YOU AND I

You and I: translation

Originally titledThe Jilts, this dark comedy by Philip Barry, his first successful professional production, mounted by Richard G. Herndon, opened at the Belmont Theatre on 19 February 1923 for 136 performances. Middle-aged businessman Maitland White, played byH. B. Warner, has abandoned his passion to become a painter in order to marry and attain material comfort for his family. However, he cannot resist the desire to paint, despite the fact that his work generates no interest beyond advertising copy. When White discovers that his son, Roderick, plans to give up his desire to become anarchitectto marry, he persuades the young man to pursue his dream. The play won the Harvard University Prize and demonstrated Barry's gift for witty dialogue and intriguing moral dilemmas for his characters.