The Innocents (play)
| The Innocents | |
|---|---|
| Written by | William Archibald |
| Characters | Flora Mrs. Grose Miss Giddens/Miss Bolton Miles Peter Quint Miss Jessel |
| Date premiered | February 1, 1950 |
| Place premiered | Playhouse Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | ghost story |
The Innocents is a play written by William Archibald that premiered on Broadway in 1950 and was revived in 1976. The play is based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
The play is based on the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The play takes place in 1880 in the drawing room of an old country house in England. A new governess, Miss Giddens, arrives to look after the orphaned brother (age 12) and sister (age 8), who are "The Innocents". The household also employs a cook, Mrs. Grose. The spirits of the former valet, Peter Quint, and governess, Miss Jessel, haunt the house. (The name of the new governess was changed to "Miss Bolton" in the 1976 revival.)
The original production opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre on February 1, 1950 and closed on June 3, 1950 after 141 performances. Directed by Peter Glenville, the cast featured Beatrice Straight as Miss Giddens and Isobel Elsom as Mrs. Grose. Costumes were by Motley and Scenic Design was by Jo Mielziner. The play won the 1950 Tony Award, Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner). Regarding Straight's performance, Mel Gussow wrote: "In his Times review, Mr. Atkinson said that Ms. Straight acted 'with force, sensitivity and old-fashioned charm, in a style that Henry James would have been compelled to applaud.'"
It was revived Off-Broadway at the Gramercy Arts Theatre in April 1959 for 32 performances. The play featured Peggy Feury as Miss Gidens, Carroll McComas as Mrs. Grose and Judy Sanford and Christian de Bresson as the children. Carolyn Coates played Miss Jessel, the ghost. The set, by Gary Smith, was called "excellently ominous" by the New York Times reviewer, Louis Calta. Calta further noted that the background music, by Alex North "set the proper mood for the frightening experiences".
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