''The Shrike'' is a play written by American dramatist Joseph Kramm. The play won the 1952
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
.
Plot
The play, set in the mental ward of a city hospital, revolves around a theatrical director named Jim Downs, who has been driven to the verge of insanity and suicide by his estranged wife Ann.
To outsiders, Ann seems to epitomize sweetness, kindness and graciousness. In reality, she is a bitter, manipulative shrew. Like the shrike, a small predatory bird that kills and impales its prey, Ann seems harmless but her coercion of Jim incapacitates his free will and traps him under her control.
Ann married Jim in hopes that he eventually would gain wealth and stardom, and so his lack of success galls her. Her mockery and nagging led Jim to a suicide attempt when he swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. The play opens with Jim's being admitted to the hospital, where doctors manage to save his life. Upon waking, Jim discovers that he is legally trapped in the hospital because the psychiatrists deem him a threat to himself and others and are unwilling to release him.
Ann regularly visits Jim at the hospital, supposedly to provide comfort and love, but really to continue her hectoring and manipulation of him. She is able to charm the doctors, who usually accede to her wishes and follow her advice as to what is best for Jim.
Jim comes to realize that the only way to secure his freedom is by cooperating with Ann, who has exploited the situation to regain power over her husband. In the end, Jim is released into Ann's care, thus moving from one type of prison to another.
Original production
It was Kramm's ninth play but his first professionally produced one.
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
was attached to the project in June 1950. It was going to be produced by Jed Harris, then Aldirch and Myers, and Ferrer decided to produce it.
''The Shrike'' premiered on Broadway at the Cort Theater on January 15, 1952 and closed on May 31, 1952 after 161 performances. José Ferrer was the producer, director and star (as Jim Downs). The cast featured
Judith Evelyn
Judith Evelyn (born Evelyn Morris, March 20, 1909 – May 7, 1967) was an American-Canadian stage and film actress who appeared in around 50 films and television series.
Early years
Evelyn was born Evelyn Morris"'The Shrike' 1952" playbillvault.com, accessed November 28, 2015 Ferrer could only make a limited engagement because he was needed for ''Moulin Rouge''.
The ''New York Times'' called it "a plausible melodrama that is likely to scare the living daylights out of you."
Awards
Kramm received the 1952
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
.
José Ferrer won the 1952
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
, Actor in a Play and Direction.
Revivals
The play was revived on Broadway at New York City Center, running from November 25, 1953 to December 6, 1953. Ferrer and Kramm directed, and Ferrer and Judith Evelyn starred.
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...
toured in the play.
In a 1955 production starring
Dane Clark
Dane Clark (born Bernard Zanville; February 26, 1912September 11, 1998) was an American character actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average."
Early life
Clark was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jewish imm ...
, actress Isabel Bonner, who was married to the author, died during a performance on stage of a brain hemorrhage.