| A Loss of Roses | |
|---|---|
| Written by | William Inge |
| Directed by | Daniel Mann |
| Date premiered | November 28, 1959 |
| Place premiered | Eugene O'Neil Theatre, New York |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | drama |
| Setting | The modest bungalow of Mrs. Helen Baird in a small town outside of Kansas City, 1933 |
A Loss of Roses is a 1959 American play by William Inge. The original Broadway production starred Warren Beatty. [1]
It was adapted as the 1963 film The Stripper (known during pre-production as Celebration). [2]
In 1933, a widow, Helen, and her son, Kenny, live in a small town in Kansas. A stranded actress, Lila, moves in with them while her lover Ricky leaves. Lila and Kenny have a brief affair. Lila thinks Kenny wants to marry her but he does not and Lila tries to commit suicide. She leaves with Ricky who wants to star Lila in porn films.
Inge'Film rights were bought by 20th Century Fox for $200,000 before the play debut. Inge used this money to back the production himself. It cost $125,00. [3]
Shirley Booth was originally cast as Helen but dropped out during out-of-town previews and was replaced by Betty Field. The original Broadway production was unsuccessful, only running for 25 performances. William Inge wrote in a foreword to the published edition of the play:
The production of A Loss of Roses was a complete failure. And yet, I have never gone into production with a play in which I had such complete confidence. Perhaps I was too confident of the play, for I could never really believe that it would not succeed until the last few days of our out-of-town engagement, when suddenly I realized that the play I had thought I had written was not happening on the stage. By that time, it was too late to make all the changes that would have been necessary. I tried to prevent its coming into New York but this would have brought me a greater personal financial loss than I could have handled. I have never felt so trapped. Finally, there seemed nothing to do but let the show come in, knowing that it would meet with failure, knowing that it could have been very successful. It was most disheartening. [4]
Inge later wrote "the most serious mistake I made" with the play was to end it with a scene between mother and son, Helen and Kenny, rather than the depature of Lila, as "it is really Lila’s play, and to refuse her the ending brought about a change in the emphasis on character that confused all the other values of the play." [4] He changed this for the published edition of the play. [4]