The Girl From Rector's
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''The Girl from Rector's'' is a
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...
written by Paul M. Potter. The play is a
sex farce A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy focusing on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors. Overview Georges Feydeau plays, presented in Paris in the 1890s, a ...
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 Pierre-Eugène Veber (15 May 1869 – 20 August 1942) was a French playwright and writer. Biography Pierre Veber was the brother of the painter Jean Veber, and the brother-in-law of both René Doumic and Tristan Bernard. His family was quite l ...
. In 1909, producer A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it was a hit.


Plot

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 Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...
, 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 marry Singleton and break 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 fiancée'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 Roadhouse may refer to: Premises * Roadhouse (premises), a mixed-use premise to service passing travellers * Receiving house or roadhouse, a theatre for touring theatre companies * A truck stop in rural Australia Arts and entertainment Film * '' ...
, 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.


History

Woods purchased the production rights after reading the original. He had previously produced touring
melodramas A melodrama is a dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on dial ...
that were as likely to appear in the
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...
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 Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
. 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.


Productions

The Broadway production opened at Weber's Music Hall on February 1, 1909. It ran there until June 1909, with 184 performances. The characters and cast from the Broadway production are given below:


Reception

The play's content was controversial among contemporary critics, many of whom condemned the play as indecent. Muckracking journalist
Samuel Hopkins Adams Samuel Hopkins Adams (January 26, 1871 – November 16, 1958) was an American writer who was an investigative journalist and muckraker. Background Adams was born in Dunkirk, New York. Adams was a muckraker, known for exposing public-health in ...
counted it as one of many plays of "dubious character" that had invaded American theater. He decried its suggestive dialogue, as well as its portrayal of loose women and lecherous men, and described the final act as "the grossest bit of action that I have ever seen on an English-speaking stage". When the play previewed in Trenton, the ''Trenton Evening Times'' denounced it as "offensively vulgar and putrid". ''The New York Times'' review of the Broadway production said Potter "appears to have gone as far as he thought the police would allow". In ''
The Evening World ''The Evening World'' was a newspaper that was published in New York City from 1887 to 1931. It was owned by Joseph Pulitzer, and served as an evening edition of the ''New York World.'' History The first issue was on October 10, 1887. It was publ ...
'', reviewer Charles Darnton said the play "tries very hard to be bad, but it only succeeds in being stupid".


Impact on namesake

The play's title refers to a popular Manhattan restaurant of its day operated by George Rector, although the restaurant does not appear in the play and is only mentioned once. The play's notoriety proved problematic for Rector, who was in the process of building the Hotel Rector to go with his restaurant. Many believed the unsavory reputation of the play tarnished the new hotel, and held the play responsible when Rector declared his new venture bankrupt in May 1913. The new owners changed the name to escape the stigma.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl from Rector's, The 1909 plays Broadway plays American comedy plays Sexuality in plays Plays based on other plays Plays set in Michigan Plays set in New York City Plays by Paul M. Potter