Bill and Nancy have spent fifty full years as husband and wife. They practically breathe in unison, and can anticipate each other's every sigh, snore and sneeze. But just as they settle comfortably into their new home in Grand Horizons, the unthinkable happens: Nancy suddenly wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the shocking news, they are forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best. By turns funny, shocking and painfully honest, Bess Wohl's new play explores a family turned upside-down and takes an intimate look at the wild, unpredictable, and enduring nature of love.
Second Stage Theater seems to be single-handedly attempting to revive the boulevard comedy on Broadway. There was a time when the Great White Way was dominated by such middlebrow, mass-appeal fare, with the late, great Neil Simon as the chief avatar of the genre. Just months after staging Tracy Letts' genial comedy 'Linda Vista,' Second Stage has mounted Bess Wohl's broadly entertaining 'Grand Horizons.' (The show opened Thursday at the Helen Hayes Theater.)
Grand Horizons is a new play, but not new in the Broadway sense. This sort of thing abounded in the third quarter of the last century. Some were hits, often major; does anyone remember Never Too Late? (Middle-aged mom gets pregnant to the shock of her husband, pregnant daughter, and son-in-law, for 1,007 performances.) Watching the first act of Grand Horizons, I was swept back to a different old play, a negligible 1972 offering called 6 Rms Riv Vu. This was mostly because that play demonstrated the comic touch of the then-young Alexander, who has spent a good deal of her career playing more serious fare. Her deft performance in Grand Horizons is decidedly reminiscent of that earlier play, which despite her ministrations and those of the equally young Jerry Orbach proved to be a flimsy comedy trying too hard to compete with ol' Doc Simon, a popular gagman of the era.
| 2020 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play | Clint Ramos |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Michael Urie |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Grand Horizons |
| 2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Grand Horizons |
| 2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design | Clint Ramos |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Jane Alexander |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Bess Wohl |
Videos