ABSTRACT
Due in part to the wartime economy, the 1940s created more hit plays than any other decade, with a total of seven that ran over 1,000 performances, and four of these plays remain among the top ten longest-running plays of all time. In the Long Run dedicates an extended chapter to this decade, beginning with an examination of how Life with Father (1939 / 3,224), a nostalgic family comedy set in the 1880s, participated in the war effort and over the course of its long run became part of the “home front.” Both reifying and subverting patriarchy, Father outlasted the war and became the longest-running play in Broadway history. The Voice of the Turtle (1943 / 1,557), about an illicit romance between an actress and a soldier, is examined in relation to gender roles during World War Two and the sexual double standard applied to men and women. Despite the condemnation of some moral leaders, audiences flocked to see a play that offered the promise of a brighter future during dark times, and this dynamic contributed to the success of revivals of Turtle immediately after 9/11.
