''Joan of Lorraine'' is a 1946

play-within-a-play A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

Plot

It is about a company of actors who stage a dramatization of the story of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

, and the effect that the story has on them. As in the musical '' Man of La Mancha'', most of the actors in the drama play two or more roles. The main character is Mary Grey, the fictional star actress who portrays Joan. As the play begins, Mary Grey and the fictional director of the play-within-a-play, Jimmy Masters, are in conflict over how Joan is to be played. The conflict is resolved during the course of the play.

Production

Ingrid Bergman was the star of the original production, playing both Joan and Mary Grey, the fictional star actress who portrays her. Other notable actors who appeared in this production were

Joseph Wiseman Joseph Wiseman (May 15, 1918 – October 19, 2009) was a Canadian-American theatre, film, and television actor who starred as the villain Julius No in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' in 1962. Wiseman was also known for his role as Manny We ...

Romney Brent Romney Brent (born Romulo Larralde; 26 January 1902 – 24 September 1976) was a Mexican actor, director and dramatist. Most of his career was on stage in North America, but in the 1930s he was frequently seen on the London stage, on television ...

and

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...

Awards

Ingrid Bergman won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for this performance — one of the first such awards ever given.

Adaptation

In 1948, an adaptation of ''Joan of Lorraine'' was filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

as ''

''. This film also starred Ingrid Bergman, but it did not use the play-within-a-play framework. Instead, it made the story a straightforward account of Joan's life, omitting the fictional acting company altogether. Anderson's dialogue for the story of Joan was not only retained, but, in collaboration with

Andrew Solt Andrew Solt (born 13 December 1947) is a British-born American producer, director, and writer of documentary films. Solt has had a long career in television. A frequent focus of his documentaries is rock and roll music, its history and star pe ...

, expanded with additional scenes involving historical characters who do not appear in the original play. For her performance, Ingrid Bergman was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, but lost out to

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

in '' Johnny Belinda''.

External links

* * 1946 plays Plays by Maxwell Anderson Works about Joan of Arc Plays based on real people {{1940s-play-stub