Shrike, The

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Shrike, The (1952), a play by Joseph Kramm. [Cort Theatre, 161 perf.; Pulitzer Prize.] Despondent over his failure to obtain work as a theatrical director, Jim Downs ( José Ferrer) attempts to kill himself and is committed to the psychiatric ward. Taking advantage of her legal status, his vicious, estranged wife, Ann ( Judith Evelyn), determines to keep him there until he comes back to her. She quietly turns the doctors against him and agrees to his release only after he promises to abandon a warm, loving girl with whom he has been having an affair. Trapped, he reluctantly accepts Ann's terms. Although the play seems to be largely forgotten today, it was a gripping melodrama and superbly acted.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Shrike, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Shrike, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-ShrikeThe.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Shrike, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-ShrikeThe.html

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