Time for Elizabeth

Performances

December 1 & 2, 1949

Venue

Scottish Rite Temple

Synopsis

Ed Davis, the general manager of a washing machine company, is a successful businessman who needs a long vacation. He dreams of going away with his wife to enjoy his declining years. But Ed and his wife, Kay, cannot call their souls their own because the boss and his wife force keep them constantly on call. So Ed speaks his mind to his boss and is fired. The next act finds them settled in an apartment in Florida, where everything promises happiness, even the simple neighbors. Soon, however, the Davises begin to get on each other nerves, and when their daughter and her husband appear, Ed secretly plans to go into business again, disastrously as it turns out. He is now ready to go to his old boss and beg for a humble job with the company. Luckily, his ex-boss seems to be missing Ed and now fears for the security of the company. Ed is offered every inducement to return. Ed and his wife are delighted to return to New York and the things that only a big city can offer.

Authors: Norman Krasna and Groucho Marx

Historian’s Corner

“Time for Elizabeth” took authors and friends Norman Krasna and Groucho Marx some 10 to 15 years to write. The original Broadway production was directed by Krasna but lasted only eight performances. On the strength of their names, the rights to the play were sold to the Warner Brothers Studios for $500,000. The script was adapted as a television special in 1964 starring Groucho Marx. Groucho always felt that it was not the story that was important, but the number of farcical situations that were created for the characters.