Angela Lansbury to Return to the Stage

Stage and screen legend Angela Lansbury will return to the stage for one night only in a reading of Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden. The Acting Company benefit will take place on Monday, June 19, at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, with Frank Dunlop directing.

After many younger years as a London society hostess, Mrs. Saint Maugham (Lansbury) fills her days tending her garden at her country estate. When she seeks a governess for her granddaughter, Laurel (whose habit of setting small fires is getting a bit out of hand), the child connects instantly with Miss Madrigal, an enigmatic woman who has come without any references. Who, exactly, is this Madrigal? With a talent for gardening and avoiding questions, she fascinates the equally inscrutable Laurel, who can never resist a mystery…especially if it might involve murder.

Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley from the first graduating class of Juilliard’s Drama Division, the Acting Company brings live classical theater to Americans who might otherwise never get a chance to enjoy and learn from it. Full casting will be announced.

Lansbury received Tonys for her performances as Mame Dennis in Mame (1966), Countess Aurelia in Dear World (1969), Rose in Gypsy (1975), Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (1979), and Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit (2009). On November 16, 2013, Lansbury received an Honorary Oscar recognizing her work of 70 years in the film industry. In recent years, she toured the United States in Blithe Spirit, after winning an Olivier for her performance in London's West End in 2014. From 1984-1996 she starred as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, winning four Golden Globe Awards.

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