''The Lake'' is a British play written by

Dorothy Massingham Dorothy Massingham (12 December 1889 – 30 March 1933) was a British actress and playwright. Dorothy Massingham was born on 12 December 1889 in Highgate, daughter of the journalist H. W. Massingham and Emma Snowdon. She was educated at the Gr ...

and Murray MacDonald. It was first produced in the West End of London on March 1, 1933; directed by

Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at ...

, it starred Marie Ney and ran successfully through to September 16. The play's chief author, Dorothy Massingham, killed herself in the same month the play opened. It debuted on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

at the

Martin Beck Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburg ...

on December 26, 1933 and was one of acting legend

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

's first major Broadway roles. Directed by

Jed Harris Jed Harris (born Jacob Hirsch Horowitz; February 25, 1900 – November 15, 1979) was an Austrian-born American theatrical producer and director. His many successful Broadway productions in the 1920s and 1930s include '' Broadway'' (1926), ''Coqu ...

, the notorious "big bad wolf" of American theater, the play was a critical and popular flop, though it had a respectable run of 55 nights, closing in February 1934. Hepburn in particular drew sharp rebukes in the newspapers, many of which were penned by the same critics who loved her in ''The Warrior's Husband''. Columnist

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet and writer of fiction, plays and screenplays based in New York; she was known for her caustic wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. Parker ros ...

famously remarked that Hepburn "ran the gamut of emotions — from A to B." Despite the poor response, Harris decided to take the show to Chicago, saying to Hepburn, "My dear, the only interest I have in you is the money I can make out of you." Hepburn refused, and paid Harris everything she had, $13,675, to close the production instead. Hepburn later referred to Harris as "hands-down the most diabolical person I have ever met", and claimed this experience was important in teaching her to take responsibility for her career. In 1937, Hepburn included a line from ''The Lake'' in the film ''

Stage Door ''Stage Door'' is a 1937 American Tragicomedy, tragicomedy film directed by Gregory La Cava, and starring Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier, Andrea Leeds, Samuel S. Hinds, and Lucille Ball. Adapt ...

'', thus making fun of her biggest failure. The line became one of Hepburn's signature

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s: "The calla lilies are in bloom again, such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion..."

Adaptations

In 1933, the play was presented in the Martin Beck Theatre in a version rewritten for American audiences.

References

British plays 1933 plays {{1930s-play-stub