City, The

City, The (1909), a play by Clyde Fitch.[Lyric Theatre, 190 perf.] George Rand Jr. ( Walter Hampden), seems to have his world by the tail. He has been nominated to run for governor, is engaged to marry Eleanor Vorhees ( Helen Holmes), and has watched his sister, Cicely ( Mary Nash), make an excellent marriage to his private secretary, George Frederick Hancock ( Tully Marshall). But matters take an ugly turn when his father ( A. H. Stuart) dies after confessing that Hancock is a secret drug addict and his illegitimate son as well. Cicely refuses to divorce Hancock, but when Rand tells him he has married his own sister, Hancock goes berserk, kills her, and attempts suicide. George prevents him from killing himself, even though Hancock has threatened to destroy Rand's career by revealing the family secrets. Rand withdraws from politics and makes a clean breast of his situation. He feared his confession to Eleanor would mean the end of their engagement, but she remains loyal. Fitch and many of his critics considered this his best play, although just how successful he was in contrasting virtuous small‐town life with corrupting city life (his expressed purpose) is debatable. The play was the last he wrote and was not mounted (by the Shuberts) until after his death. The opening night was one of the most sensational in history, with near pandemonium reportedly breaking out after Hancock, learning the truth, screamed at Rand, “You're a God damn liar!” “Damn” had been employed before, but never the complete expletive.