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jezziebelle's review against another edition
3.0
For context, I read this play as part of a collection of various Lillian Hellman plays. 'The Children's Hour' is the reason I picked it up, but this is the play that has made me happy I did. Once again, I curse Goodreads due to lack of half-stars; this is a 3.5 star play. It exceeded my expectations, especially since it came after 'Days to Come', a completely lackluster piece. After I'd finished 'Foxes', I caught myself wishing it was longer because I really would have loved to find out how Alexandra, Birdie, and Leo turned out. Being stuck in a family like the Hubbard family must surely be hell to escape from. Even poor Leo, who grew so desperate to gain his family's approval so much so that he'd steal from his own boss and uncle deserved something better in my opinion. What struck me about this the most is this is how I expected an Oscar Wilde piece to play out. Yes his work is all very witty, but every play I've read of his is based around the exact same joke, over and over, while 'Foxes' manages to be both witty and poignant. With Wilde, the wit was more or less used for comedic purposes only. It was witty for the sake of being witty so every snarky, sarcastic, clever word fell flat for me because there was no substance to it in regards to the plot of the play. In fact, half the time I found Wilde would have characters go on and on without them really saying anything at all. In 'Foxes', wit served a purpose and drove the plot forward while also being entertaining, so this play delivered for me what I had hoped other, more notable, playwrights could not. I'd never even heard of Lillian Hellman until I read the synopsis for 'The Children's Hour' randomly on Goodreads. I could only get ahold of that play by borrowing a book of collected plays from my library. Now I'm happy I kept reading after I'd finished the play I picked it up for. This isn't the best play I've ever read, but it's the best play I've ever read that I've picked randomly. I could see the ending coming, but the characters were so well written I didn't care that I saw the 'twist' coming a mile away. Hellman writes her characters superbly, even if the story she places them in can't hold up. I hope the collection doesn't go downhill from here, because I'm finally starting to enjoy this!
tefiiestigarribia's review against another edition
3.0
"I´m not going to stand around and watch you do it. Tell him I´ll be fighting as hard as he´ll be fighting some place where people dont just stand around and watch."
lukas_sotola's review against another edition
4.0
This was excellent! It seems to me almost like an anti-comedy. Very powerful.
carolinee's review against another edition
3.0
don't know why im rating this
anyway i read it for a class and that's it
anyway i read it for a class and that's it
jessferg's review against another edition
3.0
While this is a great play, it's hard to see how this created such a fuss given our current tell-all/reality-tv society. I would love to see a modern-day casting (and then she does a quick search to see that not only has there a been an award-winning Broadway production but that it closed TODAY - c'est la vie, right folks?*) to see how some of the finer points are treated.
The story involves back-stabbing family members who dig themselves in too deep and ignore matters of life and death, while women struggle to elevate their standing. There is minor commentary on the lives of the two black servant characters (and the "n" word flies around a shocking number of times - did they do that in the modern production?) but Hellman's focus is really the issue of the role of white wives in the early 20th century.
Her two main female characters are polar opposites; a nervous, shrinking violet, and a power-hungry schemer. While both are obvious stereotypes Hellman manages to give them enough personality that they don't feel that way in the course of their dialogue. The same is true of the male characters who maintain enough personality differences to not only keep them clearly separate as you read along but to also force a sense of allegiance or hatred.
Probably the most accessible of Hellman's work so I have to recommend it to anyone wanting to read something in her oeuvre.
*in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production, the two wives' roles are swapped even during the same show by the actresses playing them. Gimmick to keep an out-of-date play interesting and showcase talent, or something more?
The story involves back-stabbing family members who dig themselves in too deep and ignore matters of life and death, while women struggle to elevate their standing. There is minor commentary on the lives of the two black servant characters (and the "n" word flies around a shocking number of times - did they do that in the modern production?) but Hellman's focus is really the issue of the role of white wives in the early 20th century.
Her two main female characters are polar opposites; a nervous, shrinking violet, and a power-hungry schemer. While both are obvious stereotypes Hellman manages to give them enough personality that they don't feel that way in the course of their dialogue. The same is true of the male characters who maintain enough personality differences to not only keep them clearly separate as you read along but to also force a sense of allegiance or hatred.
Probably the most accessible of Hellman's work so I have to recommend it to anyone wanting to read something in her oeuvre.
*in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production, the two wives' roles are swapped even during the same show by the actresses playing them. Gimmick to keep an out-of-date play interesting and showcase talent, or something more?
morgankailackerman's review against another edition
2.0
I was not the biggest fan of this play. Nothing really happened until the last few pages. Maybe it would be better to see live (as most theatre is) but the story wasn’t intriguing. I wasn’t interested in any of the characters, and could barely keep track of them. The whole story was about money. It was unfeminist (I mean Regina kills someone at the end? Good job making the women the villains), and a little bit racist. Maybe it was of the time, but there are two specific black characters and they seem very stereotypes. Overall - I wouldn’t choose the play to put on.
mira123's review against another edition
4.0
Heute hab ich wieder einen Klassiker für euch. Und ausnahmsweise war es sogar einer, den ich eigentlich ziemlich unterhaltsam fand. In "The Little Foxes" geht es um die Familie Hubbard, die durch ein Erbe reich geworden ist. Allerdings wurde das auf die Familie aufgeteilt und einen Teil davon hat Horace. Blöd nur, dass Ben und Oscar eigentlich das Geld investieren wollen und wissen, dass Horace ihnen keinen Cent davon geben wird. Zumindest nicht freiwillig....
Ben ist ein ziemlicher A****, um das mal ganz klar zu sagen und Oscar ist auch nur wenig besser. Dann ist da noch Leo, der in einer Bank arbeitet und Bens Sohn ist, wenn ich das richtig verstanden habe. Und dann gibt's da noch Regina, die eigentlich mit Horace verheiratet ist, ihn aber seit Jahren ständig und ganz offiziell betrügt, Alexandra, die Tochter von Horace und Regina, die mit Leo verheiratet werden soll und Birdie, eine herzensgute Frau, die leider mit Ben verheiratet ist und von ihm ständig tyrannisiert wird. Merkt ihr schon an der Beschreibung, wieviel Potential für Drama es hier gibt? Lasst mich nur eines sagen: Dieses Potential wurde zu hundert Prozent genutzt! Diese ganzen Fernsehserien sind nichts dagegen! Es geht um Liebe und Hass, um Leben und Tod, um Intrigen und um Klatsch und Tratsch und Lügen und die Wahrheit und wirklich alles, was dazwischen liegt. Es geht um den Wunsch nach Reichtum und um das Sehnen nach einem einfacheren Leben. Und das alles gleichzeitig!
Besonders gut haben mir die Dialoge gefallen, die zwischen diesen unterschiedlichen Figuren so zustande gekommen sind. Mein allerliebster Satz war wohl "Are you scared, Mama?", den Alexandra ganz am Ende des Theaterstücks zu Regina sagt. Das war so ein richtiger "Oh, Snap!"-Moment.
Ich gebe zu, zu Beginn war ich sehr kritisch. Man wird direkt ins Geschehen geworfen und im ersten Akt war ich einfach nur überfordert. Das ging dann aber später besser und im letzten Akt hab ich dann nur noch mitgefiebert.
Mein Fazit? Hat mir gut gefallen. Der Einstieg war schwer, aber der Rest des Stücks hat das schnell wett gemacht!
Ben ist ein ziemlicher A****, um das mal ganz klar zu sagen und Oscar ist auch nur wenig besser. Dann ist da noch Leo, der in einer Bank arbeitet und Bens Sohn ist, wenn ich das richtig verstanden habe. Und dann gibt's da noch Regina, die eigentlich mit Horace verheiratet ist, ihn aber seit Jahren ständig und ganz offiziell betrügt, Alexandra, die Tochter von Horace und Regina, die mit Leo verheiratet werden soll und Birdie, eine herzensgute Frau, die leider mit Ben verheiratet ist und von ihm ständig tyrannisiert wird. Merkt ihr schon an der Beschreibung, wieviel Potential für Drama es hier gibt? Lasst mich nur eines sagen: Dieses Potential wurde zu hundert Prozent genutzt! Diese ganzen Fernsehserien sind nichts dagegen! Es geht um Liebe und Hass, um Leben und Tod, um Intrigen und um Klatsch und Tratsch und Lügen und die Wahrheit und wirklich alles, was dazwischen liegt. Es geht um den Wunsch nach Reichtum und um das Sehnen nach einem einfacheren Leben. Und das alles gleichzeitig!
Besonders gut haben mir die Dialoge gefallen, die zwischen diesen unterschiedlichen Figuren so zustande gekommen sind. Mein allerliebster Satz war wohl "Are you scared, Mama?", den Alexandra ganz am Ende des Theaterstücks zu Regina sagt. Das war so ein richtiger "Oh, Snap!"-Moment.
Ich gebe zu, zu Beginn war ich sehr kritisch. Man wird direkt ins Geschehen geworfen und im ersten Akt war ich einfach nur überfordert. Das ging dann aber später besser und im letzten Akt hab ich dann nur noch mitgefiebert.
Mein Fazit? Hat mir gut gefallen. Der Einstieg war schwer, aber der Rest des Stücks hat das schnell wett gemacht!
luufab's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked it! More and more and more as I read.
The ending was surprising! Will probably reread it this week.
Tom really made a good selection of texts for this course!
The ending was surprising! Will probably reread it this week.
Tom really made a good selection of texts for this course!