''Fair and Warmer'' is a three-act comedy play by the American writer Avery Hopwood. It was first staged at the Eltinge Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on November 15, 1915, running for 377 performances, featuring

Madge Kennedy Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and TV actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the ...

, John Cumberland,

Janet Beecher Janet Beecher (born Janet Meysenberg; October 21, 1884 – August 6, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress. Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Von Meysenburg, Beecher was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. Her sister was ...

Ralph Morgan Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), known professionally as Ralph Morgan, was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan. Early life Morgan was born in New York City, the eig ...

, Hamilton Revelle, Olive May, Robert Fisher and Harry Lorraine. Staged by Robert Milton, it was well received by critics. It is a farce about a mild-mannered banker who becomes embroiled in an innocent scheme to rekindle the romance in his marriage using his best friend's wife.

Plot

Friends Laura Bartlett and Jack Wheeler enjoy going out partying, but their respective spouses, Billy Bartlett and Blanche Wheeler, do not. One evening when Laura and Jack are out together, Billy and Blanche decide to try partying themselves. The inexperienced drinkers mix a cocktail so potent that they pass out together after one drink, leading their spouses to think they are having an affair. Blanche returns the next day to apologize, but Laura has already decided to leave Billy and is having the furniture removed. The misunderstanding is resolved by Tessie, the Barletts' maid.

Cast and characters

The characters and cast from the Broadway production are given below:

Reception

The reviewer for ''

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'' praised the play as well-written and the acting of the Broadway cast, especially Kennedy and Cumberland.

Film adaptations

In 1919 the play was turned into an American silent film of the same title. The 1937 German comedy '' The Model Husband'' with

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

was based on Hopwood's play and was followed up by West German and Swiss remakes in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

respectively. A Swedish film version '' The Green Lift'' was made in 1944, another Swedish film version '' The Green Lift'' in 1952, a Danish film version ' was made in 1961, and a Norwegian film version '' Den grønne heisen'' in 1981.

References

Bibliography

* Fisher, James & Hardison Londre, Felicia. ''The A to Z of American Theater: Modernism''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.

External links

*
Script
from the Federal Theatre Project Collection {{Avery Hopwood 1915 plays American plays adapted into films Broadway plays Comedy plays Plays by Avery Hopwood