About the Play:

The Young Elizabeth is a full-length drama by Jennette Letton and Francis Letton. The story of Elizabeth I from the time of King Henry VIII's death to the death of her sister Mary Tudor by the husband and wife team of Jennette Dowling Letton and Francis Letton.

The Young Elizabeth is a brilliant play set in 1547 to 1558, from the death of Henry VIII to the accession of the young Elizabeth I. This historical drama depicts the intrigue, the emotional unrest and political strife that played so large a part in shaping the character and future conduct of England's first Queen Elizabeth, showing her varying fortunes during the reigns of her father Henry VIII, and then her half-brother Edward VI and her half-sister Mary Tudor.

The Young Elizabeth premiered in in 1952 at the New Theatre in London and enjoyed a long and hugely successful run in the West End, including 504 performances in 1953, the year of Elizabeth II's coronation.

Cast: 6 female, 16 male

What people say:

"With unerring dramatic judgment and a verbal style as lucid as it is vigorous, the authors set before us the history of the young Elizabeth Tudor from the death of her father until the news is brought to her of her accession to the throne…The power that knits together the dozen episodes of which the play is composed is something more than the ability to startle us or dazzle us. It is the power of dramatic creation." — The London Times

About the Playwright:

Jennette Dowling Letton is an author of historical drama and suspense novels. She married Francis Letton, and they lived in New York City until Francis graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Later, they moved to Connecticut and managed a small summer theatre.