My Sister Eileen is a play by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov. It is based on autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New Yorker and then collected and published as the book My Sister Eileen in 1938. The plot focuses on Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, sisters from Ohio who relocate to New York City in search of fame and fortune. Witty Ruth aspires to be a published writer, while pretty Eileen dreams of success as an actress.

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  • My Sister Eileen is a play by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov. It is based on autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New Yorker and then collected and published as the book My Sister Eileen in 1938. The plot focuses on Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, sisters from Ohio who relocate to New York City in search of fame and fortune. Witty Ruth aspires to be a published writer, while pretty Eileen dreams of success as an actress. Their financial circumstances force them to rent a dingy basement studio apartment in a Greenwich Village building owned by Mr. Appolpolous, just one of many colorful and odd characters who cross their path. The Broadway production, produced by Max Gordon and directed by George S. Kaufman, opened on December 26, 1940 at the Biltmore Theatre. It transferred three times during its run of 864 performances: to the Martin Beck Theatre on August 4, 1942, the Ritz Theatre on November 23, 1942, and to The Broadway Theatre on December 13, 1942. The opening night cast included Shirley Booth as Ruth Sherwood, Jo Ann Sayers as Eileen Sherwood, Morris Carnovsky as Mr. Appolpolous, and Richard Quine as Frank Lippencott, a drugstore soda jerk with an eye for Eileen. Later in the run Peggy Knudsen replaced Sayers, and Quine was replaced by Henry Jones, who in turn was replaced by Max Showalter. Eileen McKenney, an executive assistant to Walt Disney and the inspiration for the play's title character, and her husband, novelist and screenwriter Nathanael West, were killed in an automobile accident in El Centro, California four days before the Broadway opening. Her sister Ruth consequently did not attend the premiere and never saw the play. Fields and Chodorov adapted their play for a 1942 film that opened while the play still was running on Broadway, as well as the 1953 musical Wonderful Town. It also served as the basis for the 1960 television sitcom of the same title.
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  • Comedy
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  • 1047 (xsd:integer)
dbpprop:name
  • My Sister Eileen
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  • English
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dbpprop:premiere
  • December 26, 1940
dbpprop:setting
  • A basement studio apartment in Greenwich Village
dbpprop:subject
  • Two sisters from Ohio seek fame and fortune in Manhattan
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  • My Sister Eileen is a play by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov. It is based on autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New Yorker and then collected and published as the book My Sister Eileen in 1938. The plot focuses on Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, sisters from Ohio who relocate to New York City in search of fame and fortune. Witty Ruth aspires to be a published writer, while pretty Eileen dreams of success as an actress.
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  • My Sister Eileen (play)
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