The Reluctant Debutante (play)

Last updated

The Reluctant Debutante is a 1955 play by the British playwright William Douglas Home.

Contents

It was first performed (for a 'try-out' week) at the Theatre Royal Brighton after William Douglas-Home spotted the untrained 17-year-old actress Anna Massey and brought her in to audition for the title role. [1] After she wowed the Brighton audiences the play quickly transferred to the Cambridge Theatre, London on 24 May 1955, where it enjoyed a long run [2] with Wilfrid Hyde-White continuing to play the father and Celia Johnson the neurotic mother, Sheila Broadbent. The production was directed by Jack Minster. [3]

On 30 June 1955 MGM bought the film and stage rights to this hit London success [4] with the aim of taking it to Broadway.

In 1956 the play premièred on Broadway at the Henry Miller's Theatre with a mostly changed cast but still with Anna Massey in the lead and Wilfrid Hyde-White playing her father [5]

Plot

The plot follows an aristocratic family through one of London's debutante seasons. It is a light-hearted, almost farcical comedy which revolves around the mother's deep anxiety and attempts to avoid scandal after she confuses two men (both called David) and accidentally sets up her daughter with 'David Hoylake-Johnston' (who has a reputation as a philanderer) instead of 'David Bulloch' (whom she believes to be the perfect match for her daughter).

The debutante season was designed for aristocratic parents to find well-connected potential suitors for their daughters by throwing (often very expensive) parties and inviting eligible bachelors. 'Sheila Broadbent', the mother of Jane (the eponymous 'Reluctant Debutante'), is terrified that her daughter will lose the chance to meet a good husband if there is a scandal - i.e. 'David Hoylake-Johnston' charming her into having sex, something he is rumoured to have done with other girls. But the rumours are only rumours so she cannot be rude to him, especially after she accidentally invites him to be Jane's date for the night.

Cast

Character1955–6 UK production1956–7 Broadway production1958 movie1966 ITV Play of the Week2011 UK production
Jane Broadbent
Anna Massey
Sandra Dee Philippa Gail Louise Calf
Jimmy Broadbent
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Rex Harrison Leslie Phillips Clive Francis
Sheila Broadbent Celia Johnson Adrianne Allen Kay Kendall Joan Greenwood Jane Asher
David Hoylake-Johnston
John Merivale
John Saxon Paul Ferris Ed Cooper Clarke
David Bulloch Peter Myers David Cole Peter Myers Raymond Clarke Alex Felton
Mabel Crosswaite Ambrosine Phillpotts Brenda Forbes Angela Lansbury Georgina Cookson Belinda Lang
Clarrissa Crosswaite Anna Steele Christina Gillespie Diane Clare Anna Carteret Lucy May Barker
Mrs. Edgar Gwynne Whitby Renee Gadd Ambrosine Phillpotts Virginia Clay Andrea Miller

Related Research Articles

Diana Rigg British actress

Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg was an English actress of stage and screen. Some of her notable roles were as Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969); Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–2017) and in her performance as Medea on Broadway and in the UK.

Kay Kendall English actress and comedienne

Kay Kendall was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film London Town (1946). Although the film was a financial failure, Kendall continued to work regularly until her appearance in the comedy film Genevieve (1953) brought her widespread recognition. Prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in the musical-comedy film Les Girls (1957).

Anna Massey English actress

Anna Raymond Massey was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel Hotel du Lac, a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, has said "could have been written for her".

Sheila Hancock British actress

Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock is an English actress and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musicals in London, and her Broadway debut in Entertaining Mr Sloane (1966) earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in Play.

Joan Hackett American actress

Joan Ann Hackett was an American actress of film, stage and television. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress for the 1966 film The Group, and starred in the 1967 western Will Penny. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1981 film Only When I Laugh. She also starred as Christine Mannon in the 1978 PBS miniseries version of Mourning Becomes Electra.

Wilfrid Hyde-White English actor

Wilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor of stage, film and television, who achieved international recognition in his later years for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical My Fair Lady (1964).

Ursula Jeans

Ursula Jeans was an English film, stage, and television actress.

<i>The Reluctant Debutante</i> (film) 1958 film by Vincente Minnelli

The Reluctant Debutante is a 1958 American Metrocolor comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Pandro S. Berman from a screenplay by Julius J. Epstein and William Douglas-Home based on Douglas-Home's play of the same name. The music score is by Eddie Warner and the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg.

Alison Leggatt

Alison Joy Leggatt was an English character actress.

Avis Bunnage

Avis Bunnage was an English actress of film, stage and television.

Adrianne Allen

Adrianne Allen was an English stage actress.

Jane Baxter British actress

Jane Baxter was a British actress. Her stage career spanned half a century, and she appeared in a number of films and in television.

Athole Stewart

Athole Chalmers Stewart was a British stage and latterly film actor, often in authoritarian or aristocratic roles.

Fanny Rowe

Frances Rowe was an English stage, film and television actress.

Philippa Gail

Philippa Gail (1942–1999) was a British theatre, film and television actress. The Guardian called her "An actress of power and passion who mingled sex appeal with forthright emotion."

Arnold Marlé German actor

Arnold Marlé was a German actor who appeared largely in British films and television programmes.

Ed Cooper Clarke is a writer and actor from London, England.

Jean Forbes-Robertson English actress (1905-1962)

Jean Forbes-Robertson was an English actress. A versatile Shakespearean actress, she was often cast in boys' roles because of her slim build, playing Jim Hawkins in a stage version of Treasure Island, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and, most famously, the title role in Peter Pan.

Sally Smith is a British actress born in Godalming, Surrey. Although primarily a star of both dramatic and musical theatre she appeared in several films and dozens of television shows.

Mignon ODoherty Australian actress

Mignon O'Doherty was an Australian actress who worked in British theatre, film and television.

References

  1. ↑ "St. Joseph Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-07. Retrieved 2009-11-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "Production of The Reluctant Debutante | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  4. ↑ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  5. ↑ "The Reluctant Debutante Original Broadway Cast - 1956 Broadway". www.broadwayworld.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.