About the Play:

My Three Angels is a full-length a comedy by Sam and Bella Spewack, based on the French play La Cuisine Des Anges by Albert Husson. A family faces a dire situation, but their plight is heard by three unlikely angels up above – actually three convicts from Devil's Island working on the family's roof. Using their unconventional and downright criminal skills, they do their best to set matters right. Especially recommended for school and contest use.

My Three Angels is set in 1910, on a colonial island in French Guiana called Cayenne, a region where on Christmas day the temperature has graciously dropped to 104 degrees. On this island there is an exile-prison for French criminals; the criminals are occasionally put on leave to aid the colonists. Bon, non? Well, in this case, three convicts from Devil's Island are employed as roofers by the Felix and his wife Emilie, whose general store roof is in desperate need of maintenance. The roof winds up being the least of the family's troubles. On the way from France is Felix's evil minded cousin Henri, owner of the failing store to examine the books and oust Felix from his business, and his cold-blooded nephew Paul, who is jilting Felix and Emilie's daughter Marie Louise for an heiress. The three convicts – two of them murderers, the third a swindler – decide to help. They set about taking on Henri and Paul as well as customers like Mme Parole who are reluctant to pay their bills. All three have warm hearts and are passionate believers in true justice. With the help of the Lieutenant they prove themselves real life angels to the grateful family. A captivating and comedic holiday treasure also known as We're No Angels.

My Three Angels opened in 1953 at Broadway's Morosco Theatre. It opened at London's Lyric Theatre in 1955, and was followed up that same year by movie We're No Angels, starring Humphrey Bogart. The play is regularly performed in repertory, middle school, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 3 female, 7 male

What people say:

"A completely captivating comedy." — Philadelphia Inquirer

"Exudes a welcome and congenial air of humanity." — Christian Science Monitor

"Engaging and pleasant preposterous comedy." — New York News

About the Playwright:

Samuel Spewack (1899-1971) and Bella Spewack (1899-1990) were a husband-and-wife writing team. He was born in Ukraine, she in Bucharest, Romania, and both were raised in the in New York City. They meet while working as journalists for the New York World, married in 1922, and worked together for four years as news correspondents in Moscow. On their return to the United States the couple began collaborating on plays as Sam and Bella Spewack, soon writing the scripts for a number of comedies for both stage and screen. The couple went on to write screenplays through the 1930s and into the 1940s. Their best-known collaboration was the play My Three Angels, which is still regularly performed, and was adapted as the film We're No Angels.