The Women. (Acting Edition for Theater Productions) Paperback – January 1, 1998

Although she had a significant literary and later political career, in theatrical circles Clare Boothe Luce is best recalled for THE WOMEN, a play that opened in New York in 1936 with an all-female cast. Critics were not enthusiastic, but the show was a huge hit with audiences, racking up over six hundred performances in its initial run and going on to a wildly successful tour--something almost unheard of for a non-musical. Directed by George Cukor and starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell, the 1939 film version was a legendary smash, and the play has been twice revived on Broadway and performed numerous times in regional, academic, and community theatre.The play concerns Mary Haines, a wealthy and happily married socialite who is friends with Sylvia Fowler--a poisonous gossip who discovers that Mary's husband is having a torrid affair with sexy shop girl Crystal Allen. Mary takes her mother's advice and ignores the affair, hoping it will blow over; Sylvia, however, explodes it into a front-page scandal, and divorce is the result. Along the way we receive portraits of the women of the era: wealthy women, titled women, clerks, secretaries, models, maids, cooks, and, of course, wives, some happy, some unhappy. One divorce follows another; one scandal errupts after another.THE WOMEN was written in a era in which it was assumed that a woman's only real satisfaction was marriage to a successful man, and it reflects the attitude of the day. Unlike the celebrated film, which focused on acid comedy, the play is as much drama as comedy, moving at a fast clip and taking pot shots at virtually every female stereotype imaginable. It is wickedly funny, yes, but it is also a surprisingly effective argument for feminism in its portrait of a distinctly anti-feministic society.At some point in the 1960s Luce updated the play slightly, removing many distinctly 1930s references and replacing them with then-contemporary ones. This was a mistake, for the play works best as a period piece, a sharp gaze into what it was like to be a woman in the United States of the late 1930s. Fun to read but best seen in performance, it is a classic of its kind. Recommended.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This is a perfect play for a women's play reading/book club. It has fabulous female characters from all walks of life in the 1930s, and is especially fun to read aloud. Not only is it fun, it is thought-provoking providing a glimpse of life before divorce was as common as it is today. Women stayed with their husbands because they had no means of making a living, needed a father for their children and/or they couldn't face the social stigma of being divorced. Because the characters are so diverse, many points of view regarding infidelity are represented and how a woman should cope with the situation. If discussion is enjoyed by the reading group, this piece of dramatic literature, which earned a Pulitzer prize for Clare Boothe (later married to publisher Luce), is very provocative.

I was concerned when I ordered this for my sister as a gift; many reviews said that the book was in bad shape when they recieved it. The one I recieved was great. In fact, I could tell by the spine that it had never even been opened.My sister loved it and quickly thumbed through it. She said that it was so close to the movie dialog and she loved reading along. More than anything, she loved the keepsake, since she is an old movie buff.

This script was a treat to read and to compare with the 1939 movie version of "The Women". Apparently, it is the revised version from the 1973 revival, with references to things such as James Bond and the Beatles. I only wish I could lay my hands on the version of the play which premiered in 1936.Still, witty and acerbic.

This play is fabulous and very different from the movies -- old or new, though the older movie is charming, not to be missed. I wanted to read the play and so ordered this copy. It's a delight to have it in print.

I am the member of a play group which has monthly meetings revirewing the author and the play chosen. I didn't have "The Women" in my library. Was disappointed with the lack of material on the author, but since it is a play script I expected it and found enough material on the internet.

I thought I was getting a novel-like book; instead this was a script. It was interesting to read this format as it gives a lot of details about how the author wants from the characters, etc.

Both of these plays were purchased for the purpose of auditioning for plays to come. I was pleasantly surprised at the great condition both of them were in, since they were used. The delivery was prompt.

Great

L'opera rappresenta la revisione fatta dall'autrice stessa negli anni '60 del suo capolavoro datato 1936.Pur essendo stati accorciati alcuni quadri ed adattati alcuni dialoghi a vicende dei tempi più recenti, la piece mantiene inalterata l'arguzia e l'ironia.Lettura consigliata a chi ama la commedia tutta al femminile.

A hilarious play, and a fast passes witty read.

ok

J'ai aimé le film de 1939. Il me fallait donc le texte original. :o)C'est un texte très moderne qui dépoussière vraiment l'image que l'on a de la femme de cette époque-là.