbury Makes Broadway Return in ‘The Chalk Garden’

Late last year it was rumored that Angela Lansbury was considering a return to Broadway in an upcoming revival of The Chalk Garden, and now the legendary actress has confirmed those plans.

“A rather exciting event coming up in the fall is a new production of ‘The Chalk Garden’ by Enid Bagnold.” Lansbury told radio personality Margaret Throsby in an Australian interview. “It’s a lovely play, wonderful role, Mrs. St. [Maugham]. We’re going to do that on Broadway, so if you’re in New York, I hope you’ll come and see it.”

No official announcement about the revival has been made, so we’re awaiting more news on when we can expect the new production.

Lansbury is a five-time Tony Award-winner, and recently has been starring in an Australian production of Driving Miss Daisy along with James Earl Jones. Though Lansbury is 87-years-old, she says that keeping up a busy work schedule is what energizes her.

“You could call it a power play in a sense,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald last year. “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.”

The original production of The Chalk Garden was directed by Albert Marre and opened in October 1955. It played 182 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre before closing in March 1956.

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.