''The Patriots'' is a play written in a prologue and three acts by

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

in 1943. It won the

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

award for Best Play, and ran for 173 performances.

Synopsis

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

has just returned from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, hoping to relax with his daughters at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

however, has a favor to ask of him. Hit by tough political opposition, specifically afraid of rising monarch strength, he urges Jefferson to become his Secretary of State. Jefferson accepts, albeit grudgingly. Not long after, he is battling his archrival,

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

, a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

just before his election in 1800.

Details

The show played at the National Theatre and was directed by

Shepard Traube Shepard may refer to: *A common misspelling of shepherd *Alan Shepard, American astronaut and member of the Apollo 14 moon mission *Shepard, Alberta, Canada *Shepard, Missouri, a ghost town *Shepard (name) *Shepard tone, a sound consisting of a supe ...

, produced by

Playwrights' Company The Playwrights Company (1938–1960) was an American theatrical production company. History Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Sidney Howard, Elmer Rice, Robert E. Sherwood and John F. Wharton established The Playwrights Company in 1938 (incorpor ...

and Rowland Stebbins, music by Stanley Bate, scenic design by Howard Bay, costume design by Rose Bogdanoff and Toni Ward, and lighting design by Moe Hack. The cast on opening night was: *

Roland Alexander Roland Alexander (September 25, 1935 – June 14, 2006) was an American post-bop jazz musician. Early life Born in Boston, Alexander grew up with his parents and sister, Gloria, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree in mus ...

as Mr. Fenno *

Leslie Bingham Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

as Mrs. Conrad * Francis Compton as Colonel Humphrey * Thomas Dillon as Jacob *

Madge Evans Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary ''Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model. Biography Child model and stage actress B ...

as Patsy * Doe Doe Green as Jupiter *

Cecil Humphreys Cecil Humphreys (1883–1947) was a British film and theatre actor who played in 46 films between 1916 and 1948, mostly in supporting roles as doctors, aristocrats, and generals. Among his best-known roles were Judge Linton, in the 1939 version ...

as George Washington *

House Jameson House Baker Jameson (December 17, 1902 – April 23, 1971)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 139. was an American actor in the era ...

as Alexander Hamilton *

Raymond Edward Johnson Raymond Edward Johnson (July 24, 1911 – August 15, 2001) was an American radio and stage actor best remembered for his work on ''Inner Sanctum Mysteries''. Early years Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Johnson started out as a bank teller, and late ...

as Thomas Jefferson * Peg La Centra as Mrs. Hamilton *

Judson Laire Judson Laire (August 3, 1902 – July 5, 1979) was an American film, stage, and television actor best known for starring as Lars Hansen in the early CBS television series, '' Mama'' from 1949 to 1957, as well as several daytime soap operas includi ...

as James Monroe * Robert Lance as Butler *

Hope Lange Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ...

as Anne Randolph *

Jack Lloyd Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

as George Washington Lafayette * Ross Matthew as Doctor * George Mitchell as Ned * Henry Mowbray as Henry Knox * Billy Nevard as Thomas Jefferson Randolph *

Frances Reid Frances Reid (December 9, 1914 – February 3, 2010) was an American dramatic actress. Reid acted on television for nearly all of the second half of the 20th century. Her career continued into the early 2000s. Although she starred in ma ...

as Martha * Byron Russell as Captain *

John Souther John Souther (March 1, 1816 – September 12, 1911) was the founder of Globe Locomotive Works, an American steam locomotive manufacturing company. In his obituary published in the Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex Cou ...

as James Madison * Victor Southwick as Sergeant *

John Stephen John Stephen (28 August 1934 – 1 February 2004), dubbed by the media "The £1m Mod" and "The King Of Carnaby Street", was one of the most important fashion figures of the 1960s. Stephen was the first individual to identify and sell to the yo ...

as Frontiersman * Philip White as Mat

Adaptations

The play has been presented on television twice, by NBC in 1963 (starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

as Thomas Jefferson,

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

as Alexander Hamilton, and

Howard St. John Howard St. John (October 9, 1905 – March 13, 1974) was a Chicago-born character actor who specialized in unsympathetic roles. His work spanned Broadway, film and television. Among his best-remembered roles are the bombastic General Bullmoose i ...

as George Washington) and in 1976 by PBS (starring Robert Murch as Thomas Jefferson, Philip LeStrange as Alexander Hamilton, and

Ralph Clanton Ralph Woodward Clanton (September 11, 1914 – December 29, 2002) was an American character actor of film, stage, and television. His most seen performance was Comte De Guiche in the 1950 film ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', the first sound versio ...

as George Washington), but it has never been made into a theatrical film. Ironically, the first telecast, in 1963, took place on November 15, one week before the assassination of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. The 1976 telecast is available on DVD.

References

1943 plays New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners Plays by Sidney Kingsley Plays set in Washington, D.C. Fiction set in 1800 Cultural depictions of George Washington Cultural depictions of Thomas Jefferson Cultural depictions of James Monroe Cultural depictions of Alexander Hamilton Cultural depictions of James Madison Plays set in Pennsylvania Philadelphia in fiction Plays based on real people {{1940s-play-stub