The Children's Hour

by Lillian Hellman

Book Overview

Cast 2 men, 12 women. One of the great successes of this distinguished writer. A serious and adult play about two women who run a school for girls. After a malicious youngster starts a rumor about the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822202050
• ISBN13: 9780822202059
• Release Date: January 1953
• Publisher: Dramatists Play Service
• Length: 75 Pages
• Weight: 0.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

The Children's Hour the Lillian Hellman's play

This play is exceptional and since I was buying the movie also; they went together like two peas in a pod. They were both a Christmas gift for my daughter. She was very pleased.

An Intricate Tale of Lies and Tragic Fate

"The Children's Hour" is an excellent play and very poignantly demonstrates how one simple little lie can escalate into something much more severe. I highly recommend this play to any production company which is seeking to put on a play with timeless themes that will captivate the audience. From the second you meet the characters, you identify with them, either personally or because you have meet people like these characters in your own life. The play echoes the real-life scenario of how things spiral out of control, and how sometimes we are too late to fix the damage that has been done. All in all, "The Children's Hour," though not appropriate for younger audiences, is an excellent example of the quintessential themes of theatrical drama.

A play that will never get old...

Lillian Hellman's play is as good as new. Treating subjects as old as time, if read or perfomed smartly, it can be a huge success. Better than the film versions, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in issues like lies, treason and power. Specially power: the part that gives it all the sense. Lesbianism isn't a principal factor of the play, so I wouldn't define it as the important part of it all. A great read, a great play.

"Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor"

Lillian Hellman's magnificent, heart-wrenching, ground breaking and beautiful 1934 play takes the aforementioned commandment and creates a stunning cautionary tale that is not for the weak of heart. The perniciousness of lying and the often tragic consequences therein form the spine of this, Hellman's first major success on the Broadway stage.Concerning a scandal at a private girl's school, Hellman bravely dramatizes the scars and cycles of abuse which result not only from lying but also from ignorance and cowardice. As I prepare this script for production in the fall of 2004, I find its themes timeless and as hard hitting as any contemporary work.In Mary Tilford, Hellman has created one of the American Theatre's great villians. She serves as the literary model for "Rhoda" in THE BAD SEED as well as "Abigail" in THE CRUCIBLE. She is the embodiment of souless evil, intent on destroying all around her in order to advance her own status. She is the type of character that can truly, to quote RICHARD III, "Smile and murder whilst I smile". As my cast staged a rough read through, the hisses and rage she inspires is frightening.Poetic without being obscure or pretentious, the dialouge is crisp and direct. Hellman's characters are three-dimensional and her pacing and story-telling is impeccable. I hope our production will do this great play justice.As for any potential readers of this play: don't hestitate. Add this to you theatre library immediately.

Delightfully infuriating.

I recently saw a production of this at a local high school. It is one of the most dramatic, engaging, and infuriating plays I have ever seen. If you cant stand to watch supreme injustice, this play is not for you. The accuser of Wright and Dobie has to be the one of the most despichable characters ever devised. all of the characters, from Wright and Dobie down to the Delivery Boy, are engaging and realistic. this is a play that shows perfectly the serious harm that can be caused by "little white lies", and how prejudice effects everyone, even if they arent a member of the victim group. An enlightening, depressing, beautiful play.