Monday, January 14, 2013

The Heiress

Over the weekend I saw The Heiress on Broadway.


The play was written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz in 1947 and is based on the Henry James novel Washington Square. The current Broadway version stars Jessica Chastain as Katherine Sloper, a shy and awkward young woman, David Straithairn as her wealthy doctor father, and Dan Stevens as a potential suitor for Katherine. Although all of the action takes place in the confines of the Sloper's drawing room, it's actually quite a suspenseful story, filled with layers of questionable motives.



It was a treat to see a group of such well known actors, especially Jessica Chastain (now I'll be rooting for her during the Golden Globes and Oscars, even though I haven't seen the movie she's up for).  While all of the performances seemed equally strong, it was Dan Stevens and his Matthew Crawley aura that drew audible gasps and swoons when he made his first entrance!

And the next time you're in the mood to watch a classic movie, I'd highly recommend the 1949 film version starring Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift, which I think remains the gold standard adaptation.

2 comments:

  1. That's so funny that you saw that because my mom told me we should see while I was home for break. We never found a good day to see it so I missed out! Apparently Cinderella is coming to the Big White Way (I'm not sure if it's Disney or not), so that's on my radar for a trip up north in February!

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  2. wow, that looks interesting! thanks for this post, as I didn't know anything about the show. happy thursday!

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