Are we there yet?
Glenda Jackson, 82, is currently starring in a universally praised Broadway production of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. This is on the heels of her King Lear at the Old Vic in London. (Image: Tristram Kenton for the Observer)
Elaine May, 86, comes back to the New York theatre after 50 years to star in a Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s (Manchester by the Sea, Lobby Hero) off-Broadway play The Waverly Gallery.
Jane Fonda, 80 and Lily Tomlin, 78 are going strong in the Netflix series Grace & Frankie.
Lois Smith, 86 leads the bill above the recognized bankable stars, Tim Robbins, Geena Davis and John Hamm, in the film adaptation of the play Marjorie Prime. Ms. Smith also starred in the play.
Ms. Fonda is also starring with Candace Bergen and Diane Keaton, both 72, along
with a comparative youngster, 65 year old Mary Steenburgen in the newly released film, Book Club.
Donald Sutherland, 82 and Helen Mirren, 72 starred in last year’s The Leisure Seeker.
Only two years ago a study released at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism found just 11 percent of speaking roles in the top US films of 2015 were 60 or older. Only 10 roles considered leads or co-leads were held by actors 60 or older. Only 27 percent of older characters in the films were female.
We’ve long been aware of the dearth of leading roles available for women over 50, so to what do we attribute the burst of interest in roles that require actors much older than 50?
Perhaps with more people living longer there are just more possible stories about older adults who are not (or will not let themselves be) shunted off into oblivion or made invisible. These stories make us more aware of not only their challenges but their contributions. The increased awareness lets us look at those vehicles that are revivals through new eyes. I also wonder, as some writers get older, if they have a more developed appreciation of the latter stages of life either through living through the issues of their parents aging or the consideration of their own aging.
I doubt that the aforementioned vehicles will move the needle at the box office in the way of The Avengers, X-Men or any other movie where things blow up. But we do seem to be at the point of increased interest in stories of people who have a lifetime’s worth of experience and have either tough decisions to make, or want to add a new chapter to their life.
