Candida, a comedy by playwright George Bernard Shaw, was written in 1894 and first published in 1898, as part of his Plays Pleasant.
The central characters are clergyman James Morell, his wife Candida and a youthful poet, Eugene Marchbanks, who tries to win Candida's affections.
The play questions Victorian notions of love and marriage, asking what a woman really desires from her husband. The cleric is a Christian Socialist, allowing Shaw (who was a Fabian Socialist) to weave political issues, current at the time, into the story.
Shaw attempted but failed to have a London production of the play put on in the 1890s, but there were two small provincial productions.
However, in late 1903 actor Arnold Daly had such a great success with the play that Shaw would write by 1904 that New York was seeing "an outbreak of Candidamania".
The Royal Court Theatre in London performed the play in six matinees in 1904. The same theatre staged several other of Shaw's plays from 1904 to 1907, including further revivals of Candida.
Synopsis:
Candida examines marriage and the relationship between husband and wife in the late Victorian era.
It centers around Candida Morell, a beautiful and charming woman who is married to Reverend James Morell, a dedicated Christian socialist.
The couple have taken in Eugene Marchbanks, a young, idealistic poet, who Morell found sleeping on the Embankment in London.
Candida finds herself the subject of a tug-of-war between the two men as Marchbanks declares his passionate love for Morell’s wife. The crisis reaches its peak when Marchbanks challenges Morell to question Candida’s love for him and the true state of his marriage.
Marchbanks believes that Candida deserves his eternal love and devotion, observing that household chores and domestic expectations are far beneath her.
Alternatively, Morell believes that his wife needs his care and protection. However, neither man’s expectations of Candida are correct. Ultimately, she declares that she loves and must be with the “weaker of the two”--her husband.
Morell is the man that needs her care and protection, who is selfless enough to step down when he believes she may love another, and the man to whom Candida wishes to be “the sum of all loving care”.
The Play:
Cast:
Carol Thompson as Candida Morell
George Hartpence as Rev. James Mavor Morell
Ray Fallon as Eugene Marchbanks
Susan Blair as Prossy
David Swartz as Mr. Burgess
Fred Halperin as Lexy
Production Staff:
Director: Mort Paterson
Stage Manager: Amanda Graff
Set Design: Mort Paterson
Lighting Design: Andrena Wishnie
Costume Design: Cheryl Doyle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment is awaiting moderation.