The Chalk Garden, about the tortured relationship between a woman and her granddaughter, opened on Broadway in 1955, the same year Brookes starred in Jean Giradoux's Tiger at the Gates on Broadway, and won a Theatre World Award for her work in The Cretan Woman. Brookes went on to star in such Broadway productions as More Stately Mansions (1967), A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973), in which she stood by for Colleen Dewhurst, and The Cherry Orchard (1977), where she was standby for Irene Worth. Also in this new Chalk Garden are Charles Cissel, James Stevenson and Robin Long.
The original Broadway production starred Gladys Cooper, Siobhan McKenna, and a young Fritz Weaver and Marian Seldes. All, saving Seldes, were nominated for Tony Awards. The production ran 182 performances. A London production starred Peggy Ashcroft, George Rose and Edith Evans.
Center Stage is located at 48 W. 21st Street. Call (212) 989-2228.
