''Dear Ruth'' is a successful 1944

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play written by

Norman Krasna Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year ca ...

. It ran for 680 performances.

History

Krasna wrote a serious play, '' The Man with Blond Hair'', which received a tepid response. He said that

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

suggested he write a commercial comedy instead along the lines of ''

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...

''. Krasna based the family in the play on that of Groucho Marx, who was a good friend and occasional collaborator.*McGilligan, Patrick, "Norman Krasna: The Woolworth's Touch", ''Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age'', University of California Press, 1986. pp. 218, 226 The play was named in honor of Krasna's first wife, Ruth. The original production of the play was directed by

and starred

John Dall John Dall (born John Dall Thompson; May 26, 1920 – January 15, 1971) was an American actor. Primarily a stage actor, he is best remembered today for two film roles: the cool-minded intellectual killer in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Rope'' (1948), an ...

. It was a big success, running for 680 performances. Film rights were sold for a reported $450,000 with the proviso that a movie not be made until the play finished a two-year run. The film, also titled ''

Dear Ruth ''Dear Ruth'' is a successful 1944 Broadway play written by Norman Krasna. It ran for 680 performances. History Krasna wrote a serious play, '' The Man with Blond Hair'', which received a tepid response. He said that Moss Hart suggested he wri ...

'', premiered on June 10, 1947. ''Dear Ruth'' was also published as an

Armed Services Edition Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were small paperback books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the American military during World War II. From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million copies of more than 1,300 ASE titles were distributed to s ...

, distributed to American servicemen during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

References

External links

*
Review of Broadway production
at Variety {{Norman Krasna 1944 plays Plays by Norman Krasna Broadway plays American plays adapted into films Plays set in New York (state)