About the Play:

George Washington Slept Here is a full-length comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. Newton Fuller fulfills a lifetime ambition: to own his very own colonial farmhouse – a home in the country. He drags his family out to their own personal "Green Acres," to set up homesteading in a wreck of a house – broken windows, falling plaster, and a cow in the kitchen. But with a little bit of faith and a lot of guts, maybe they can make this house into a home. Will they flip the house or just flip out?! This hilarious comedy classic is a most popular title with regional and community theatres.

George Washington Slept Here the granddaddy of all "Green Acres" scenarios. The story chronicles the trials and tribulations of Newton Fuller who craves – and gets – "a little place in the country to call his own." Newton and his wife, Annabell, and their daughter, Madge, are hypnotized into taking over one of those windowless, waterless, almost roofless houses that dot the countryside. But, Newton has faith – after all, George Washington slept there, so it's even a part of history. The ensuing troubles may be summed up by a search for water, a quarrel with a neighbour who owns not only the brook but the very road that leads from the highway to the house, the attempted elopement of the daughter with a summer-theatre actor – and to top it off, the local historian reveals that it was Benedict Arnold, not George Washington who has slept there! However, Annabelle and Newton manage to make a beautiful country home and fall in love it. Complications ensue when they discover they have spent their last penny on the house and stand in danger of defaulting on their mortgage. Enter Newton's Uncle Stanley, a rich old skinflint, who holds out the promise of a loan to save the house – or does he? Near catastrophe is averted at the last moment through a hilarious series of reversals and Newton turns into the country squire he always dreamed of becoming.

George Washington Slept Here opened in 1940 at the Lyceum Theater in New York City. This gracious and funny comedy was a big success on Broadway and with summer stock audiences in the early 1940s, and has been a staple of community theatres, regional repertory houses, and high schools since then.

Cast: 8 female, 7 male

About the Playwright:

Moss Hart (1904-1961) was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theatre on Broadway. He also succeeded in Hollywood, becoming a notable screenwriter. Among his many accolades are the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Academy Award nomination for best screenplay, and a Best Director Tony Award.

George S. Kaufman (1889-1961) was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. After brief periods studying law and as a salesman, he began to contribute humorous material to newspapers; by 1915 he was writing for the theater section of the New York Tribune, moving to the New York Times (1917-30). He wrote forty-five plays and musicals in his career. The vast majority were hits and two of his collaborations won the Pulitzer Prize.