About the Play:

The Heiress is a full-length comedy by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz. A popular psychological romance about a woman who lives a spinster's life with her domineering physician father and eccentric aunt. When a poor, but handsome suitor begins to woo her, she is convinced that she has, at last, found someone who values her for herself, not the money she will inherit. But, has she? Suggested by Henry James' novel Washington Square, The Heiress has proved an enormous success.

The Heiress is set in the high society of 1850s New York City and tells the story of a shy and plain young girl, Catherine Sloper, who falls desperately in love with a delightful young fortune hunter. Catherine's lack of worldliness prevents her from realizing that the young man proposing to her is not entirely drawn to her by her charm. Catherine's father, a successful doctor, sees through the fortune hunter and forbids the marriage, but his daughter proposes an elopement that fails to materialize because the young man knows most of her expected fortune will go elsewhere if he marries her. Catherine retires into a little world of her own. But the fortune hunter turns up once more and again proposes to her. For a moment, Catherine leads him to believe that she will accept him, but when he calls by appointment, she locks the door, blows out all the lights and allows him to realize that she will not be fooled for the second time.

The Heiress premiered in 1947 at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The show enjoyed four Broadway revivals and has become a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 6 female, 3 male

What people say:

"The Heiress has a wealth of treasures to bestow; it would be foolish to abstain from one's share in them." — New York Daily News

About the Playwright:

Ruth Goetz (1912-2001) and Augustus Goetz (1868-1957) were American playwrights and screenwriters who began writing plays together shortly after their marriage in 1931. Although they collaborated on many Broadway plays, their best-known work was The Heiress.