House of Blue Leaves, The

House of Blue Leaves, The (1971), a play by John Guare. [Truck and Warehouse Theatre, 337 perf.; NYDCC Award.] News of the Pope's impending visit to New York in 1965 seems to unhinge the zany Shaughnessy family. The father, Artie ( Harold Gould), is a zookeeper who dreams of becoming a Hollywood songwriter and writes lyrics such as “Where is the devil in Evelyn?” The mother, Bananas ( Katherine Helmond), is flakier still, sometimes confusing Brillo pads and hamburgers. Their son, Ronnie ( William Atherton), has gone AWOL in hopes of blowing up the Pope. Even Artie's mistress, Bunny ( Anne Meara), is kooky, living her life through Modern Screen magazine. Ronnie's plans backfire, and he is blown up by his own bomb. Bunny runs off with a Hollywood producer whom Artie had hoped would help him. Artie's reaction to all this is to throw his crazy wife out the window, then compose another inane ditty. Guare's first success, the play was a superb black comedy that was frequently produced across the country. It was revived by Lincoln Center to great acclaim in 1986 with John Mahoney, Stockard Channing, and Swoozie Kurtz in the cast.