Anne of the Thousand Days
Anne Boleyn’s relationship with Henry VIII leads to marriage, accusations of adultery and her execution.
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Anne Boleyn’s relationship with Henry VIII leads to marriage, accusations of adultery and her execution.
A magnificent ironic comedy, and a daring and forthright commentary on national politics. Here we have the story of a hard-fighting young and idealistic Congressman suddenly up against a group of old-time politicians, all at work on a big appropriations bill. The young idealist tries to draw up a relatively honest bill, but realizing that the fight seems hopeless, he turns around and makes the bill so ridiculously dishonest that he can only imagine it will be instantly killed. However, it is so pleasing to all parties that it goes through both Houses.
1940s France. The gardens at Versailles, the concentration camp and Madeline's hotel suite. The play takes place during the German occupation of France in World War II. September 1940. Fargeau, Henri and Deseze are talking about the war, Charlotte and Mercy are visiting from America and are trying to rebuild the past. They want to see Versailles as it was in Marie Antoinette's time. They are upset because the land and history changed too much. Madeline is avoiding Maisie because she has fallen in love and doesn't want to go back to America. She tells Maisie all about Raoul St. Cloud. Moments later he appears in the distance and tells Madeline about his adventures in the war, how his ship sank and he helped hijack a plane. He and Madeline pick up where they left off in their relationship. German soldiers enter and seeing Raoul in a French uniform, ask for his papers. Raoul, unable to produce them, saying they are lost at sea; gets arrested and taken to a concentration camp. At the concentration camp, Colonel Erfurt allows the Fleury family to see their son only if they agree to help gather information for the German party. They hesitate, but ultimately give in because they want to see their son. They are mortified by what they see in the camp. He denies Madeline access to Raoul because he has Sterben written on his file. He says “This is a camp of dead men.” Madeline vows that she will see Raoul again. Exactly one year later. Cissie and Maisie talk about France's condition in Madeline's hotel room. Maisie is hungry and nervous about German soldiers barging in on them. Cissie reassures her that they will not come. Madeline and Colonel Mueller talk about plans to break Raoul out and the three women will leave for London the next afternoon after the plan unfolds. The plan fails. Madeline tells the girls to unpack, they are staying. Maisie tells her that the best way she can help Raoul is by going back to America, back to work and get more money. Lieutenant Schoen arrives saying that he knows a fool proof way to get Raoul out of the camp. Maisie and Cissie leave to get Cissie a visa. Madeline and Lt. Schoen talk about the plan and she gives him her ring to pawn for money as a gift for helping her and Raoul. Lt. Schoen leaves his number, saying that if he can get Raoul out the following day, he will call. The next day, back at the gardens. Henri reads the executed list in the paper and sees Fargeau's name on the list. He always said that he'd rather be who he is and die for it than live as someone the Germans want him to be. Fargeau died trying to buy a gun, the shop didn't have any so he killed a German officer for one. Henri and Deseze mourn him for a moment as Madeline enters. Lt. Schoen never called but meets her at the gardens. He delivers good news that the plan worked and Raoul will be there any moment. Raoul arrives and Madeline is delighted. They immediately embrace, still as in love with each other as they were a year ago. She tells him to go to London and wait for her. But after he leaves, German soldiers arrive at the gardens and begin questioning Madeline. She obliges, thinking that the longer the soldiers are with her, the further away Raoul will get from France. Col. Erfurt and Madeline argue and he ends up confiscating Madeline's passport, leaving her to be a prisoner in France. Madeline and Raoul do not end up together. The idiom Candle in the Wind means something fragile which could finish at any time, a constant fight against all odds. Madeline and Raoul's love is a candle in the wind: the constant fight to free Raoul, even after a year, and the hope that he still loves her.
The play revolves around the turbulent love affair between the aging Queen Elizabeth I of England and her much younger suitor Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, who is ambitious for the throne.
Gods of the Lightning was a 1928 Broadway three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson and Harold Hickerson, produced by Hamilton MacFadden and Kellogg Gary and staged by MacFadden. It ran for 29 performances from October 24, 1928 to November 1928 at the Little Theatre. The Sacco-Vanzetti case was the play's inspiration, Charles Bickford in the Sacco character role. Anderson later wrote an updated Sacco-Vanzetti play titled Winterset.
Gypsy was a 1929 Broadway three-act play written by Maxwell Anderson and produced by Richard Herndon. Directed by George Cukor, the production ran for 64 performances from January 14, 1929, to March 1929 at the Klaw Theatre. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1928-1929.
High Tor is a 1936 play by Maxwell Anderson. It received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the 1936–37 season. Twenty years after the original production, Anderson adapted it into a television musical with Arthur Schwartz.
An acting company stages a dramatization of Joan of Arc, and the story affects the performers. The fictional star Mary Grey, who plays Joan, clashes with the play's fictional director Jimmy Masters over how Joan should be portrayed; their conflict resolves during the drama.
Maxwell Anderson retells the Holy Family’s journey to Jerusalem when Jesus is twelve, paralleling biblical events with Hitler’s rise through Herod Antipas. Jesus, called Jeshua, begins to understand his messianic destiny through encounters with a fictional prophet.
A deserter of the Spanish Civil War played by Paul Muni redeems himself in death by defending the family of a true war hero against some Mexican bandits on the tiny Florida island of Key Largo.
The action is narrated by 19th-century author Washington Irving, who announces his intent to write a history of the original Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. The story opens in Manhattan in 1647, where the colony awaits the arrival of its new Governor from Holland, Peter Stuyvesant. Irving selects the young Brom Broeck as his hero. Broeck is a brave but impulsive fellow who becomes enraged if anyone tries to give him orders. The narrator and his character reflect that this independent streak is characteristic of American citizens. Brom is in love with Tina Tienhoven, whose father heads the corrupt town council. Brom knows that Tienhoven is selling brandy and firearms to the Indians—a criminal offense. Tienhoven, with the support of his cronies, arranges to have Brom convicted and hanged. Brom survives by putting the noose around his waist instead of his neck just as Stuyvesant arrives on the scene. Impressed by the young man's ingenuity, the Governor pardons him. Stuyvesant plans to marry Tina and to declare war as his first official act of governance. After many mishaps and recriminations, all ends happily when the narrator reminds Stuyvesant that history will not remember him kindly if he persists in his dictatorial actions. Brom and Tina are free to marry, and the musical ends as Stuyvesant reflects that perhaps he will make a good American, given his own independence and resistance to authority.
In August 1949, in the South African village of Ndotsheni (The song "The Hills of Ixopo" is sung at this point.), the black Anglican priest of St. Mark's Church, the Rev. Stephen Kumalo, learns from a letter from his brother (John Kumalo, who lives in Johannesburg) that their sister is in trouble. Stephen decides to travel to Johannesburg to help his sister; he will also seek his son, Absalom, who works in the mines ("Thousands of Miles"). In Johannesburg, Stephen learns that his sister will not leave but she asks him to take care of her young son, Alex. He finally locates his son Absalom, who had been in jail. Absalom now plans with his friends to steal, so they can get enough money to avoid a life in the gold mines. Absalom's pregnant girlfriend Irina tries to convince him not to take part, but he goes ahead with his plan ("Trouble Man"). During the robbery, Absalom kills Arthur Jarvis, a white friend of his father, Stephen. As Absalom is jailed, Stephen wonders how to tell his wife, Grace, and he realizes he is facing a crisis of faith ("Lost in the Stars"). Stephen knows that his son could either tell a lie and live or tell the truth and die. He prays for guidance ("O Tixo, Tixo, Help Me"). At the trial, Absalom's two friends lie to the court and are freed, but Absalom, truly repentant, tells the truth and is sentenced to hang ("Cry, the Beloved Country"). Stephen performs a wedding between Absalom and Irina in prison and then returns home to Ndotsheni with Irina and Alex. Alex and the child of Arthur Jarvis meet and start to become friends ("Big Mole"). Stephen tells his flock he can no longer be their minister, and their faith is now also shaken ("A Bird of Passage"). On the still-dark morning of the execution, Stephen waits alone for the clock to strike ("Four O'Clock"). Unexpectedly, the father of the murdered man pays him a visit. He tells Stephen that he has realized that they have both lost sons. Out of recognition of their mutual sorrow, and despite their different races, he offers his friendship, and Stephen accepts.
Mary of Scotland was a 1933 Broadway three-act play written in blank verse by Maxwell Anderson, produced by the Theatre Guild, directed by Theresa Helburn and with scenic and costume design by Robert Edmond Jones. It ran for 248 performances from November 27, 1933 to July 1934 at the Alvin Theatre. Anderson's son Quentin Anderson played a warder. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1933-1934. It was adapted into a 1936 film Mary of Scotland mostly directed by John Ford and starring Fredric March and Katharine Hepburn. A rehearsal for the play provided the setting for a 1976 sketch of "Mama's Family" on The Carol Burnett Show that featured Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Madeline Kahn.
Night Over Taos was a 1932 Broadway three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson, produced by the Group Theatre and staged by Lee Strasberg. It was the Group Theatre's third production. It ran for 13 performances from March 9, 1936 closing that month at the 48th Street Theatre. It was revived off Broadway in 2007, directed by Estelle Parsons.
Outside Looking In is a 1925 Broadway three-act comedy written by Maxwell Anderson, produced by Kenneth Macgowan, Robert Edmond Jones and Eugene O'Neill and directed by Augustin Duncan.
Act I (The Halevy's apartment dining room. A June evening.) Florrie and Willie Sands are visiting her parents. They discuss Bobby's marriage prospects with Mrs. Halevy, while Mr. Halevy works on a radio set he built. Florrie says Bobby is too inexperienced and needs to be taken in hand if she is ever to marry. Willie and her bicker; it is plain she has the upper hand in their marriage. A phone call from Rims O'Neil marks the start of Florrie's campaign. She tells him that Bobby is going out later, but he can see her in thirty minutes. Bobby arrives late, having dined with Mr. Mengle, who offered her a proposal. "A marriage proposal?" asks Mrs. Halevy. Bobby replies no, just a proposal. It is clear she is not naive, nor helpless with men. Florrie tells Bobby about Rims call, and urges her to put on her pink dress for him. While the others leave for a concert in the park, Florrie quickly writes in shorthand some instructions for Bobby on how to maneuver Rims. Bobby doesn't want to trick Rims, but when he mentions that Mr. Mengle wants to send him to Buenos Aires to open a branch office, she realizes she must act fast. Glancing at the shorthand notes, which Rims cannot read, she puts Florrie's plan into action, and before long Rims proposes marriage. (Curtain) Act II (The O'Neil's kitchen-dining room. November.) Married six months now, the O'Neils live in a tiny two room rental house Willie found for them. Bobby quit her job, and Rims' weekly wages are barely enough to support them. Bobby has made out a detailed budget, but Rims resents having to report every expense, particularly his occasional pinochle or poker games. Bobby feels that Rims regrets marrying her, while she hates their arguments and wishes they could go back to being a romantic couple. Florrie and Willie drop by, with the former advising Bobby to have a baby in order to bind Rims more closely. Bobby does not want to trick Rims again, so when her father visits, she asks him what to do. Mr. Halevy suggests it probably wasn't a good idea to get married, but now that you are you should please yourself. Florrie finds a poker IOU that Rims had dropped on the floor, which sets off another argument between Bobby and Rims. Finally, both walk out of the house. (Curtain) Act III (A bedroom at Mrs. Gorlik's boarding house on East 33rd Street. About 9pm, three weeks later.) Bobby returned to her parent's apartment for a week, before finding a room with Mrs. Gorlik. She only rents to women, and bedroom doors, which have no locks, must be kept open while men visit. Bobby has resumed working for Mr. Mengle, who once again has taken her to dinner. Rims, however, has taken a new job working with hydraulic machinery. Mr. Halevy visits Bobby, but finds her still out. He gets an earful of Mrs. Gorlik's opinions while waiting. Next Rims comes calling; he followed Bobby when she left work and found where she now lives. After Bobby arrives, Mr. Halevy leaves. Bobby explains to Rims that she wants their old pre-marriage relationship back, but doesn't insist on divorce. The Chauffeur for Mr. Mengle brings a package to Bobby, containing a bolt lock for her door as a joke. Rims is incensed and takes the bolt, but is kicked out by Mrs. Gorlik as it now 10pm. Bobby falls sobbing onto her bed in the darkened room, but soon sees Rims coming through the open window into her room from the fire escape, carrying the bolt and a screw driver. They embrace then Rims begins to attach the bolt lock. (Curtain)
The play focuses on the seemingly perfect little girl Rhoda Penmark, who is able to charm her way into getting just about anything she wants. Anything, except a highly coveted penmanship medal that her teacher has awarded to Claude Daigle, one of Rhoda's classmates. During a school outing near the shore, Claude goes missing and it is soon discovered that Claude has drowned near a pier. Rhoda's mother, Christine, begins to suspect that Rhoda had something to do with the boy's death when she finds Claude's penmanship medal hidden in Rhoda's room. Gradually Christine comes to believe that Rhoda was behind other sudden deaths surrounding the family. Her suspicions challenge Christine to look into her own past, and she learns not only that she was adopted, but also that her biological mother was a ruthless serial killer. Near the end of the play, Christine decides to take both Rhoda's life and her own. She gives Rhoda a large quantity of sleeping pills, telling her they are vitamins. Then she shoots herself in the head, killing herself. Rhoda survives because the sound of the gunshot has alerted her neighbors to investigate and they find Rhoda just in time to save her.
Conscript Quizz West leaves his hometown girlfriend and family for the Philippines. As American troops face overwhelming odds there, dreams let him ask his mother and Janet whether he and his friends should sacrifice themselves to cover the retreat or escape by boat.
The Masque of Kings is a 1937 three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson. It was produced on Broadway by the Theatre Guild and directed by Philip Moeller. Lee Simonson created the scenic and costume design. It ran for 89 performances from February 8, 1937 - April 24, 1937 at the Shubert Theatre.
A fantasy of time-travel. The setting is manufacturing town in Eastern Ohio at what was the present time for the audience in the premiere, 1937. The setting then changes to thirty-five years back in time, 1905, and to a few years before that. Stephen Minch is an inventor and Martha Minch is his wife. A time travel machine is developed, the star-wagon. 1905 is the subsequent time for when the time travelers arrive in the same location, at the dawn of the automobile. The end result of the time traveling the world consist of what is to be, and that is just what happens.
The Wingless Victory is a 1936 three-act tragedy written by Maxwell Anderson, set in the year 1800. It was produced on Broadway by Katharine Cornell and staged by Guthrie McClintic, running for 110 performances from December 23, 1936, to March 1937 at the Empire Theatre. Jo Mielziner created the scenic and costume design.
Set in a beachfront grill shortly after World War II, Anderson’s drama explores emotional damage on the postwar home front through two couples. One is the jealous veteran Sage McRae and his wife Tory, whose relationships with the other people at the café shape the conflict.
During the winter of 1778, George Washington struggles to keep his hungry, ill and poorly supplied soldiers at Valley Forge from abandoning the Continental Army. He resists General Howe’s proposed negotiations despite pressure from British forces and intrigue within Congress.
Flagg and Quirt are veteran United States Marines whose rivalry dates back a number of years. Flagg is commissioned a captain in command of a company on the front lines of France during World War I. Sergeant Quirt is assigned to Flagg's unit as the senior non-commissioned officer. Flagg and Quirt quickly resume their rivalry, which this time takes its form over the affections of Charmaine, the daughter of the local innkeeper. However, Charmaine's desire for a husband and the reality of war give the two men a common cause.
Winterset is a play by Maxwell Anderson. A verse drama written largely in poetic form, the tragedy deals indirectly with the Sacco–Vanzetti case, in which two Italian immigrants with radical political beliefs were executed. Its plot follows Mio Romagna's quest to prove his father's innocence in the years after Bartolomeo Romagna is executed for a robbery and murder that he did not commit. Mio's quest is complicated by his love for Miriamne Esdras and the difficult ethical decisions that result from his connection with her family. A highly political play, with reflections on faith, truth, justice, love, and duty, it frequently alludes to William Shakespeare and Judaic philosophies. The Broadway production, produced and directed by Guthrie McClintic, opened on September 25, 1935, at the Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 195 performances. The cast included Burgess Meredith, Margo, and Eduardo Ciannelli. It won the first New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play (Best American Play). Meredith, Margo, and Ciannelli were joined by John Carradine, Stanley Ridges, and Mischa Auer in the film adaptation in 1936, directed by Alfred Santell. Anderson initially offered the play to The Group Theater with the stipulation that Meredith, a non-member, play the lead. Meredith wanted to join the group, but when asked during his interview by the three directors "do you love the Group Theater above yourself?", he said no. He was rejected, causing the playwright to withdraw his offer to the Group Theater. This incident became a source of contention among the group's actors. Members often cited it as an example of "ill-advised dogma".
Anne Boleyn’s relationship with Henry VIII leads to marriage, accusations of adultery and her execution.
A magnificent ironic comedy, and a daring and forthright commentary on national politics. Here we have the story of a hard-fighting young and idealistic Congressman suddenly up against a group of old-time politicians, all at work on a big appropriations bill. The young idealist tries to draw up a relatively honest bill, but realizing that the fight seems hopeless, he turns around and makes the bill so ridiculously dishonest that he can only imagine it will be instantly killed. However, it is so pleasing to all parties that it goes through both Houses.
1940s France. The gardens at Versailles, the concentration camp and Madeline's hotel suite. The play takes place during the German occupation of France in World War II. September 1940. Fargeau, Henri and Deseze are talking about the war, Charlotte and Mercy are visiting from America and are trying to rebuild the past. They want to see Versailles as it was in Marie Antoinette's time. They are upset because the land and history changed too much. Madeline is avoiding Maisie because she has fallen in love and doesn't want to go back to America. She tells Maisie all about Raoul St. Cloud. Moments later he appears in the distance and tells Madeline about his adventures in the war, how his ship sank and he helped hijack a plane. He and Madeline pick up where they left off in their relationship. German soldiers enter and seeing Raoul in a French uniform, ask for his papers. Raoul, unable to produce them, saying they are lost at sea; gets arrested and taken to a concentration camp. At the concentration camp, Colonel Erfurt allows the Fleury family to see their son only if they agree to help gather information for the German party. They hesitate, but ultimately give in because they want to see their son. They are mortified by what they see in the camp. He denies Madeline access to Raoul because he has Sterben written on his file. He says “This is a camp of dead men.” Madeline vows that she will see Raoul again. Exactly one year later. Cissie and Maisie talk about France's condition in Madeline's hotel room. Maisie is hungry and nervous about German soldiers barging in on them. Cissie reassures her that they will not come. Madeline and Colonel Mueller talk about plans to break Raoul out and the three women will leave for London the next afternoon after the plan unfolds. The plan fails. Madeline tells the girls to unpack, they are staying. Maisie tells her that the best way she can help Raoul is by going back to America, back to work and get more money. Lieutenant Schoen arrives saying that he knows a fool proof way to get Raoul out of the camp. Maisie and Cissie leave to get Cissie a visa. Madeline and Lt. Schoen talk about the plan and she gives him her ring to pawn for money as a gift for helping her and Raoul. Lt. Schoen leaves his number, saying that if he can get Raoul out the following day, he will call. The next day, back at the gardens. Henri reads the executed list in the paper and sees Fargeau's name on the list. He always said that he'd rather be who he is and die for it than live as someone the Germans want him to be. Fargeau died trying to buy a gun, the shop didn't have any so he killed a German officer for one. Henri and Deseze mourn him for a moment as Madeline enters. Lt. Schoen never called but meets her at the gardens. He delivers good news that the plan worked and Raoul will be there any moment. Raoul arrives and Madeline is delighted. They immediately embrace, still as in love with each other as they were a year ago. She tells him to go to London and wait for her. But after he leaves, German soldiers arrive at the gardens and begin questioning Madeline. She obliges, thinking that the longer the soldiers are with her, the further away Raoul will get from France. Col. Erfurt and Madeline argue and he ends up confiscating Madeline's passport, leaving her to be a prisoner in France. Madeline and Raoul do not end up together. The idiom Candle in the Wind means something fragile which could finish at any time, a constant fight against all odds. Madeline and Raoul's love is a candle in the wind: the constant fight to free Raoul, even after a year, and the hope that he still loves her.
The play revolves around the turbulent love affair between the aging Queen Elizabeth I of England and her much younger suitor Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, who is ambitious for the throne.
Gods of the Lightning was a 1928 Broadway three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson and Harold Hickerson, produced by Hamilton MacFadden and Kellogg Gary and staged by MacFadden. It ran for 29 performances from October 24, 1928 to November 1928 at the Little Theatre. The Sacco-Vanzetti case was the play's inspiration, Charles Bickford in the Sacco character role. Anderson later wrote an updated Sacco-Vanzetti play titled Winterset.
Gypsy was a 1929 Broadway three-act play written by Maxwell Anderson and produced by Richard Herndon. Directed by George Cukor, the production ran for 64 performances from January 14, 1929, to March 1929 at the Klaw Theatre. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1928-1929.
High Tor is a 1936 play by Maxwell Anderson. It received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the 1936–37 season. Twenty years after the original production, Anderson adapted it into a television musical with Arthur Schwartz.
An acting company stages a dramatization of Joan of Arc, and the story affects the performers. The fictional star Mary Grey, who plays Joan, clashes with the play's fictional director Jimmy Masters over how Joan should be portrayed; their conflict resolves during the drama.
Maxwell Anderson retells the Holy Family’s journey to Jerusalem when Jesus is twelve, paralleling biblical events with Hitler’s rise through Herod Antipas. Jesus, called Jeshua, begins to understand his messianic destiny through encounters with a fictional prophet.
A deserter of the Spanish Civil War played by Paul Muni redeems himself in death by defending the family of a true war hero against some Mexican bandits on the tiny Florida island of Key Largo.
The action is narrated by 19th-century author Washington Irving, who announces his intent to write a history of the original Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. The story opens in Manhattan in 1647, where the colony awaits the arrival of its new Governor from Holland, Peter Stuyvesant. Irving selects the young Brom Broeck as his hero. Broeck is a brave but impulsive fellow who becomes enraged if anyone tries to give him orders. The narrator and his character reflect that this independent streak is characteristic of American citizens. Brom is in love with Tina Tienhoven, whose father heads the corrupt town council. Brom knows that Tienhoven is selling brandy and firearms to the Indians—a criminal offense. Tienhoven, with the support of his cronies, arranges to have Brom convicted and hanged. Brom survives by putting the noose around his waist instead of his neck just as Stuyvesant arrives on the scene. Impressed by the young man's ingenuity, the Governor pardons him. Stuyvesant plans to marry Tina and to declare war as his first official act of governance. After many mishaps and recriminations, all ends happily when the narrator reminds Stuyvesant that history will not remember him kindly if he persists in his dictatorial actions. Brom and Tina are free to marry, and the musical ends as Stuyvesant reflects that perhaps he will make a good American, given his own independence and resistance to authority.
In August 1949, in the South African village of Ndotsheni (The song "The Hills of Ixopo" is sung at this point.), the black Anglican priest of St. Mark's Church, the Rev. Stephen Kumalo, learns from a letter from his brother (John Kumalo, who lives in Johannesburg) that their sister is in trouble. Stephen decides to travel to Johannesburg to help his sister; he will also seek his son, Absalom, who works in the mines ("Thousands of Miles"). In Johannesburg, Stephen learns that his sister will not leave but she asks him to take care of her young son, Alex. He finally locates his son Absalom, who had been in jail. Absalom now plans with his friends to steal, so they can get enough money to avoid a life in the gold mines. Absalom's pregnant girlfriend Irina tries to convince him not to take part, but he goes ahead with his plan ("Trouble Man"). During the robbery, Absalom kills Arthur Jarvis, a white friend of his father, Stephen. As Absalom is jailed, Stephen wonders how to tell his wife, Grace, and he realizes he is facing a crisis of faith ("Lost in the Stars"). Stephen knows that his son could either tell a lie and live or tell the truth and die. He prays for guidance ("O Tixo, Tixo, Help Me"). At the trial, Absalom's two friends lie to the court and are freed, but Absalom, truly repentant, tells the truth and is sentenced to hang ("Cry, the Beloved Country"). Stephen performs a wedding between Absalom and Irina in prison and then returns home to Ndotsheni with Irina and Alex. Alex and the child of Arthur Jarvis meet and start to become friends ("Big Mole"). Stephen tells his flock he can no longer be their minister, and their faith is now also shaken ("A Bird of Passage"). On the still-dark morning of the execution, Stephen waits alone for the clock to strike ("Four O'Clock"). Unexpectedly, the father of the murdered man pays him a visit. He tells Stephen that he has realized that they have both lost sons. Out of recognition of their mutual sorrow, and despite their different races, he offers his friendship, and Stephen accepts.
Mary of Scotland was a 1933 Broadway three-act play written in blank verse by Maxwell Anderson, produced by the Theatre Guild, directed by Theresa Helburn and with scenic and costume design by Robert Edmond Jones. It ran for 248 performances from November 27, 1933 to July 1934 at the Alvin Theatre. Anderson's son Quentin Anderson played a warder. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1933-1934. It was adapted into a 1936 film Mary of Scotland mostly directed by John Ford and starring Fredric March and Katharine Hepburn. A rehearsal for the play provided the setting for a 1976 sketch of "Mama's Family" on The Carol Burnett Show that featured Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Madeline Kahn.
Night Over Taos was a 1932 Broadway three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson, produced by the Group Theatre and staged by Lee Strasberg. It was the Group Theatre's third production. It ran for 13 performances from March 9, 1936 closing that month at the 48th Street Theatre. It was revived off Broadway in 2007, directed by Estelle Parsons.
Outside Looking In is a 1925 Broadway three-act comedy written by Maxwell Anderson, produced by Kenneth Macgowan, Robert Edmond Jones and Eugene O'Neill and directed by Augustin Duncan.
Act I (The Halevy's apartment dining room. A June evening.) Florrie and Willie Sands are visiting her parents. They discuss Bobby's marriage prospects with Mrs. Halevy, while Mr. Halevy works on a radio set he built. Florrie says Bobby is too inexperienced and needs to be taken in hand if she is ever to marry. Willie and her bicker; it is plain she has the upper hand in their marriage. A phone call from Rims O'Neil marks the start of Florrie's campaign. She tells him that Bobby is going out later, but he can see her in thirty minutes. Bobby arrives late, having dined with Mr. Mengle, who offered her a proposal. "A marriage proposal?" asks Mrs. Halevy. Bobby replies no, just a proposal. It is clear she is not naive, nor helpless with men. Florrie tells Bobby about Rims call, and urges her to put on her pink dress for him. While the others leave for a concert in the park, Florrie quickly writes in shorthand some instructions for Bobby on how to maneuver Rims. Bobby doesn't want to trick Rims, but when he mentions that Mr. Mengle wants to send him to Buenos Aires to open a branch office, she realizes she must act fast. Glancing at the shorthand notes, which Rims cannot read, she puts Florrie's plan into action, and before long Rims proposes marriage. (Curtain) Act II (The O'Neil's kitchen-dining room. November.) Married six months now, the O'Neils live in a tiny two room rental house Willie found for them. Bobby quit her job, and Rims' weekly wages are barely enough to support them. Bobby has made out a detailed budget, but Rims resents having to report every expense, particularly his occasional pinochle or poker games. Bobby feels that Rims regrets marrying her, while she hates their arguments and wishes they could go back to being a romantic couple. Florrie and Willie drop by, with the former advising Bobby to have a baby in order to bind Rims more closely. Bobby does not want to trick Rims again, so when her father visits, she asks him what to do. Mr. Halevy suggests it probably wasn't a good idea to get married, but now that you are you should please yourself. Florrie finds a poker IOU that Rims had dropped on the floor, which sets off another argument between Bobby and Rims. Finally, both walk out of the house. (Curtain) Act III (A bedroom at Mrs. Gorlik's boarding house on East 33rd Street. About 9pm, three weeks later.) Bobby returned to her parent's apartment for a week, before finding a room with Mrs. Gorlik. She only rents to women, and bedroom doors, which have no locks, must be kept open while men visit. Bobby has resumed working for Mr. Mengle, who once again has taken her to dinner. Rims, however, has taken a new job working with hydraulic machinery. Mr. Halevy visits Bobby, but finds her still out. He gets an earful of Mrs. Gorlik's opinions while waiting. Next Rims comes calling; he followed Bobby when she left work and found where she now lives. After Bobby arrives, Mr. Halevy leaves. Bobby explains to Rims that she wants their old pre-marriage relationship back, but doesn't insist on divorce. The Chauffeur for Mr. Mengle brings a package to Bobby, containing a bolt lock for her door as a joke. Rims is incensed and takes the bolt, but is kicked out by Mrs. Gorlik as it now 10pm. Bobby falls sobbing onto her bed in the darkened room, but soon sees Rims coming through the open window into her room from the fire escape, carrying the bolt and a screw driver. They embrace then Rims begins to attach the bolt lock. (Curtain)
The play focuses on the seemingly perfect little girl Rhoda Penmark, who is able to charm her way into getting just about anything she wants. Anything, except a highly coveted penmanship medal that her teacher has awarded to Claude Daigle, one of Rhoda's classmates. During a school outing near the shore, Claude goes missing and it is soon discovered that Claude has drowned near a pier. Rhoda's mother, Christine, begins to suspect that Rhoda had something to do with the boy's death when she finds Claude's penmanship medal hidden in Rhoda's room. Gradually Christine comes to believe that Rhoda was behind other sudden deaths surrounding the family. Her suspicions challenge Christine to look into her own past, and she learns not only that she was adopted, but also that her biological mother was a ruthless serial killer. Near the end of the play, Christine decides to take both Rhoda's life and her own. She gives Rhoda a large quantity of sleeping pills, telling her they are vitamins. Then she shoots herself in the head, killing herself. Rhoda survives because the sound of the gunshot has alerted her neighbors to investigate and they find Rhoda just in time to save her.
Conscript Quizz West leaves his hometown girlfriend and family for the Philippines. As American troops face overwhelming odds there, dreams let him ask his mother and Janet whether he and his friends should sacrifice themselves to cover the retreat or escape by boat.
The Masque of Kings is a 1937 three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson. It was produced on Broadway by the Theatre Guild and directed by Philip Moeller. Lee Simonson created the scenic and costume design. It ran for 89 performances from February 8, 1937 - April 24, 1937 at the Shubert Theatre.
A fantasy of time-travel. The setting is manufacturing town in Eastern Ohio at what was the present time for the audience in the premiere, 1937. The setting then changes to thirty-five years back in time, 1905, and to a few years before that. Stephen Minch is an inventor and Martha Minch is his wife. A time travel machine is developed, the star-wagon. 1905 is the subsequent time for when the time travelers arrive in the same location, at the dawn of the automobile. The end result of the time traveling the world consist of what is to be, and that is just what happens.
The Wingless Victory is a 1936 three-act tragedy written by Maxwell Anderson, set in the year 1800. It was produced on Broadway by Katharine Cornell and staged by Guthrie McClintic, running for 110 performances from December 23, 1936, to March 1937 at the Empire Theatre. Jo Mielziner created the scenic and costume design.
Set in a beachfront grill shortly after World War II, Anderson’s drama explores emotional damage on the postwar home front through two couples. One is the jealous veteran Sage McRae and his wife Tory, whose relationships with the other people at the café shape the conflict.
During the winter of 1778, George Washington struggles to keep his hungry, ill and poorly supplied soldiers at Valley Forge from abandoning the Continental Army. He resists General Howe’s proposed negotiations despite pressure from British forces and intrigue within Congress.
Flagg and Quirt are veteran United States Marines whose rivalry dates back a number of years. Flagg is commissioned a captain in command of a company on the front lines of France during World War I. Sergeant Quirt is assigned to Flagg's unit as the senior non-commissioned officer. Flagg and Quirt quickly resume their rivalry, which this time takes its form over the affections of Charmaine, the daughter of the local innkeeper. However, Charmaine's desire for a husband and the reality of war give the two men a common cause.
Winterset is a play by Maxwell Anderson. A verse drama written largely in poetic form, the tragedy deals indirectly with the Sacco–Vanzetti case, in which two Italian immigrants with radical political beliefs were executed. Its plot follows Mio Romagna's quest to prove his father's innocence in the years after Bartolomeo Romagna is executed for a robbery and murder that he did not commit. Mio's quest is complicated by his love for Miriamne Esdras and the difficult ethical decisions that result from his connection with her family. A highly political play, with reflections on faith, truth, justice, love, and duty, it frequently alludes to William Shakespeare and Judaic philosophies. The Broadway production, produced and directed by Guthrie McClintic, opened on September 25, 1935, at the Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 195 performances. The cast included Burgess Meredith, Margo, and Eduardo Ciannelli. It won the first New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play (Best American Play). Meredith, Margo, and Ciannelli were joined by John Carradine, Stanley Ridges, and Mischa Auer in the film adaptation in 1936, directed by Alfred Santell. Anderson initially offered the play to The Group Theater with the stipulation that Meredith, a non-member, play the lead. Meredith wanted to join the group, but when asked during his interview by the three directors "do you love the Group Theater above yourself?", he said no. He was rejected, causing the playwright to withdraw his offer to the Group Theater. This incident became a source of contention among the group's actors. Members often cited it as an example of "ill-advised dogma".