''The Land Is Bright'' is a 1941 dramatic play by George S. Kaufman and

Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), ''Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Ci ...

. The play, which opened as

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 ...

raged and shortly before American entry into that war, is an epic with patriotic themes. It covers three generations of the fictional Kincaid family, robber barons who made their family fortune with questionable tactics in the 19th century (the family patriarch may have actually robbed, cheated, and even murdered in his rise from humble railroad worker to multi-millionaire). The second and third acts follow the family over the next generations as they strive to become acceptable in respectable New York high society. The second and some of the third generation engages in much difficult behavior (consorting with murderous gangsters, multiple marriages, abandoning America) but as the play moves to current time the last generation redeems the family: the patriarch's grandson abjures the pursuit of wealth to serve in the government for the emergency, one great-grandson has enlisted in the Air Corps, and most of the other Kincaids exhibit redemptive behavior and learn the nature of patriotic sacrifice in order to become true Americans. The final act ends with a rousing speech for patriotic action in the face of the rising Nazi Germany. ''The Land Is Bright'' is one of Kaufman's few dramas, as he mostly wrote comedies, satire, and musicals. Kaufman and Ferber had earlier collaborated on '' Minick'', '' The Royal Family'', '' Dinner at Eight'', and ''Stage Door'', and would again on ''Bravo!''. ''The Land Is Bright'' opened on

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 ...

at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

on October 28, 1941. Players included

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry L. Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rememb ...

and

Diana Barrymore Diana Blanche Barrymore Blythe (March 3, 1921 – January 25, 1960), known professionally as Diana Barrymore, was an American film and stage actress. Early life Born Diana Blanche Barrymore Blythe in New York, New York, Diana Barrymore was t ...

as Grant and Linda Kincaid; other players included Walter Beck, Constance Brigham, Grover Burgess, and Ruth Findlay who came out retirement to play her last Broadway role. Future TV star

Dick Van Patten Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...

played a juvenile role. Max Gordon produced, Kaufmann directed, and Jo Mielziner designed the sets. ''The Land Is Bright'' was not a big hit, closing on January 3, 1942 after 79 performances and losing about $20,000.

John Mason Brown John Mason Brown (July 3, 1900 – March 16, 1969) was an American drama critic and author.Van Gelder, Lawrence (March 17, 1969). "John Mason Brown, Critic, Dead." ''The New York Times'' Life Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he graduated from Harv ...

, writing in the ''

New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...

'', gave ''The Land Is Bright'' a review which helped kill the play: "Although Mr. Kaufman and Miss Ferber are far from their best when they now re-employ he through-the-generations story device ''The Land Is Bright'' is one of those productions at which you do listen and listen attentively (often out of sheer incredulity)... it is impossible not to realize that as dramatic literature ''The Land Is Bright'' is something to be taken about as seriously as a comic strip serial, which it closely resembles".

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

was more enthusiastic, particularly of the message: "leaves you no moment when you are not tensely held by the action on the stage... There were times when... the story was slightly overdrawn, and yet... I came away with one great sense of satisfaction, for... It points the moral that the whole level of public responsibility and integrity has gone up over the period of the last fifty years." The play was published once, in 1941, and is out print since, being available only in manuscript form and has been rarely staged since its Broadway run. The Palmetto Players of

Converse College Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits ...

mounted a production in 1942.

References

Further reading