The Heiress is a 1947 play by American playwrights Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted from the 1880 Henry James

Henry James

Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....

 novel, Washington Square

Washington Square (novel)

Washington Square is a short novel by Henry James. Originally published in 1880 as a serial in Cornhill Magazine and Harper's New Monthly Magazine, it is a structurally simple tragicomedy that recounts the conflict between a dull but sweet daughter and her brilliant, domineering father...

. The play opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre

Biltmore Theatre

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 261 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:...

 on 29 September 1947 directed by Jed Harris

Jed Harris

Jed Harris was a renowned Austrian-American theater producer and director, and writer of film.-Personal history:...

 starring Wendy Hiller

Wendy Hiller

Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...

, Basil Rathbone

Basil Rathbone

Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...

, and Peter Cookson

Peter Cookson

Peter Cookson was a stage and film actor of the 1940s and 1950s. Cookson, once married to stage and film actress Beatrice Straight, acted in films G.I. Honeymoon and Fear...

. The production ran 410 performances.

The play has been revived three times on Broadway, most notably in a 1995 production starring Cherry Jones

Cherry Jones

Cherry Jones is an American actress and recipient of the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.-Career:...

, Philip Bosco

Philip Bosco

-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...

, Jon Tenney and Frances Sternhagen

Frances Sternhagen

Frances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.-Personal life:...

 which ran 340 performances. It won the Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 for Best Revival of a Play, with Jones, Sternhagen and director Gerald Gutierrez

Gerald Gutierrez

Gerald Gutierrez was an American Tony Award-winning stage- and film director.-External links:...

 winning Tonys as well.

Plot summary

Characters

• Catherine Sloper
• Morris Townsend
• Dr. Austin Sloper
• Lavinia Penniman
• Maria
• Mrs. Montgomery
• Marian Almond
• Elizabeth Almond
• Arthur Townsend

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play
  Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival
  The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, or legitimate not-for-profit theater revival of a production previously staged in New York City.It...
  
  
• 1995 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
  Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
  The Tony Award for Best Revival has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival...
  
  

External links