The Little Foxes 66627 219506128 2008-06-15T15:32:07Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other ''For the article about the 1941 film adaptation, see [[The Little Foxes (film)|The Little Foxes]].'' [[Image:TallulahTheLittleFoxesSmall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Program for the original Broadway production]]'''''The Little Foxes''''' is a 1939 play by [[Lillian Hellman]]. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the [[Song of Songs|Song of Solomon]] in the [[Authorized King James Version|King James version]] of the [[Bible]], which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." ==Plot synopsis== The focus is on [[Southern United States|Southern]] aristocrat Regina Hubbard Giddens, who struggles for wealth and freedom within the confines of an early 20th century society where a father considered only sons as legal heirs. As a result, her [[avarice|avaricious]] brothers Benjamin and Oscar are independently wealthy, while she must rely upon her sickly husband Horace for financial support. Having married his much-maligned, alcoholic wife Birdie solely to acquire her family's [[plantation]] and its cotton fields, Oscar now wants to join forces with Benjamin to construct a [[cotton mill]]. They approach their sister with their need for an additional $75,000 to invest in the project. Oscar initially proposes a marriage between his son Leo and Regina's daughter Alexandra - first cousins - as a means of getting Horace's money, but Horace and Alexandra are repulsed by the suggestion. When Regina asks Horace outright for the money, he refuses, so Leo is pressured into stealing Horace's [[railroad]] [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] from the family business. In order to acquire a larger share in the mill from her brothers, Regina threatens to report the theft to the police. In retaliation, Horace says he will claim he gave Leo the bonds as a loan, thereby cutting Regina out of the deal completely. When he suffers a heart attack, she makes no effort to give him his medicine, and he dies without anyone knowing his plan, thus enabling Regina to blackmail her brothers. The price she ultimately pays for her innate evil is the loss of Alexandra's love and respect. ==Production notes== Lillian Hellman's characters were thinly-disguised versions of her [[Demopolis, Alabama]] relatives; Regina was based on her grandmother Sophie and Birdie was inspired by her mother Julia. The playwright and star [[Tallulah Bankhead]] were at odds during the first [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] run of the play. Bankhead accused Hellman of being a [[Communism|Communist]] due to her support of [[Russia]] against [[Nazi Germany]], and Hellman was dismayed by Bankhead's unprofessional tantrums. After closing night, they did not speak to each other for thirty years. In 1975, Hellman said of Bankhead, "She turned out at first as I've written many times: very, very, very good. And later on in the run of the play, not very good." In her [[autobiography]], Bankhead wrote, "Great as is my admiration for Lillian Hellman as a playwright, I could never again rejoice in her company." <ref>[http://www.hellmanwyler.com/tallulah.htm ''The Little Foxes'' at HellmanWyler.com]</ref> ==Original Broadway production== The play premiered on February 15, 1939 at the [[Nederlander Theatre|National Theatre]] and ran for 410 performances. In addition to Bankhead as Regina Giddens, the opening night cast included [[Carl Benton Reid]] as Oscar, [[Charles Dingle]] as Benjamin, [[Frank Conroy]] as Horace, [[Patricia Collinge]] as Birdie, [[Dan Duryea]] as Leo, and Florence Williams as Alexandra. The production was produced and directed by Herman Shumlin. [[Eugenia Rawls]] replaced Williams later in the run. ==Broadway revivals== [[Mike Nichols]] directed a production that opened on October 26, 1967 at the [[Vivian Beaumont Theatre]] in [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts|Lincoln Center]], then transferred to the [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]]. It ran a total of 100 performances. The cast included [[Anne Bancroft]] as Regina, [[Richard A. Dysart]] as Horace. [[Margaret Leighton]] as Birdie, [[E.G. Marshall]] as Oscar, [[George C. Scott]] as Benjamin, and [[Austin Pendleton]] as Leo. Costume design was by [[Patricia Zipprodt]]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' said, "An admirable revival of Lillian Hellman's 1939 play in Lincoln Center demonstrates how securely bricks of character can be sealed together with the mortar of plot. Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott, Richard Dysart and Margaret Leighton are expertly guided by Director Mike Nichols through gilt-edged performances." <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837499-2,00.html 1967 ''Time'' review]</ref> Austin Pendleton directed a production that ran at the Parker Playhouse in [[Fort Lauderdale]] for three weeks and the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|Kennedy Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] for six weeks before opening on Broadway, after eight previews, on May 7, 1981 at the [[Al Hirschfeld Theatre|Martin Beck Theatre]]. It ran for 123 performances. The cast included [[Elizabeth Taylor]] as Regina, [[Tom Aldredge]] as Horace, [[Dennis Christopher]] as Leo, [[Maureen Stapleton]] as Birdie, and [[Anthony Zerbe]] as Benjamin. Costume design was by [[Florence Klotz]]. In a pre-Broadway opening article in ''Time'', [[Gerald Clarke]] reported nearly $1 million worth of tickets had been sold during the week following the first ''[[New York Times]]'' ad announcing Taylor's appearance <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922525,00.html 1981 ''Time'' article]</ref>. She was nominated for both the [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play]] and the [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Actress in a Play. Tony nominations also went to Pendleton for [[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play|Best Direction of a Play]], Aldredge for [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play|Best Featured Actor in a Play]], Stapleton for [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]], and the play itself for [[Tony Award for Best Revival|Best Reproduction]]. A 1997 revival, again at the Vivian Beaumont, ran for 27 previews and 57 performances between April 3 and June 15. Directed by [[Jack O'Brien (director)|Jack O'Brien]], the cast included [[Stockard Channing]] as Regina, [[Kenneth Welsh]] as Horace, [[Brian Kerwin]] as Oscar, [[Brian Murray]] as Benjamin, and [[Frances Conroy]] as Birdie. Murray was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, and John Lee Beatty was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Scenic Design]]. ==Adaptations== Lillian Hellman wrote the [[screenplay]] for a [[The Little Foxes (film)|1941 film version]] starring [[Bette Davis]]. In 1949, the play was adapted for an opera entitled ''[[Regina (opera)|Regina]]'' by [[Marc Blitzstein]]. In 1946, Hellman wrote ''[[Another Part of the Forest]]'', a [[prequel]] chronicling the roots of the Hubbard family. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{ibdb|id=5450}} [[Category:1939 plays]] [[Category:American plays]] [[Category:Broadway plays]] [[Category:Lillian Hellman plays]] [[es:La loba]] [[it:Piccole volpi]]