30th Play - Mr. Marmalade by Noah Haidle
Michael C. Hall as Mr. Marmalade and Mamie Gummer as Lucy in the Roundabout Theatre production in 2005 (could not locate photo credit).
Filling this in in July 2025, a little delayed. The play was read, but I didn’t have time to document!
Summary: “Lucy is a four-year-old girl with a very active imagination. Unfortunately, her imaginary friend Mr. Marmalade doesn’t have much time for her. Not to mention he beats up his personal assistant, has a cocaine addiction, and a penchant for pornography and very long dildos. Larry, her only real friend, is the youngest suicide attempt in the history of New Jersey. MR. MARMALADE is a savage black comedy about what it takes to grow up in these difficult times.” From Dramatists Play Service.
Laura’s thoughts in brief: I loved this play at first. Silly, playful, funny, dark - right up my alley. Then, it just turned a little too far for me and became less enjoyable. That being said, I’d love to see it - some of the stranger things might become delightful when populated by humans. The magic of theatre!
READ MORE! Here’s what others had to say about productions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/21/theater/reviews/a-4yearold-who-needs-a-divorce.html
https://www.theatermania.com/news/mr-marmalade_7142/
https://www.newcitystage.com/2007/04/12/review-mr-marmaladechemically-imbalanced-comedy/