”As you know, this is a club for stage girls...”
"An actress in the theatre, that’s what I’ve wanted to be my whole life.
It isn’t just a career, it’s a feeling
The theatre is something that’s gone on for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s-I don’t know-it’s part of civilization."'
—Terry Randall
Stage Door is a 1936 play written by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman, following the lives of several aspiring young actresses living in the fictional Footlights Club in New York City.
A film adaptation was made in 1937, directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
This play contains examples of:
- All There in the Script: Each scene is separated by a significant jump in time, ranging from a month to several years. The audience is not given this information however the script explains how much time passes between scenes.
- And Your Reward Is Interior Decorating: Jean comes back to the Footlights Club after becoming a famous actress and brings a portrait of herself as a gift.
- Arc Words: Pay attention to how many times ermine jackets are mentioned throughout the play.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Upon first meeting, Terry and Keith exchange a series of insults to each other. Of course this leads to them going on an unexpected date to Smitty’s.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Little and Big Mary, respectively.Bernice: Listen, why is the little one called Big Mary and the big one Little Mary?
Olga: Nobody knows. - Bottle Episode: The entire play takes places inside of the Footlights Club.
- Brooklyn Rage: Invoked by Bernice while she's showing off her acting skills for David Kingsley. One of the characters she performs is a little girl from Brooklyn."Listen, I did write for an appurtment! You got a noive!"
- Deadpan Snarker: Judith.
- Driven to Suicide: Kaye after being fired from her job and forced to leave the Footlights Club.
- Ensemble Cast: While the main arc of the play follows Terry, pretty much every character has an arc of their own which is explored.
- Foil: Jean to Terry. Jean is a less than spectacular actress who becomes extremely successful in the movie business while Terry is a great actress who struggles to keep a career in the theatre.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Kaye's suicide happens off-stage and is indicated by the screams and reactions of other characters.
- Having a Gay Old Time: Kaye says that her husband was "handsome and gay."
- Idiot Ball: Most of the girls treat Bernice this way, mostly on account of her insistence on writing letters to casting directors as opposed to going to meet them.Bernice: Look. How many X’s are there in sexy?
- Informed Ability: We’re constantly reminded of what a great actress Terry is despite the fact that we never see her act. That is until the last scene where she can’t even get through a monologue.
- Ironic Echo: Judith jokingly remarks that her date from Seattle would greet her with a “Hello Beautiful.” Guess what Lou says when he meets her.
- Jerkass: Most of the men are portrayed this way. Adolph Gretzl takes the cake though.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Annoyed at Terry's constant refusal to take a job in movies, Keith points out that there are many great roles and meaningful films being made that Terry could be a part of. She however discounts them as being the "bastard" of theatre which is admittedly a little narrow-minded.
- Love Triangle: Between Terry, Keith, and Kingsley.
- Meaningful Echo: Terry’s “greatest actress in the world” speech. She originally delivers it to Berger, then repeats it and the end of the show to Gretzl.
- My Beloved Smother: Mrs. Shaw, Linda's mother, who shows up unannounced at the Footlights Club and scolds Linda for wearing a little black dress and seeing a married man.
- Only One Name: At one point, Bernice Neimeyer explains that she wants to change he name to simply “Zara.” There’s also “just Billy” Jean’s photographer.
- Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: Mrs. Orcutt does this during her phone call in Act One.“Footlights Club… Yes she is… The Globe Picture Company?.. Mr. David Kingsley himself?”
- Running Gag: Olga has the tendency to bring up her music teacher at every chance she gets.Little Mary: Yeah we know. Kolijinksy.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After being found out by her mother, Linda immediately decides to pack all of her things and leave the Footlights Club to an undisclosed location.
- Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!: Spoken almost verbatim by Keith, who refuses to write about romance because "romance is for babies."
- Southern Belle: Bobby.
- Stylistic Suck: Terry’s impromptu cold read for Adolph Gretzl.
- The Mistress: Linda though we never see the man she's seeing.
