The Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. It then enjoyed a number of New York and London revivals.
BBC Radio version was first broadcast from 19600109 to 20001225.
adapted for radio by Marcy Kahan.
Simon Callow stars as Sheridan Whiteside in the classic 30s comedy.
Directed by Ned Chaillet
With Elizabeth McGovern, Conleth Hill, Cheryl Campbell and John Sessions.
The play is set in the small town of Mesalia, Ohio in the weeks leading to Christmas in the 1930s. The exposition reveals that the famously outlandish radio wit Sheridan Whiteside of New York City was invited to dine at the house of rich factory owner Ernest W. Stanley and his family. However, before Whiteside enters the house, he slips on a patch of ice outside the front door and injures his hip. He is attended by Dr. Bradley, the absent-minded town physician, and Miss Preen, his frantic nurse. A broken leg turns him into a tyrannical house guest who mercilessly abuses the family's hospitality.
background info for the play:
Kaufman and Hart wrote the play as a vehicle for their friend Alexander Woollcott, the model for the lead character Sheridan Whiteside. At the time the play was written Woollcott was famous both as the theater critic who helped re-launch the career of the Marx Brothers and as the star of the national radio show The Town Crier. Woollcott was well liked by both Kaufman and Hart, but that did not stop him from displaying the obnoxious characteristics displayed by Whiteside in the play. Kaufman and Hart had promised a vehicle for Woollcott but had been unable to find a plot that suited them until one day Woollcott showed up, unannounced, at Hart's Bucks County estate, and proceeded to take over the house. He slept in the master bedroom, terrorized Hart's staff, and generally acted like Sheridan Whiteside. On his way out he wrote in Hart's guest book, "This is to certify that I had one of the most unpleasant times I ever spent." Hart related the story to Kaufman soon afterwards. As they were both laughing about it, Hart remarked that he was lucky that Woollcott hadn't broken his leg and become stuck there. Kaufman looked at Hart and the idea was born.
Beverly Carlton was modeled after Noel Coward.
Banjo was modeled after Harpo Marx, and there is a dialogue reference to Marx's brothers Groucho and Chico. When Sheridan Whiteside talks to Banjo on the phone, he asks him, "How are Wackko and Sloppo?"
Famed actress Katharine Cornell was a friend of Woolcot's and is referenced in the play as a plot point.
The song "What Am I To Do" was written by Cole Porter specifically for the play.
Harriet Stanley, the alias for Harriet Sedley, is an obvious reference to the alleged Massachusetts murderer Lizzie Borden. The popular jump-rope rhyme referencing Borden, with her name replaced with that of Harriet Sedley, and some phrasing changed, is repeated in the play.
Other radio adaptations:
In 1949, The Man Who Came to Dinner was produced for CBS Radio for The Hotpoint Holiday Hour. The production starred Charles Boyer, Jack Benny, Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Rosalind Russell.
It was also adapted for the Lux Radio Theater on March 27, 1950, starring Clifton Webb as Sheridan Whiteside and Lucille Ball as Maggie Cutler. The show was hosted by William Keighley, who directed the 1942 film adaptation.
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One of my favourite Bette Davis movies.