The Girl from Rector's

The Girl from Rector's
Poster for an Australian production
Written by	Paul M. Potter
Date premiered	February 1, 1909 (1909-02-01)
Place premiered	Weber's Music Hall
Original language	French
Genre	Farce

The Girl from Rector's is a play written by Paul M. Potter. The play is a sex farce involving several couples in a tangle of adulterous affairs, and was considered indecent by many critics, as well as some government officials who censored performances. It is an adaptation of Loute, a French farce by Pierre Veber. In 1909, producer A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it was a hit.

New York rake Richard O'Shaugnessy is having an illicit affair with a woman he knows by the name "Loute Sedaine". When O'Shaugnessy's cousin asks for help with charming Marcia Singleton, a high-class young woman visiting from Battle Creek, Michigan, O'Shaugnessy decides she will be a more favorable partner for himself instead of for his cousin. He informs his mentor, known to him as "Colonel Tandy", that he will be marrying Singleton and breaking off his relations with Sedaine. He also severs ties with Tandy, whose assistance he no longer needs.

When he arrives in Battle Creek, O'Shaugnessy discovers his rude dealings with Sedaine and Tandy were a mistake, because "Tandy" turns out to be a false name used in New York by his new fiancee's father. Similarly, "Sedaine" is also from Battle Creek, where she is the wife of a local judge. In a complication borrowed from the French original without regard to its implausibility in American law, O'Shaugnessy and Singleton have already wed in a civil ceremony, but need to go through a religious ceremony to complete their marriage. The joint arrival of O'Shaugnessy's lover and his mentor threatens to disrupt this plan. The main characters all end up at a roadhouse, where they go in and out of one another's rooms, revealing their embarrassing affairs. Eventually they work out their differences; O'Shaugnessy consummates his new marriage, and his former lover reconciles with her husband.

Woods purchased the production rights after reading the original. He had previously produced touring melodramas that were as likely to appear in the Bowery as on Broadway. The Girl from Rector's was his first regular Broadway production.

Prior to opening on Broadway, preview performances were scheduled in Trenton, New Jersey. After the first matinee, a group of 25 local clergy complained to Trenton police the play was immoral. The police shut the play down and did not permit any further performances.