''Leave Her to Heaven'' is a 1940 play by the British writer
John Van Druten
John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observation ...
.
[Bordman p.189] Actress
Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...
made her first appearance on Broadway in 15 years. She co-starred with
Edmond O'Brien
Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
O'Brien w ...
. It premiered at the
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was desi ...
on Broadway on 27 February 1940. Set in England, it was based on a true story about a woman who took her older husband's chauffeur as a lover, only for the younger man to kill her husband.
It is unrelated to the
film of the same title, which is based on a 1944 novel by
Ben Ames Williams
Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...
.
References
Bibliography
* Gerald Bordman. ''American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969''. Oxford University Press, 1996.
* Scott O'Brien. ''Ruth Chatterton, Actress, Aviator, Author''. BearManor Media, 2013.
* Derek Sculthorpe. ''Edmond O'Brien: Everyman of Film Noir''. McFarland, 2018.
1940 plays
Plays by John Van Druten
Plays set in London
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