The Captive (play)
| The Captive | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Édouard Bourdet |
| Date premiered | 6 March 1926 |
| Place premiered | Théâtre Fémina, Paris |
| Original language | French |
| Genre | Melodrama, tragedy |
| Setting | Irène De Montcel's room and the study in Jacques Virieu's apartment |
The Captive (French: La Prisonnière) is a 1926 play by Édouard Bourdet. The three-act melodrama was among the first Broadway plays to deal with lesbianism and caused a scandal in New York City. The play was shut down after 160 performances and prompted the adoption of a state law dealing with obscenity.
Irène is a lesbian tortured by her love for Madame d'Aiguines, but pretending engagement to Jacques. Though Irène attempts to leave Mme. d'Aiguines and marry Jacques, she returns to the relationship, saying that it is "a prison to which I must return captive, despite myself". Mme. d'Aiguines is not seen in the play, but leaves behind nosegays of violets for Irène, as a symbol of her love.
La Prisonnière was written by Édouard Bourdet and premiered at Théâtre Fémina in Paris on 6 March 1926. The production included Mlle Sylvie and M. Pierre Blanchar. The production's metteur en scène was André Gailhard.
Max Reinhardt staged La Prisonnière in Vienna and Berlin, where it set records for attendance. It was then put on in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium.
Producer and director Gilbert Miller, working with the Charles Frohman Company, announced his intentions to bring La Prisonnière to Broadway. Arthur Hornblow, Jr. adapted and translated the play to the English language, with the title The Captive.
The Captive debuted at the Empire Theatre in New York on 29 September 1926. The play, staged by Gilbert Miller, cast Helen Menken as Irène and Basil Rathbone as Jacques. Both Rathbone and D'Aiguines portrayer Arthur Wontner later had roles as Sherlock Holmes in film. The play ran for 160 performances. It was the among the first Broadway plays to have female homosexuality as its subject. The audience for the play was said to be predominantly female, with one account placing the figure at almost 80%.
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