About the Play:

Gramercy Ghost is a full-length comedy by John Cecil Holm. A young woman has just inherited an apartment near Gramercy Park in New York City and, along with it, the very young and handsome ghost of a Revolutionary War soldier, whom only she can see. As a result of meeting her ghost, her life is turned upside-down, and mayhem results. But in the end, there is happiness for all in this charming romantic comedy.

Gramercy Ghost is set in New York City in the 1950s. Many people have inherited property, but what's it like to inherit a ghost? Nancy Willard did. This attractive girl, who works for a publisher, is engaged to Wall Street boyfriend Parker Burnett. When Miss Amelia Bullock, Nancy's landlady and owner of a delightful old house, dies at the age of 103, Nancy learns that she has been left a ghost named Nathaniel Coombes. As it happens Coombes is a young and handsome Revolutionary soldier who was ambushed and killed in 1776 on the very spot overlooking New York City's Gramercy Park where Nancy's apartment is now located. It seems Nathaniel cannot get into heaven because he failed to deliver a message to George Washington. Nancy is the only one who can see the ghost which creates problems with her fiance Parker Burnett. But further complicating the matter are the affectionate advances of other suitors including a young newspaperman Charley Stewart, who comes to Nancy's apartment seeking data on the late Miss Bullock, and the ghost of Nathaniel himself! There are now three young men (if we include Nathaniel) interested in her. It is Charley, of course, who learns how to exorcise the ghost and win Nancy away from Parker. But it is Nathaniel who ultimately enables Nancy to choose the right husband, and on his accomplishing this he gains admittance to heaven at long last.

Gramercy Ghost premiered in 1951 on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre. This play is ideal for any high school or community theatre group looking for something amusing and "different." A list of slight changes is included in the text, making the play adaptable to every group.

Cast: 6 female, 6 male

About the Playwright:

John Cecil Holm (1904-1981) was an American dramatist, theatre director, and actor. He is best known for his 1935 play Three Men on a Horse, co-written with George Abbott. He also wrote for the screen and several television series, including Playhouse 90.