The Late Christopher Bean is a comedy drama adapted from Prenez garde à la peinture by René Fauchois. It exists in two versions: an American adaptation by Sidney Howard (1932) and an English version by Emlyn Williams (1933). Williams's is an anglicisation of Howard's, with the action moved from near Boston to the English countryside. The events are unchanged, although two characters are renamed. The family maid, Abby in Howard's version, becomes Gwenny, a Welsh woman of mature years, and the ingénue's young admirer Warren Creamer becomes the Scottish Bruce McRae in Williams's adaptation.
Howard's version was first published in 1932 under the title Muse of All Work. It was first performed at the Ford's Opera House in Baltimore on October 24, 1932. It opened a week later on Halloween at the Henry Miller's Theatre in New York. It was produced by Gilbert Miller. After the initial run it was neglected and was not revived in New York until 2009 by TACT/The Actors Company Theatre.[1] A film version of the play, titled Christopher Bean starring Marie Dressler and Lionel Barrymore, was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933.
Williams's version opened at the St James's Theatre, London on May 16, 1933;[2] it ran for 488 performances.[3] Like the American production, it was produced by Gilbert Miller.[4] The play was revived at the Victoria Palace in 1936.[5] During the Second World War Edith Evans headed the cast in a revival under the auspices of ENSA which toured India entertaining the troops.[6] There was a London revival at the Embassy Theatre in 1951.[7]
The play depicts the effect on a respectable but not well-off family of the discovery that paintings bequeathed to them by a neglected artist are now highly regarded and very valuable. The ensuing outbreak of avarice affects most of the household, but the family's maid, Abby/Gwenny, remains uncorrupted and virtue is finally triumphant.
^Suskin, Steven. "Revival Restores 'Late's' Luster", Variety, November 16, 2009, p. 32.
^"St James's Theatre", The Times, May 17, 1933, p. 12
^"St. James's Theatre has its Longest Run", The Times, January 6, 1956, p. 3
^Brown, Ivor. "The Late Christopher Bean", The Manchester Guardian, May 17, 1933, p. 8
^"Victoria Palace", The Times, May 5, 1936, p. 14
^"Dame Edith Evans", The Times, 15 October 1976, p. 19
^Embassy Theatre, The Times, February 21, 1951, p. 7
and 21 Related for: The Late Christopher Bean information
TheLateChristopherBean is a comedy drama adapted from Prenez garde à la peinture by René Fauchois. It exists in two versions: an American adaptation...
play, TheLateChristopherBean, by Sidney Howard. The film stars Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, Helen Mack, Beulah Bondi, and Russell Hardie. The film...
appeared as the young Mary Cooper in the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon (a role originated by her mother Laurie Metcalf in the show's predecessor The Big Bang...
with the Oscar Wilde play. By contrast, she played a downtrodden maid in TheLateChristopherBean (1933), a deranged, impoverished old woman in The Whisperers...
the Dark (1933) Employees' Entrance (1933) as Building janitor (uncredited) Blondie Johnson (1933) Footlight Parade (1933) TheLateChristopherBean (1933)...
adaptation of a French comedy by René Fauchois, TheLateChristopherBean. Yellow Jack, an historical drama about the war against yellow fever, was praised for...
listed at the Internet Broadway Database. The Novice and the Duke (9 December 1929 – January 1930) as Friar Peter TheLateChristopherBean (31 October...
portrayed Abby, a housemaid, in "TheLateChristopherBean", an episode of The Philco Television Playhouse on NBC. A review in the trade publication Variety...
company in New London, New Hampshire, including the lead role in Sidney Howard's, TheLateChristopherBean. She ultimately moved back with her parents and...
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional...
been attracted to the stage from schooldays, and in 1935 joined Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre, appearing in TheLateChristopherBean (Emlyn Williams)...
Hollow Theatre in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her acting as the female lead in TheLateChristopherBean there was seen by a talent scout, and that led to her...
20th-century theatre. A leading philanthropist in later decades, she was most proud of her 49-year association with the extraordinary Helen Hayes Hospital, a non-profit...
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different...
1932), Mrs Alving in Ghosts (Arts Theatre, 1933), Mrs Haggett in TheLateChristopherBean (St James's Theatre, 1933). Madam Wang in Lady Precious Stream...
Global Information