On March 2nd, an unlikely sort of evil finds its way into the Fresno State campus. The devious Hubbard family of Lillian Helman's acclaimed 1939 play, "The Little Foxes," will take the stage at the University Theatre and bring with them a torrent of treachery.
Set in the Deep South at the turn of the 20th century, the play centers on brothers Oscar and Ben Hubbard (played by Jordan Roberts and Jay Felix), their sister Regina (played by Hayley Galbraith), and their scheme to exploit the cheap labor of a poverty-stricken region still struggling in the wake of the Civil War.
In the 35-year period following the defeat of the Confederacy, industrialization is slowly supplanting the plantation aristocracy, chivalry and romanticism of the pre-War South. The Hubbards are just one of many greedy and malicious families who will do anything to make Big Money on the backs of mercilessly underpaid laborers. Even Ben Hubbard proclaims, "There are hundreds of Hubbards sitting in rooms like this throughout the country."
When greed and selfishness run amuck, the family conspires to eliminate anyone who stands in their way -- including one another.
Hellman's "The Little Foxes" is considered by many to be one of the major works of the century. It has enjoyed at least three very successful Broadway revivals, starring such names as Maureen Stapleton, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott, E. G. Marshall, and Stockard Channing.
In 1941, it became a movie, starring Bette Davis, Dan Duryea, and Charles Dingle, and even an operatic version, "Regina." based on one of the main characters, was presented for a Broadway run in 1949.
Though is has never won an award, "The Little Foxes" is done continuously in stock and resident theatres all over the United States, and remains a testament to Hellman's reputation as one of American theatre's most powerful social dramatists.
Southern hospitality has been replaced with Southern hostility in what The New Yorker calls "a sinister play about sinister people, a play to put in a small box and tuck under your pillow at night. You may have a nightmare, but they will do you good."
Jeff Hunter designs the elaborate interior of the Hubbard family home; Annaliese Baker the luscious turn of the century costumes and Theatre Arts senior Jennifer Sullivan designs the lights.
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For more information, call the Theatre Box Office at 278-2216
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