Shadow and Substance
Encyclopedia
Shadow and Substance is an award-winning four-act play
written in 1937 by Paul Vincent Carroll. In 1938 it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle
award for best foreign play. First published by Samuel French
in 1944.
Set in Ireland
, the play has a cast of 6 men and 4 women. According to George Jean Nathan
at the John Golden Theatre
on January 26, 1938. Directed by Peter Godfrey, settings by David M. Twachtman, costumes by Helene Pons, and the art director was James C. Scully. The cast was as follows (in order of appearance):
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
written in 1937 by Paul Vincent Carroll. In 1938 it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
award for best foreign play. First published by Samuel French
Samuel French
Samuel French was a U.S. entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays....
in 1944.
Set in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the play has a cast of 6 men and 4 women. According to George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan was an American drama critic and editor.-Early life:Nathan was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana...
"deals with the Catholic Church in Ireland. Its theme lies in the ramifications of faith as practiced by the Church's various constituents…faith that, for all its sincerity, has drifted from its deepest moorings, and the manner in which a true, steadfast, innocent, and unselfish believer, a young girl, brings the contentious others, through the uncorrupted purity and simplicity of her own faith, back to first principles. And the role of the young girl, a little caretaker in the house of the canon, though built out of materials that in cruder hands would quickly betray their spirit and such a restrained gentility of writing ink that, if it is cast at all appropriately, it can hardly fail to dig into an audience's emotions. The straw out of which Carroll has fabricated his bricks and built his play is of a superior quality, and his dramatic structure, as a consequence, mounts aloft with eloquence and power."http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=2152
Original Production
Shadow and Substance was produced by Eddie DowlingEddie Dowling
Eddie Dowling was an American actor, screenwriter, playwright, director, producer, songwriter and composer....
at the John Golden Theatre
John Golden Theatre
The John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 252 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed in a Moorish style along with the adjacent Royale Theatre by architect Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, it opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24 1927 with the play Puppets of Passion...
on January 26, 1938. Directed by Peter Godfrey, settings by David M. Twachtman, costumes by Helene Pons, and the art director was James C. Scully. The cast was as follows (in order of appearance):
- Julie HaydonJulie HaydonJulie Haydon was an American actress who performed on Broadway and in films.-Early career and films:Born Donella Donaldson in Oak Park, Illinois, Haydon began her acting career when she was 19, touring with Minnie Maddern Fiske in Mrs. Bumstead Leigh...
- Brigid (Canon Skerritt's Servant) - Lloyd GoughLloyd GoughLloyd Gough was an American theater, film, and television actor.Born Michael Gough in New York City, he was a noted character actor...
- Dermot Francis O'Flingsley (the local schoolmaster) - Valerie Cossart - Thomasina Concannon (Canon Skerritt's niece)
- Harry Sothern - Father Corr
- Len Doyle - Father Kirwan
- Sir Cedric Hardwicke - Very Rev. Thomas Canon Skerriff
- Sara AllgoodSara Allgood-Biography:Allgood was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her sister was actress Maire O'Neill.Allgood began her acting career at the Abbey Theatre and was in the opening of the Irish National Theatre Society, appearing in many of their plays all over Britain...
-Miss Jemima Cooney (a local spinster) - Gerald Buckley - Francis Ignatius O'Connor (her nephew)
- John L. Kearney - Martin Mullahone (the local publican)
- Almira Sessions - Rosey Violet (his wife)