Season 48 Play 5 – The Heiress by Ruth & Argustus Goetz
Directed by
Cast
Dr. AUSTIN SLOPER – Stuart Farrell
Mrs LAVINIA PENNIMAN – his sister – June Driver
CATHERINE – his daughter – Sallyann Hall
Mrs ELIZABETH ALMOND – his sister – June Purdy
MARIAN ALMOND – his niece – Anna Denby
ARTHUR TOWNSEND – Marian’s fiancé – Neil Bell
MORRIS TOWNSEND – Arthur’s cousin – lan Hartley
Mrs MONTGOMERY – Morris’s sister – Ann Hool
Synopsis
This play brings to dramatic life the situation of the Henry James’ “’ novel in which the feelings of Catherine, a young unmarried woman trapped by both her father and her inheritance in their house in Washington Square, are explored. The seeds of drama deepen into the possibilities of tragedy, and we do not know what to expect; but are spellbound to the end.
Directors Notes
This ‘golden oldie’ of a play has /weathered.the years very well. The dialogue and construction of move and mood blend beautifully to keep fresh this Victorian period piece. The author based the plot on Henry James’s novel, ‘Washington Square’. However, in nineteen forty-five, the play was first entitled The Doctor’s Daughter’ then in nineteen forty-six ‘Washington Square’ and finally in nineteen forty-eight ‘The Heiress’. In nineteen forty-nine John Gielgud directed a production at the Haymarket starring Peggy Ashcroft, Ralph Richardson, James Donald with Donald Sinden playing the small part of Arthur!
Washington Square in the eighteen fifties was an upmarket part of New York, but now the beautiful houses have been turned into bed-sits and cheap flats – a sad sign of the times.
However tonight, we shall transport you to the elegant, rich interiors of a home in Washington Square, where the Doctor’s daughter fills her role as the Heiress.
