Tea and Sympathy

Tea and Sympathy (1953), a play by Robert Anderson. [Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 712 perf.] At the New England boys' school he attends, Tom Lee ( John Kerr) is considered an “off horse,” a boy whose shyness sets him apart from others and even leads to suspicion of homosexuality. Neither the sanctimonious, aggressively masculine headmaster, Bill Reynolds ( Leif Erickson), nor Tom's own father, Herbert Lee ( John McGovern), helps matters. Tom's problems are brought to a head when he is cast as a girl in a school play. The only person who understands him and is willing to provide more than the customary tea and sympathy is Reynolds's wife, Laura ( Deborah Kerr). She berates Reynolds for persecuting Tom to hide his doubts about his own masculinity, then discreetly offers herself to the boy, remarking, “Years from now—when you talk about this—and you will—be kind.” Louis Kronenberger saw the play as “a full‐fashioned theatre piece, a thoroughly effective matinee drama,” and the Playwrights' Company production was also one of the first American plays to directly address homophobia and the prejudices that arise from it.