Daytona Beach Little Theatre
Mar 16, 17, 18, 1967 at 8:30 PM
Mar 19, 1967 at 2:30 PM
Jim Downs is brought to the psychiatric division of City Hospital after a suicide attempt. With the help of his estranged wife, who is with him night and day, he recovers. But this does not mean he is free to go home. His estranged wife conspires to keep Jim in the hospital until he renounces his girlfriend and agrees to go back with her. In the process, Jim is faced with well-meaning but inept institutional psychiatrists, who themselves have become victims of deadly routine. Through one test after another he is made to prove his sanity, until he almost loses it. Realizing the power of institutional law, Jim proceeds to give the “right answers,” until he is finally released in the custody of his wife. Finally free, Jim knows that by compromising his integrity he has simply chosen the lesser of two evils.
Written by Joseph Kramm. Premiered on Broadway at the Cort Theater on January 15, 1952. Produced and directed by José Ferrer who also played the main character. Winner of the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Adapted to film in 1955 starring José Ferrer and June Allyson.
