The Voice of the Turtle (play)

The Voice of the Turtle
Written by	John William Van Druten
Characters	Sally Middleton Bill Page Olive Lashbrooke
Date premiered	December 8, 1943
Place premiered	Morosco Theatre New York City
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
Setting	New York City, a weekend in early April

The Voice of the Turtle is a comedic Broadway play by John William Van Druten dealing with the challenges of the single life in New York City during World War II. Controversial in its time, The Voice of the Turtle explores the sexual struggles of Sally Middleton, a young woman attempting to reconcile her childhood teachings on the importance of chastity with her newfound affection for Bill Page. The play derives its name from a verse in the Song of Solomon in the Bible, which reads "The voice of the turtle [as in turtle dove] is heard in our land." (2:10–13) On December 8, 1943 the show opened at the Morosco Theatre and ran for 1,557 performances, making it the 51st longest-running show and the 9th longest-running play in Broadway history. In 1947 the stage play was adapted into a film of the same name starring Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Parker, Eve Arden, and Wayne Morris.

The story begins on a Friday afternoon in early April as aspiring actress Sally Middleton has just finished moving into her new apartment in the East Sixties. Even though she has just left her home in Joplin, Missouri for life in the big city, the married Broadway producer she has been seeing is quick to dump her when he begins to feel she is ruining their relationship by falling in love with him.Heartbroken, Sally confides her uncertainties in her friend Olive Lashbrooke, a promiscuous, worldly girl, questioning the practicality of the lessons in chasteness she received as a child and wondering if she is alone in her passion, or if other women share these sensations.

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