Tobacco Road (play)
Encyclopedia
Tobacco Road is a play by Jack Kirkland first performed in 1933, based on the novel of the same name
by Erskine Caldwell
. The play ran on Broadway
for a total of 3,182 performances, becoming the longest-running play in history at the time. As of 2011, it is still the 17th longest-running Broadway show in history, as well as being the second longest-running non-musical ever on Broadway.
at the Theatre Masque (now the John Golden Theatre
) on December 4, 1933, transferred to the 48th Street Theatre (demolished in 1955), where it ran from July 16, 1934 through September 1934, and then moved to the Forrest Theatre (now the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
) where it ran until May 31, 1941, for a total of 3,182 performances.
It was revived three times on Broadway:
It was banned in the UK for many years, finally being licensed for public performance in 1949.
The La Jolla Playhouse
(California) production ran from September 30 through October 26, 2008.
The American Blues Theater (Chicago) production ran from May 21 through June 20, 2010.
and Ellie May has a harelip, Jeeter and Dude are thin and emaciated, and the family wears tattered clothing.
Sister Bessie Rice, a stout preacher of about forty, decides to marry Dude, who agrees when she promises to buy him a car. When Capt. Tim Harmon tells the family that the house and property are owned by the bank, Jeeter is given a chance to earn money so that they may keep living there, but he refuses.
The youngest daughter Pearl tries to escape from her much older husband Lov Bensey, but Ada is run over by Dude's car as she attempts to help Pearl. As Ada lies dying Pearl escapes and runs away; Jeeter sends Ellie May to Lov instead.
Brooks Atkinson
wrote: "The theatre has never sheltered a fouler or more degenerate parcel of folks than the hardscrabble family of Lester...It is the blunt truth of the characters he is describing, and it leaves a malevolent glow of poetry... As Jeeter Lester, Henry Hull gives the performance of his career. Plays as clumsy and rudderless as 'Tobacco Road' seldom include so many scattered items that leave such a vivid impression."
The play was banned in major cities such as Chicago and Detroit for being sensational and immoral.
Tobacco Road (novel)
Tobacco Road is a 1932 novel by Erskine Caldwell about Georgia sharecroppers. It was dramatized for Broadway by Jack Kirkland in 1933, and ran for a then-astounding eight years . A 1941 film version, deliberately played mainly for laughs, was directed by John Ford, and the storyline was...
by Erskine Caldwell
Erskine Caldwell
Erskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South like the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was...
. The play ran on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
for a total of 3,182 performances, becoming the longest-running play in history at the time. As of 2011, it is still the 17th longest-running Broadway show in history, as well as being the second longest-running non-musical ever on Broadway.
Productions
Tobacco Road opened on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Theatre Masque (now the John Golden Theatre
John Golden Theatre
The John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 252 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed in a Moorish style along with the adjacent Royale Theatre by architect Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, it opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24 1927 with the play Puppets of Passion...
) on December 4, 1933, transferred to the 48th Street Theatre (demolished in 1955), where it ran from July 16, 1934 through September 1934, and then moved to the Forrest Theatre (now the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
) where it ran until May 31, 1941, for a total of 3,182 performances.
It was revived three times on Broadway:
- From September 5, 1942 through October 3, 1942 at the Forrest Theatre;
- September 4, 1943 through October 30, 1943 at the Ritz TheatreWalter Kerr TheatreThe Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
; and - March 6, 1950 through March 18, 1950 at the 48th Street Theatre.
It was banned in the UK for many years, finally being licensed for public performance in 1949.
The La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
(California) production ran from September 30 through October 26, 2008.
The American Blues Theater (Chicago) production ran from May 21 through June 20, 2010.
Plot synopsis
In desolate farm country in Georgia the profitable tobacco crop has given way to cotton plantations, but poor planting practices have depleted the soil. The Lester family were once sharecroppers but are now poverty-stricken and unable to cope with the bleak life they face. Jeeter Lester, the patriarch, lives in squalor with his wife Ada, their two children, 16-year-old Dude and 18-year-old Ellie May, and his mother. Ada is suffering from pellagraPellagra
Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin in the diet. It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin or tryptophan, and possibly by excessive intake of leucine. It may also result from alterations in protein metabolism in disorders such as carcinoid...
and Ellie May has a harelip, Jeeter and Dude are thin and emaciated, and the family wears tattered clothing.
Sister Bessie Rice, a stout preacher of about forty, decides to marry Dude, who agrees when she promises to buy him a car. When Capt. Tim Harmon tells the family that the house and property are owned by the bank, Jeeter is given a chance to earn money so that they may keep living there, but he refuses.
The youngest daughter Pearl tries to escape from her much older husband Lov Bensey, but Ada is run over by Dude's car as she attempts to help Pearl. As Ada lies dying Pearl escapes and runs away; Jeeter sends Ellie May to Lov instead.
Characters and cast
- Jeeter Lester – Henry HullHenry HullHenry Watterson Hull was an American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's Werewolf of London .-Life and career:Hull was born in Louisville, Kentucky...
- Ellie May Lester – Ruth Hunter
- Dude Lester – Sam Byrd
- Ada Lester – Margaret WycherlyMargaret WycherlyMargaret Wycherly was an English stage and film actress.-Early life:Wycherly was born Margaret De Wolfe in London, England of American parents, Dr. and Mrs. J. L. De Wolfe. She was married to writer Bayard Veiller in 1901. They had a son, Anthony Veiller , who also became a writer...
- Capt. Tim Harmon – Lamar King
- Granma Lester – Patricia Quinn
- Sister Bessie Rice – Maude OdellMaude OdellMaude Odell was an actress. Also known as Tillie Doremus, she was one of the United States' best-known stage actresses of the early 20th century....
- Lov Bensey – Dean JaggerDean JaggerDean Jagger was an Academy Award winning American film actor.-Career:Born Ira Dean Jagger in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Jagger made his film debut in The Woman from Hell with Mary Astor...
- Pearl – Reneice Rehan
Response
The play received unfavorable reviews, but gained audiences after ticket prices were cut (from $3.30 to $1.10, 1930s dollars). The show also toured, becoming "phenomenal" on the road, playing repeat engagements.Brooks Atkinson
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960...
wrote: "The theatre has never sheltered a fouler or more degenerate parcel of folks than the hardscrabble family of Lester...It is the blunt truth of the characters he is describing, and it leaves a malevolent glow of poetry... As Jeeter Lester, Henry Hull gives the performance of his career. Plays as clumsy and rudderless as 'Tobacco Road' seldom include so many scattered items that leave such a vivid impression."
The play was banned in major cities such as Chicago and Detroit for being sensational and immoral.