''Thieves'' is a play by Herb Gardner.

Plot

Its focus is on Martin and Sally Cramer, whose twelve-year marriage is slowly disintegrating. He has become the stuffy

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of a fashionable

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

private school, while she clings to her dedication to the underprivileged and continues to teach in a

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

public school. For him, their new high-rise apartment is a sign of their steady upward mobility; she is so unhappy with his need to earn and spend she moves all the antique furniture he has purchased to their first apartment on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

. The growing chasm between them isn't helped by individual one-night stands, an unwanted

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ...

and consequent contemplation of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, an attempted mugging, and her

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

cab driver father Joe Kaminsky.

Production

The play started its out of town tryout in Boston. As Charles Grodin relates, Marlo Thomas called him in the winter of 1974 to say that the director, Michael Bennett had left the show and the star (unnamed) had also left. Herb Gardner asked Marlo to assume the lead, and Marlo agreed, if Grodin would agree to direct. Grodin ended by writing: "Being involved with it remains the most gratifying experience I've had in the theater." ''People Magazine'' reported that the leading lady, Valerie Harper, and Michael Bennett had left the show and that Grodin and Thomas had joined it. The play premiered on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 7, 1974 and transferred to the Longacre Theatre on November 11, 1974, closing on January 4, 1975 after 313 performances and 12 previews. Directed by Charles Grodin, the cast included Richard Mulligan as Martin, Marlo Thomas as Sally, and Irwin Corey as Joe, with Ann Wedgeworth, William Hickey and Dick Van Patten in supporting roles. In an author's note in the script, Gardner wrote: "The entire set should be only a series of platforms and skeletal outlines to indicate the apartments and terraces. The fact of a character will tell us what must be around him."

Film

Gardner adapted his play for a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

directed by John Berry, which was released in February 1977. Thomas and Corey reprised their stage roles for the

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

release, with Charles Grodin as Martin and Hector Elizondo,

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress." She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

, John McMartin,

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

, and

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals '' The Paja ...

in supporting roles."'Thieves' Film Credits"
tcm.com, accessed November 13, 2015

References

{{reflist

External links

Internet Broadway database listingInternet Movie Database listing
1974 plays Broadway plays Plays by Herb Gardner American plays adapted into films