Joanna Gleason and Andrew Barth Feldman in We Had A World Jeremy Daniel

Almost four decades have slipped by, but people still recall the love and compassion Joanna Gleason poured generously into the Baker’s Wife in Sondheim’s first romp Into the Woods. It won her a 1988 Tony Award and a place of distinction in the theatrical community. 

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Once witnessed, that Gleason glow is not forgotten. Thing is, it hasn’t been seen in some time—at least not on stage in New York. Her last appearance came in Stephen Karam’s 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist, Sons of the Prophet. And while TV and film have kept her occupied, Joshua Harmon’s three-hander We Had a World at the Manhattan Theater Club seems to be just the ticket to bring back that warming glow. 

Gleason plays an Upper East Side matriarch named Renee, long estranged from her lawyer daughter, Ellen (Jeanie Serralles), but hopelessly devoted to Joshua, her 15-year-old gay grandson (Andrew Barth Feldman). A veritable Granny Mame, she loves to introduce the lad to all manner of age-inappropriate pleasures (Diana Riggs’ Medea on Broadway, R-rated movies like Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies........

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