Gentleman Prefer Blondes is a 1926 play by Anita Loos and John Emerson, based upon Loos' 1925 international best-selling novel of the same name.

History

A photograph of actress June Walker in profile with long auburn hair.
A photograph of actress Edna Hibbard in a black hat and black dress.
June Walker (left) portrayed Lorelei and Edna Hibbard (right) portrayed Dorothy in the 1926 play.

In 1925 Loos published the novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady, a comic novel. By the end of the year, there was discussion that the novel would be made into a play.[1][2] The play was produced by Edgar Selwyn.[3] The play premiered in Chicago on May 2, 1926 at the Selwyn Theatre, and was received positively by the Chicago Tribune.[4] The play opened on Broadway at the Times Square Theatre on Tuesday, September 26, 1926.[5][6]

Cast

(Opening night cast as per ibdb.com[7])

  • Katherine Brook as Miss Chapman
  • Grace Burgess as Lulu
  • Grace Cornell as Ann Spoffard
  • Roy Gorham]] as William Gwynn
  • Grace Hampton as Lady Beekman
  • William T. Hays as Old Spoffard
  • Edna Hibbard as Dorothy Shaw
  • Bruce Huntley as H. Gilbertson Montrose
  • G.P. Huntley as Sir Francis Beekman
  • Mrs. Jacques Martin as Mrs. Spoffard
  • Frank Morgan as Henry Spoffard
  • Edwina Prue as Dickie
  • Vivian Purcell as Connie
  • Ruth Raymonde as Gloria Atwell
  • Georges Romain as Robert Broussard
  • Adrian Rosely as Louis Broussard
  • Arthur S. Ross as Gus Eisman
  • Harold Thomas as Harry
  • June Walker as Lorelei Lee
  • Daniel Wolf as Leon

Reception

The Daily News gave the film a positive review, although they felt it didn't perform as well as they expected.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Theatre Notes". Daily News. December 26, 1925. p. 18. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Theatrical Notes". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 17, 1925. p. 18. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Theatre Notes". Daily News. November 27, 1925. p. 40. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Theater: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Chicago Tribune. May 3, 1926. p. 27. Retrieved June 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "This Week's Openings". Daily News. September 26, 1926. pp. D15. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: About This Production". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Opening Night Cast". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; "Woman Disputed War Drama". Daily News. September 29, 1926. p. 32. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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