About the Play:

Father of the Bride is a full-length comedy adapted for the stage by Caroline Francke from the classic novel by Edward Streeter. This hilarious comedy is about a father who is overwhelmed by all of the turmoil – not to mention finances – caused by his daughter's out of control wedding. Wedding planners, florists, dress makers and pretty much everyone and everything that goes with a wedding invade his home as the wedding plans get bigger and more outrageous by the day!

Father of the Bride follows the misadventures of a father as he prepares for the wedding of his only daughter. Stanley Banks is just your ordinary suburban dad. He's the kind of guy who believes that weddings are a simple affair in which two people get married. But when daddy's little girl Kay announces her engagement out of nowhere, Mr. Banks learns that one of the young men he has seen occasionally about the house is about to become his son-in-law. Mrs. Banks and her sons are happy, but Mr. Banks feels like his life has been turned upside down. The groom-to-be, Buckley Dunstan, appears on the scene and Mr. Banks realizes that the engagement is serious. Buckley and Kay don't want a "big" wedding – just a simple affair with a few friends! Before long, though, that the "few" friends idea is out. Then trouble really begins. The guest list grows larger each day, a caterer is called in, florists, furniture movers and dressmakers take over, and the Banks household is soon caught in turmoil – not to mention spiralling costs. When Kay, in a fit of temper, calls off the wedding, everyone's patience snaps. But all is set right, and the wedding (despite more last-minute crises) comes off beautifully. In the end, the father of the bride is a happy, proud man, glad that the wedding is over, but knowing too that it was worth all the money and aggravation to start his daughter off so handsomely on the road to married life. Father of the Bride continues to touch the hearts of new generations of fathers, daughters and families as we carry on with the age-old challenges of coming to terms with love and marriage.

Father Of The Bride is a timeless comedy. Edward Streeter published the original novel, of the same title, in 1949. It was quickly adapted for silver-screen in 1950, staring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor. The following year, playwright Caroline Francke adapted the famous film and novel for the stage. This stage adaptation has been consistently delighting audiences, and has become a staple of community theatres, regional repertory houses, and high schools.

Cast: 7 female, 11 male, 3 or 4 extras

About the Playwright:

Edward Streeter (1891-1976) was an American novelist and journalist. A graduate of Harvard University, he had two quite diverse careers: banking and writing. He started his career as the World War I correspondent and travel writer for the Buffalo Express. After the war, he became a successful businessman. Although he became vice-president of the Bank of New York, it was his books of humour that made him famous. Of the dozen novels he wrote, his best-known work was Father of the Bride, published in 1949, in which a dismayed but happy father surveys the cost and chaos of his daughter's marriage.

Caroline Francke (1899-1960) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Her first Broadway show was Exceeding Small, a play about young lovers. The play received excellent critical notices. In 1933 she and Mack Crane wrote the screenplay for Bombshell, which starred Jean Harlow and Lee Tracy. During the 1940s Caroline Francke was co-author of scripts for the "Henry Aldrich" radio program. Later she wrote the play Father of the Bride from the book by the same name.