A review by hpuphd
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman

5.0

Revived on Broadway in 2017, this 1939 play starts slowly but becomes enormously powerful in Acts Two and Three as the scheming and evil of the Hubbard family leads to some memorable confrontations. I listened to the L.A. Theatreworks performance on audio (good but maybe not one of their best) while I followed with the text. Exposing the lifelong contempt some family members hold for others, the cruelty it can lead to, and the suggestion that the Hubbards are no different from anyone else is horrible and fascinating. It is haunting to hear Birdie’s Act Three speech to her niece imploring her not even to love her because twenty years later she’ll be like her (“In twenty-two years I’ve never had a whole day of happiness”).