The Philadelphia Story: Compromise and Conflict Unfold in Early 20th Century

BELLA, KERRI, SARAH, TRES, TYLER THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Philip Barry

Awards and facts Nominated for six Academy Awards, the film won two; James Stewart for Best Actor and Donald Ogden Stewart for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was remade in 1956 as a musical, retitled High Society. 1939- It was made into a movie. Most of the plot stayed the same.

Title The Philadelphia Story is called such because it is the story of a family, and it takes place in Philadelphia. The play never leaves this setting, so it makes sense to have the name of the state in the play s title.

Setting The play takes place in the early 20thcentury in the country near Philadelphia. It occurs over a weekend from Friday to Saturday. The setting itself is their country home out in the country. The two major settings include the main sitting room, and the veranda. An interesting thing about this setting is exactly how many pieces there are in the scene. Several chairs and tables along with a grand piano. All of which are used masterfully. Quite a departure from the more vacant sets used more often.

Themes Compromise: Towards the end of the play, multiple decisions had to be made. In making these decisions, most of the characters were forced to compromise. Understanding the Difference Between an Easy Decision and The Right Decision: Tracy Lord was forced to make many difficult choices throughout the story. Often, she was choosing between the right thing to do and the easy thing to do (not necessarily the best). This initiated an internal conflict for Tracy and external with many others.

Central Conflict The central conflict of the play is Tracy s wedding is interrupted by her ex-husband Dexter and two journalists invited to her wedding to cover it for a story. Sandy invites them so they won t publish the story about their fathers affair. Tension ensues between Tracy and Dexter and one of the reporters Mike, even though she is getting married to George. The Protagonist is Tracy, we follow her story and her wedding throughout the play. The Antagonist would be Dexter, this is because Dexter shows up to try to convince Tracy to not follow through with this wedding and realizes she has made rash decisions.

Summary: The story open in Philadelphia a day before Tracy Lord is suppose to get Married to George Kittredge. Not only does her ex-husband Dexter show up, but her brother Sandy invites Mike Conner and Liz Imbrie writer and photographer for Density . Sandy made a deal with its publisher and editor Sidney Kidd to get a story on Tracy's wedding in return for Kidd not publishing a bad story about Seth Lord, Tracy s Father. Even though Mike and Liz don t like being there just as much the Lord family doesn t like their unwanted guest. After a few drink mike and Tracy fid themselves kissing and skinny dipping in the pool late at night. The next Morning Dinah tells Uncle Willie how she saw mike and Tracy go into Tracy s room late at night. George overhears the whole conversation and decides to tell George. Tracy comes down for breakfast with a hangover and an unclear memory of what happed last night. Dinah tells Tracy about a crazy dream she had about Tracy and Mike. Soon Tracy thinks she lost her virginity to Mike and decides to tell George. Tracy and George both mutually call off the wedding. Tracy decided she should have been with Dexter the who time and they get remarried. Inciting incident-Dexter arrives Climax-Mike and Tracy kissing

Characters: Tracy-a strikingly beautiful young woman of twenty-four, nicknamed Red by Dexter Haven because of her red hair. Divorced from Dexter. Engaged to George Kittredge. Dexter-a twenty-eight-year-old formerly married, for ten months, to Tracy in an impulse marriage. He drank their brief marriage. Urbane, witty, and with an honest if sarcastic outspokenness. Mike-a thirty-year-old writer from South Bend sent by Destiny magazine to write up Tracy s wedding. Who is not thrilled about the job. Quotes: Dexter-I thought The True Love 2 . What do you think? It show that Dexter still cares for Tracy since the first boat that he gave her for their wedding was called The True Love . Uncle Willie- I know a formula that is said to pop the pennies off the eyelids of dead Irishmen. Tracy is hungover at this point and wants Uncle willie to make her a drink to help.it show how much she drank the night before.

Reaction: Kerri s reaction: I really enjoyed this play. The character were all very different and fun. The story had me guessing what would happen and I kept being wrong. The story line is well written. My favorite character had to be Dexter, because he was a very really person from the beginning and his personality brought a special touch to the story. Tyler s reaction: I thought the play was overall okay. It had some moments that I liked, and a few pages I could've slept through. I personally don't think it was a great read. It might be a great show to watch and if there ever was a chance to watch I would out of curiosity. I thought it was a solid 6/10 play, until the end. It left me wanting something else, it left me dissatisfied. Overall it felt like a mediocre episode of "Friends". Bella s reaction :I appreciated the way the play was written, and I really did enjoy the story...until the end. What I did NOT appreciate was all that work, all that complication, just to return to her past? The story took a turn that I didn't love, which is completely ok! I have learned that there will be plays I don't like, and I think that will make me a better person, student, and performer.

Reactions Cont Sarah's reaction: I really enjoyed the play, and I liked that it kind of kept veering off from the unexpected. It wasn't my favorite play ever, but I would definitely go see it if a local theatre was performing it. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the way the dialogue felt so much like a game of pinball, meaning it bounced around a lot. It just made the play feel a it too choppy. However, if done really well, this could be a really great thing! Tres s Reaction: The entirety of the play i though of just how well it could be done if actually acted out. The simple act of reading really couldn't have brought out all the wit and humor the play can offer. As to the plays story. I personally felt the ending was a very strong theme expressing the inability to escape ones past. I know most didn't exactly like this change, yet i thought that through the interactions between the two that the end goal made sense. Despite this a solid play in general. 8/10