 A typical day in the life of The Footlights Club: a group of aspiring young actresses who room together discuss their triumphs and failures against the backdrop of 1930s New York City.
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Stage Door, presented by the theatre department in association with the Robsham Theater Arts Center this weekend, is the story of a group of struggling young women who have moved to New York City to pursue acting careers and found themselves at The Footlights Club, a home on Manhattan's Upper West Side that houses young, stage-struck actresses run by the has-been Mrs. Orcutt (Caiti Maloney, A&S '10). Above the large ensemble emerge the plights of roommates Jean Maitland (Sarah Lucie, A&S '09) and Terry Randall (Meghan Hart, A&S '08). Their roommate moves out to marry, but these two aspiring starlets are unabashed in their quest for fame and art, respectively. The play was, of course, immortalized by its 1937 film version starring Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, and Lucille Ball, although the two share few similarities.
Jean courts the attention of film producer David Kingsley, and a month after filming a screen test, finds herself with a seven-year contract and a weekly paycheck with a movie company in California. Terry landed the same offer, but while Jean gives into money and the possibility of fame, she decides that her art trumps those material things and rejects the offer. From there on out, the story follows Terry's setbacks, as she entangles herself with a playwright named Keith Burgess (David Bruin, A&S '09). She helps him rewrite his current script, which brings him great critical reception. Terry, however, received no credit for her work and cannot star in the show because she is unknown. Although Keith has striven to be regarded as a serious playwright for his entire life, he, too, sells out to Hollywood and desserts Terry.
Jean later comes back to New York as a successful manufactured Hollywood product to headline a play. Terry has an opportunity to work in film once again, but she holds out. When producers realize that Jean, in fact, really can't act, Terry finally gets her big break.
2008 Woodie Awards
