When researching Life with Father for my book "In the Long Run," I was fascinated by how critics wrote about Father's "tyranny," particularly since the Broadway production opened two months after Hitler invaded Poland. Here's a bit from the chapter on Lindsay and Crouse's long-running hit:
Columnists described Father Day as a “domestic tyrant,” a “despot,” and a “family dictator,” in one case directly comparing him to Hitler. But these critics also recognized Father Day as a likable and even lovable character because (unlike Hitler) “his bark is much worse than his bite” and he never wins a single battle. While Father is never a figure of derision, the play is a comedy in which characters challenge and ultimately win over a figure of authority. Life with Father, then, satisfies two seemingly contradictory desires. It’s a nostalgic fantasy of family order in more placid times, when the greatest battles were over domestic trivialities, and the father was the absolute master of the house. But it is also a subversive fantasy that shows women and children pursuing their individual pleasures by subduing a strong-willed and intimidating authority figure.
https://www.broadwayinthelongrun.com/ |
