Commissioned in 1986, by the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. Noreen Kershaw starred. It was directed by Glen Walford. In 1988 it opened in London's West End at the Vaudeville Theatre. Pauline Collins starred. It was directed by Simon Callow. On 16 February 1989, the Broadway production, with Collins again directed by Callow, opened at the Booth Theatre. It ran for 324 performances. Ellen Burstyn replaced Collins later in the run. Loretta Swit starred in a US national tour in 1995.
From 26 March - 8 May 2010, as part of the Willy Russell season at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Meera Syal played Shirley in the production's first London West End revival. A West End transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory production ran at the Trafalgar Studios from 20 July - 30 October 2010. Meera Syal reprised her role as Shirley; this production was adapted and broadcast by BBC Radio Four in 2010 and 2017.
A 30th Anniversary Tour, starring Jodie Prenger ran in the UK from March 2017 to November 2017.
Russell adapted his play for a 1989 film version, directed by Lewis Gilbert, with Collins again playing the title role.
Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Medicine Lodge is the biggest city in Barber County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Barber County. In 2010, 2,009 people lived there.
Settlers led by a man named John Hutchinson founded Medicine Lodge in February 1873. It was created north of the confluence of Elm Creek and the Medicine Lodge River. The community grew quickly, and it had a hotel, stores, and a post office established within a year.
In 1874, in response to Native raids in the region, residents and the state militia constructed a stockade. A group of Osage killed three settlers within a few miles of the compound, but no direct attack on the fortifications occurred. Medicine Lodge was incorporated as a city in 1879.
Temperance activist Carrie Nation launched her crusade against the sale of alcohol while living in Medicine Lodge in 1900. Her home and a recreation of the 1873 stockade are open to the public.
Medicine Lodge is at (37.284352, -98.580977) in south-central Kansas. It is in the Red Hills region of the Great Plains. The city is north of the confluence of the Medicine Lodge River and Elm Creek. The city is on the northeast side of the river. Elm Creek goes south around the eastern and southern sides of the city. A tributary of Elm Creek, which goes south through Medicine Lodge, has been dammed north of the city to form a reservoir. This reservoir is Barber County State Lake.
The city is at the junction of U.S. Routes 160 and 281.
The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.
Medicine Lodge has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen "Cfa"). It has hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. The average temperature in Medicine Lodge is 57.3 °F (14 °C), and the average precipitation per year is 26.2 inches (660 mm). On average, January is the coldest month, July is the warmest month, and June is the wettest month. The hottest temperature ever in Medicine Lodge was 118 °F (48 °C) in 1936; the coldest temperature ever was -22 °F (-30 °C) in 1905.
The 2010 census says that there were 2,009 people, 876 households, and 530 families living in Medicine Lodge.
Medicine Lodge is the western endpoint of the Medicine Lodge railroad of the V&S Railway. The rail line runs northwest-southeast through the southwestern part of the city.
"The Gyp Hill Premiere" is the local newspaper. It is published once per week.
Columbus, Kansas
Columbus is the second biggest city Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. It is about 15 miles south-southwest of Pittsburg. It is also the county seat of Cherokee County. In 2010, 3,312 people lived there.
The first settlement at Columbus was created in 1868. The first post office in Columbus was created in 1869.
Columbus was a railroad junction for the Saint Louis and San Francisco, and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroads. It was named Columbus by A.L. Peters, one of the European-American creators of the city. It was named after his hometown of Columbus, Ohio; the name is indirectly named after Christopher Columbus, the explorer. Coal, lead and zinc were found in the area. Columbus had a big trade in agricultural products. Its businesses had machine shops, grain elevators, flour mills, a cigar factory, bottle works (soft drinks), a canning factory, and a big brick-making factory.
In 1875, Robert A. Long and Victor Bell created the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Columbus. From one lumberyard, Long-Bell grew their businesses and holdings to become one of the biggest vertically integrated lumber companies in the United States. In 1956, it was bought by International Paper.
Columbus is at (37.171379, -94.840704). The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.
Columbus has hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The Köppen Climate Classification system says that Columbus has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
The 2010 census says that there were 3,312 people, 1,424 households, and 850 families living in Columbus.
Educating Rita (movie)
Educating Rita is a British 1983 drama/comedy film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay is by Willy Russell based on his 1980 stage play. The film stars Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams and Maureen Lipman. It won multiple major awards for best actor and best actress and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Caine and Walters both won BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for best actor and actress. The British Film Institute ranked "Educating Rita" the 84th greatest British film of the 20th century.
Rita (Julie Walters) is a 26-year-old Liverpudlian working-class hairdresser. She is dissatisfied with the routine of her work. She is reluctant to have a child. She fears it will tie her to the same monotonous routine for life. She yearns to escape to something, without exactly knowing what that is. She signs up for an Open University course in English Literature. Her assigned tutor is Frank Bryant (Michael Caine). Bryant is a jaded university lecturer. He describes his abilities as "appalling but good enough for his appalling students". His passion for literature is reignited by Rita. Her ability for the subject is limited by her lack of education. Frank finds her enthusiasm refreshing. Frank's cynicism returns as he notices Rita beginning to adopt the pretensions of the university culture he despises. The film ends with Frank being sent to Australia.
Lewis Gilbert says it was difficult to raise finance for the film. "Columbia wanted me to cast Dolly Parton as Rita". Julie Walters, in her feature-film debut, reprised her role from the stage production.
The film was shot in Dublin. Trinity College, Dublin, is used as the setting for the university. University College Dublin, in Belfield, Dublin, is used for Rita's summer school. The room used by Bryant as his office is in the College Historical Society. The room used by Bryant as his tutorial room is in the University Philosophical Society. The production left portraits of Douglas Hyde and Isaac Butt, and a bust of John Pentland Mahaffy on display. Number 8 Hogan Avenue in Dublin near Grand Canal Dock was used for Rita's house. A house in Burlington Road, Ballsbridge was used for Bryant's. The scene set in France was filmed in Maynooth, County Kildare. Pearse Station and Dublin Airport were also used. The scene in the pub was shot in The Stag's Head pub on Dame Court in Dublin.
The American "Variety" magazine in December 1982 praised Walters' interpretation of Rita as "witty, down-to-earth, kind and loaded with common sense."
Ian Nathan reviewing the film for Britain's "Empire" film magazine calls it a "gem,". He gave it four out of five stars.
American critic Janet Maslin called the film "the perfect play about literature for anyone who wouldn't dream of actually reading books".