The Heiress

The Heiress is a 1947 play by American playwrights Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted from the 1880 Henry James novel Washington Square. Two years later, the play was adapted into the film The Heiress starring Olivia de Havilland. Productions The play opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on September 29, 1947, and closed on September 18, 1948, after 410 performances. Directed by Jed Harris, the cast included Wendy Hiller and Basil Rathbone. The play then opened in London at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on February 1, 1949; directed by John Gielgud, it starred Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft and ran for 644 performances, until August 19, 1950. In January 1950, Richardson and Ashcroft were replaced by Godfrey Tearle and Wendy Hiller. The play has been revived four times on Broadway: February 8, 1950, to February 19, 1950, at the New York City Center – 16 performances April 20, 1976, to May 9, 1976, at the Broadhurst Theatre – 23 performances March 9, 1995, to December 31, 1995, at the Cort Theatre – 340 performances and 33 previews November 1, 2012, to February 9, 2013, at the Walter Kerr Theatre The 1995 production starred Cherry Jones as Catherine Sloper, Philip Bosco as Dr. Austin Sloper, Jon Tenney as Morris Townsend, and Frances Sternhagen as Lavinia Penniman and was directed by Gerald Gutierrez. The play won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, with Jones, Sternhagen and director Gerald Gutierrez winning Tonys as well.