The Little Foxes

This is a famous play.

It tells a story about a family. They fight over money.

The story is set in Alabama. A woman named Regina wants wealth. She fights with her brothers and her husband. This fight makes her daughter leave her. Regina gets money but she is alone. It is a very sad story.

The Little Foxes is a famous play.

Lillian Hellman wrote it in 1939. It is a classic drama. The story takes place in Alabama in the year 1900.

It follows a woman named Regina Hubbard Giddens. Regina wants wealth and power. In this time, laws often favored men. Her brothers, Benjamin and Oscar, held most of the family money. Regina has to use tricks to get what she wants. She even uses her husband, Horace, to help her.

The play's title comes from a verse in the Bible. It talks about little foxes that spoil vines. This fits the story well. The family members act like those foxes. They fight over a new cotton mill. Regina's greed causes big problems. She loses the love of her daughter, Alexandra. In the end, Regina is very rich. But she is also completely alone. The play first opened on Broadway in February 1939. Tallulah Bankhead played the lead role of Regina. It was a big hit with many people.

The Little Foxes is a famous play written by Lillian Hellman.

It is considered a classic of 20th-century drama. The story takes place in Alabama in the year 1900. It follows a woman named Regina Hubbard Giddens. Regina wants wealth and freedom in a world that limits her. In that time, laws often gave inheritance only to sons. This meant her brothers, Benjamin and Oscar, held the family money. Regina must use her wits to get what she wants. She uses her timid husband, Horace, to help her goals. The play's title comes from a verse in the Bible. It mentions little foxes that spoil tender grapes on a vine.

The plot shows a family fighting over money and power.

Oscar and Benjamin want to build a new cotton mill. They need $75,000 to start this big project. To get the money, Oscar suggests a marriage between family members. This plan makes Regina's daughter, Alexandra, feel very upset. Later, a character named Leo steals some railroad bonds from a safe. Regina uses this theft to blackmail her own brothers. She demands 75% ownership of the new cotton mill. This way, she can finally gain the wealth she craves.

Lillian Hellman likely found inspiration in her own family history.

The Hubbard family in the play may be based on her Marx relatives. Hellman's mother was from Demopolis, Alabama. Her mother's family included a liquor dealer and a banking family. According to Hellman, family members would mock one another about business. This family discord helped shape the story of the play. In 1946, Hellman even wrote a prequel about the family. This new book is called Another Part of the Forest.

The original Broadway show was a very big success.

It opened on February 15, 1939, at the National Theatre. Tallulah Bankhead played the lead role of Regina Giddens. She won a citation for best actress that season. The play ran for 410 performances on Broadway. Afterward, it went on a tour of the United States. This tour visited 104 different cities. It began in Washington, D.C., in early 1940. The tour ended in Philadelphia in April 1941.

Many different artists have brought this story to life. There was a famous film version made in 1941. Bette Davis played the role of Regina in that movie. In 1956, a television version starred Greer Garson. The play has also been turned into an opera. This opera was named Regina and written by Marc Blitzstein. Later, Elizabeth Taylor starred in a famous revival in 1981. Even in 2017, the play returned to Broadway. It featured actresses Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon.

The Little Foxes is a landmark play written by Lillian Hellman in 1939.

It is regarded as a classic of 20th-century drama. The title is a reference to the Song of Solomon in the King James Bible. It describes "little foxes" that spoil vines with tender grapes. In the play, these foxes represent the greed that destroys a family. The story is set in a small Alabama town in the year 1900. It explores how the pursuit of wealth can damage human relationships.

The plot centers on Regina Hubbard Giddens and her struggle for power. At the time, society often restricted women's financial independence. Laws frequently meant that only sons were considered legal heirs. Regina's brothers, Benjamin and Oscar, have already built large fortunes. To gain her own wealth, Regina manipulates her husband, Horace. Horace is a cautious and timid man who uses a wheelchair. He acts as a tool for Regina's insatiable greed and ambition.

The conflict intensifies when the brothers plan a new business venture. Oscar and Benjamin want to build a cotton mill together. They require an additional $75,000 to complete this project. Oscar suggests a marriage between his son, Leo, and Regina's daughter, Alexandra. This plan is a way to secure Horace's money. However, the suggestion is met with repulsion by Alexandra and Birdie. Birdie is Oscar's wife, who struggles with alcoholism.

As the tension rises, a crime changes the family's fate. Leo, who works as a bank teller, steals railroad bonds from a safe. This theft is done under intense pressure to help the family business. Horace discovers the theft and plans to change his will. He intends to leave his money to Alexandra instead of Regina. During this confrontation, Horace suffers a heart attack. Regina makes no effort to help him, and he dies within hours.

Regina uses the crime to secure her own financial future. She blackmails her brothers by threatening to report Leo's theft. In exchange for her silence, she demands 75% ownership of the cotton mill. While she achieves her goal of wealth, she loses her family. Her daughter, Alexandra, is disgusted by her mother's actions. Alexandra refuses to watch Regina become someone who "eats the earth." Regina ends the play wealthy but completely alone.

Lillian Hellman drew inspiration from her own family history.

The Hubbard family is believed to be based on Hellman's Marx relatives. Her mother, Julia Newhouse, was from Demopolis, Alabama. The family included a wholesale liquor dealer and a successful banking family. Hellman noted that her relatives often mocked each other's business sense. This family discord provided the foundation for the play's intense drama. In 1946, Hellman wrote a prequel titled Another Part of the Forest.

The original Broadway production was a massive success.

It opened on February 15, 1939, at the National Theatre. Tallulah Bankhead starred as Regina Giddens and won a major acting citation. The play ran for 410 performances before beginning a national tour. This tour visited 104 cities between 1940 and 1941. Many actors from the original stage cast also appeared in the 1941 film version.

Many famous artists have performed in various adaptations of the play. A 1956 television version featured Greer Garson as Regina. In 1981, Elizabeth Taylor starred in a highly successful Broadway revival. That production generated nearly $1 million in ticket sales in one week. The play has even been adapted into an opera called Regina. Even as recently as 2017, the play returned to Broadway with Laura Linney. It remains a powerful study of character and greed.