A Comedy in Three Acts
by John van Druten

Performed
June 18-21, 24-28, 2008
at
The Boal Barn Playhouse

Production Staff

Director	Allan W. Osborne
Scenic Designer	Jon Vickers-Jones
Lighting Designer	Susan L. Polay
Sound Designer	Michael Blake
Costume Designer	Edna Rentschler
Technical Director	Jon Vickers-Jones
Stage Manager	Andrea Schwander
Assistant Stage Manager	Kathleen Murphy
Apprentice Coordinator	Kathi Lunardi

About the Show

John van Druten was a mid-20th century playwright and, although he may not be one of the most familiar names of the period, he influenced the popular culture of his day and continues to do so today.

In 1951 van Druten wrote I Am a Camera, a play based on Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories, documenting the rise of Nazi Germany. I am a Camera became the basis for Cabaret, which opened in 1961, ran for 1165 performances, and is, undoubtedly, still playing somewhere tonight. In 1944 van Druten wrote I Remember Mama, which subsequently became the TV show of the same name, ran from 1949 to 1957, and was, indisputably, one of early TV’s all-time greatest hits. Bell, Book, and Candle first opened on Broadway in 1950. It starred Rex Harrison and his then wife, Lilli Palmer. It was directed by van Druten himself and ran for 233 performances. In 1958 it became a hit movie starring Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart, but it did not end there. In a somewhat subverted version, it was spun off into the TV offering Bewitched, which ran from 1964 to 1972, and can probably still be seen tonight somewhere on cable.

In retrospect one can see that John van Druten’s seemingly minor canon of work continues to reverberate today. Given this, one may also sense that there is a serious note lurking below the surface of this light-hearted romantic comedy. Could John van Druten also be reminding us that true love is too valuable, and sacred, to be gained by evil means? Enjoy!

Allan W. Osborne

The Cast

Gillian Holroyd	Amber Daughtry
Shepherd Henderson	John Austin
Miss Holroyd (Aunt Queenie)	Melissa Rohan
Nicky Holroyd	Lyn J. Freymiller
Sidney Redlitch	Mercer Bristow
Pyewacket	Guy Murphy

Publicity Photos