Bad Habits (play)

Bad Habits is play by Terrence McNally. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1974 in a Manhattan Theatre Club production, and then transferred to Broadway.

The comedy is composed of what originally were written as two one-act plays set in a nursing home, or sanatorium. In Dunelawn, a doctor allows his patients to indulge in all their bad habits as means of finding happiness. In Ravenswood, a serum is used to provide a cure. The cast of eight actors (6 male, 2 female) all perform in each act, albeit as completely different characters.

The play premiered Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at the Astor Place Theatre on February 4, 1974 and closed on April 28, 1974 after 96 performances. Directed by Robert Drivas, the cast featured F. Murray Abraham, Paul Benedict (as Dr. Jason Pepper) and Doris Roberts.

The production transferred to Broadway at the Booth Theatre on May 5, 1974 and closed on October 5, 1974 after 177 performances. The Broadway cast was joined by Cynthia Harris.

A revised version of the play opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club on February 27, 1990 and closed on April 13, 1990. Directed by Paul Benedict, the cast starred Nathan Lane (as Dr. Jason Pepper), Kate Nelligan, Robert Clohessy, and Faith Prince. This version switched the names of the sanitariums to the arrangement mentioned above and added an extra scene to the beginning of Dunelawn, along with numerous other minor changes.

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