Anniversary Waltz is a three-act play, written by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields, and staged by Moss Hart.
The action varies from farce to schmaltz, as the Walters celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary only to have a family secret go public and send everyone into a frenzy.
[3][1] It is filled with attitudes and references topical to mid 1950s American culture;[3] this and the lack of critical appreciation seems to have forestalled any major revivals.
Alice's parents are due for an evening get together, so she supervises Okkie and Debbie's choice of attire and Millie's preparation for the gathering.
[6] Rehearsals began February 8, 1954 under Hart's direction; the setting was designed and lit by Frederick Fox, while costumes were by Robert Mackintosh.
[7] Save for one featured role eliminated during a rewrite in Boston, the cast remained the same throughout all three tryout cities and the Broadway premiere.
[18] Reviewer Cyrus Durgin sounded a doubtful note about what sort of play it was, "something between farce, drama, and animated comic strip".
[20] Reviewer Henry T. Murdock pointed out that the character of Bud Walters "wasn't really a very funny fellow at all, and that his antics were humerous only by the most tolerant definition of the term.
[1] MacDonald Carey and Kitty Carlisle received top-billing, i.e. their names appeared above the play's title in advertisements.
Actor Howard Smith had a bad case of laryngitis on opening night but managed to get through his part successfully.
Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times was severe in his criticism of the writers, but gave a pass to the staging: "Taking the material as offered, Moss Hart has directed a suitable performance-- swift, taut and noisy".
Comparing their previous Broadway collaborations to this production, Atkinson said: "The decline in literary skill is notable.
"[1] Reviewer Louis Sheaffer felt the same way: "There isn't... any story here, only a series of contrived situations somehow tied together, a patchwork sort of affair".
[22] Like Atkinson, Schaeffer commended the directing and setting, but called Jean Carson and Andrew Duggan routine and claimed juvenile actor Mary Lee Dearring overacted.
[21] He judged the characters portrayed by Andrew Duggan and Jean Carson as "extraneous to the plot, but they are nicely played".
[24] Later in the month columnist Danton Walker reported that Anniversary Waltz had paid off its entire original investment and was up $45,000.
[2] For the final three performances, the producers replaced some of the actors with their national tour counterparts,[2] both for experience and to give them the cachet of a Broadway credit.
Joseph M. Hyman and Bernard Hart exercised their option to produce the road company, which would start in Cincinnati at the Shubert Theatre on September 26, 1955.