The Late George Apley
(1944)
By John P. Marquand and George S. Kaufman
Cast size: 8 men, 8 women. One interior.
The Late George Apley opened at the Lyceum Theatre on November 21, 1944; it ran 357 performances. It was made into a 1947 film starring Ronald Colman as Apley.
For performance rights, contact: Dramatists
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The Plot
Based on John p. Marquand’s prize-winning best-selling novel and set in the early days of the 20th Century, The Late George Apley investigates the double-edged sword of family honor and tradition among the upper classes of Boston’s Brahmin set.
George Apley is a well-respected patriarch and a Harvard graduate who has carefully cultivated his fortune, his tastes, and his family relations. But, the times change, and faced with two impending marriages that distress him—both his daughter and son want to marry outside the circle of their class and education—Apley finds that he is not nearly as flexible nor as happy as he always believed. He discovers in the end that he is a product of his world—a world whose values he begins to doubt–and that his world is vanishing before his eyes.
About the Play
The adaptation of Marquand’s novel was suggested to Kaufman by his frequent producer, Max Gordon. As Marquand himself put it, “Mr. Kaufman and I are perfect complements to each other. He knows nothing about Boston and I know nothing about playwriting.” Still, the two writers collaborated well and Kaufman directed the show with particular finesse, yielding one of Kaufman’s biggest hits of the 1940s. A fine comedy of manners, it provided Leo G. Carroll with a career-making performance as Apley and remains an excellent social comedy, with traces of Henry James, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Edith Wharton. A particular effective play for a cast of experienced character actors.
Stage history
The Late George Apley opened at the Lyceum Theatre on November 21, 1944; it ran 357 performances. It was made into a 1947 film starring Ronald Colman as Apley. It still has not had the professional revival it deserves, although the Acting Company presented a reading in 1999 with Edward Herrmann as Apley.
Other Plays in the Catalogue
The Butter and Egg Man opened on September 23, 1925 at the Longacre Theatre. It ran for 243 performances. There have been several film versions and revivals at regional theaters. It was revived in 2000 at the Atlantic Theatre Company, directed by David Pittu and featuring Michael McGrath and John Ellison Conlee.
The Cocoanuts opened at the Lyric Theatre on December 8, 1925, where it ran 218 performances. Despite the success of the film version, it had never been professionally revived until a reconstructed text was staged at Washington DC's Arena Stage in 1986.
Silk Stockings' producers, Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, had a success with Guys and Dolls in 1950. Attempting to work again with Kaufman, who directed that production, they ultimately balked at the romantic aspect of Kaufman's adaptation of the film, which he wrote with his second wife, Leueen MacGrath.
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Contact Us Today
Interested in bringing George S. Kaufman’s timeless plays to your stage?
Please refer to the contact information for each specific play on the various collection pages for direct amateur and professional licensing information.
Plays are represented by Concord Theatricals, Broadway Dramatic Licensing, and Music Theatre International respectively
If you are interested in first-class performance or film/television rights:
In the US, George S. Kaufman’s plays are represented by:
CPK Artists, LLC
In the UK, George S. Kaufman’s plays are represented by:
Alan Brodie Representation
For more information about George S. Kaufman or this website, contact:
Laurence Maslon
Literary Trustee, George S. Kaufman Estate
