Minick

Minick is a three-act Broadway play written by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman,[1] based on Ferber's 1922 short story "Old Man Minick", that opened on September 24, 1924. Producer Winthrop Ames staged it at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, with O. P. Heggie in the title role. The play is about an elderly widower who comes to live with his son and daughter-in-law in their Chicago apartment.

For other uses, see Minick (disambiguation).
Minick
Page from a printed playbill
Playbill for the Booth Theatre production
Written byEdna Ferber and George S. Kaufman
Based on"Old Man Minick"
by Edna Ferber
Date premieredSeptember 24, 1924 (1924-09-24)
Place premieredBooth Theatre
Original languageEnglish
GenreComedy
SettingChicago

History

George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber developed Ferber's short story "Old Man Minick" into the play Minick, which was initially produced by Winthrop Ames and opened on September 24, 1924.[2]

Ames cast a Black actress, Emma Wise, to play the Minicks' maid, which was unusual at a time when most productions were racially segregated.[3] Previews were held in three cities in Connecticut: New Haven, Hartford,[4] and New London. In New London, a disused theater was reopened for the preview, which was interrupted by the emergence of hundreds of bats that had taken up residence in the building while it was closed.[3]

Cast and characters

The characters and opening night cast from the Broadway production are given below:[5]

Opening night cast
Character Broadway cast
Old Man Minick O. P. Heggie
Fred Minick Frederic Burt
Nettie Minick Phyllis Povah
Jim Corey Sydney Booth
Al Diamond Ralph Bunker
Mr. Dietenhofer Charles R. Burrows
Mrs. Lippincott Jessie Graham
Marge Diamond Myra Hampton
Miss Crackenwald Mary Hubbard
Mr. Prince Thomas Meegan
Annie Beatrice Moreland
Lil Corey Antoinette Perry
Mrs. Smallridge Lavinia Shannon
Miss Stack Ann Winslow
Lula Emma Wise

Reception

The play received positive reviews from critics.[6] A 1924 review in Time said of Ferber and Kaufman, "they very nearly did a masterpiece. The play is amusing, deeply touching in spots, but overshoots the mark by a too tenacious realism."[7] Stark Young wrote in a review for The New York Times, "The whole tone of the play is constantly funny, loving and tragic altogether. The long gap between the generations of these people, the lack of any idea that might bring them closer to each other: the barren mediocrity of their lives, their good intentions, their good hearts, their stupid interests, and most of all the dumbness of human beings toward each other no matter what they feel, these are the themes that are woven into the texture of the piece."[8]

Adaptations

Famous Players–Lasky adapted the play as a silent film in 1925 under the title Welcome Home, directed by James Cruze.[9]

Warner Brothers did two sound film adaptations. In 1932, Archie Mayo directed The Expert, starring Chic Sale. In 1939, Terry O. Morse directed No Place to Go, starring Dennis Morgan.

References
  1. Ferber, Edna (1924). Old Man Minick. A Short Story. By Edna Ferber. Minick. A Play Based on the Short Story. By E. Ferber and George S. Kaufman, Etc. London – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Hischak, Thomas S. (2009). Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007. McFarland. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-7864-5309-2.
  3. Meredith 1974, p. 228.
  4. "Old Man Minick an Unusual Play". The Hartford Courant. September 7, 1924. p. 3.1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Minick". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  6. Meredith 1974, p. 229.
  7. "New Plays". Time. October 6, 1924 – via EBSCOhost.
  8. Young, Stark (September 25, 1924). "The Play". New York Times. ProQuest 103350919
  9. Hall, Mourdant (May 18, 1925). "Minick". New York Times. ProQuest 103477269

Works cited
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