84 Charing Cross Road
by James Roose-evans
Awards & Recognition
What readers are saying
Readers find '84 Charing Cross Road' to be a charming adaptation of a beloved book, highlighting the deep bond between the characters through their correspondence. Many appreciated the character-driven narrative and the humorous tones captured in the play, despite the challenges of staging a story composed of letters. Some readers suggest starting with the book for a fuller experience.
Synopsis
This wonderful show is a dramatization of business letters between a young struggling writer in New York and an antiquarian book store in London.
In a sense, these are also love letters.
They are about the love of good literature.
The play takes place over a twenty year period, beginning in 1949 when Helene Hanff (played on Broadway by Ellen Burstyn) first writes Marks & Co. and ends in 1969 with the death of Frank Doel, the delightfully dusty supplier of so many old volumes to Helen who has shown her gratitude through the years by sending "care packages" to the staff of Marks & Co.
Press Reviews
"Charming, charming, charming... A gently touching hands across the sea chronicle, sentimental in the best sense of the word."
— The New York Daily News
"Warm, moving, civilized. A wonderful evening on Broadway."
— WABC TV
"An evening of enchantment and charm the like of which is rarely encountered in the theatre."
— What's On in London
Characters
| Character |
|---|
HELENE |
FRANK |
ALVIN |
CECILY |
MR. MARTIN |
MAXINE |
MEGAN |
BILL |
MRS. TODD |
PILOT |
Publication
84 Charing Cross Road is a British play written by James Roose-evans and published by Samuel French (1983).
Community Reviews
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Buy Play
Paperback
Samuel French · 1983 · 92 pp
Performance Rights
Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)
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