''The Tree'' is a 1932 American play by

Richard Maibaum Richard Maibaum (May 26, 1909 – January 4, 1991) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and playwright, best known for his work on the James Bond films. He wrote 13 of the 16 Eon Productions Bond films produced between 1962 and 1989, be ...

about lynching. It had a short run in Iowa then was picked up for a short run on Broadway. It was Maibaum's first Broadway play. , Robert Rossen directed and the production launched his career.

Premise

A woman is loved by several men. One of them, a white man, murders her but the crime is blamed on a black man who is then lynched.

Critical reception

The play was reviewed favorably by

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

in the ''New York Times'' and by

Burns Mantle Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic and screenwriter. He founded the ''Best Plays'' annual publication in 1920.Chansky, Dorothy (2011)"Burns Mantle and the American Theatregoing Public" in ''T ...

in the ''New York News''. ''The Afro-American'' noted that it was the third Broadway play that season to feature the topic of lynching.

References

{{reflist

External links

''The Tree''
at

IBDB The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

''The Tree''
at Playbill 1932 plays