Based on Henry James' novel Washington Square, The Heiress is the story of Catherine Sloper, a wealthy but plain-looking woman who is caught between her grief-stricken father and a mysterious, handsome suitor. Although Catherine is smitten by the suitor, her father suspects he is only after the family’s money.
*Jessica Chastain will not be performing on January 10, 13 or 27.
What Is the Story of The Heiress?
Set in New York City in the 1850s, The Heiress follows Catherine, a plain-looking but exceedingly wealthy woman who lives with her father, Dr. Austin Sloper, in Washington Square. Despite having a staff of maids and chefs and the best clothing money can by, Catherine is awkward, shy and “unmarriageable.” When she falls in love with Morris Townsend, a charming but penniless suitor, Dr. Sloper is immediately suspicious the man is after Catherine’s inheritance. In an attempt to end the relationship, Dr. Sloper vows he will write Catherine out of her will if she marries Morris. When Dr. Sloper becomes ill, Catherine is forced to make the painfully difficult choice between her father and the man she hopes to marry.
"This classically trained actress [Chastain], an Oscar nominee for 'The Help' and ubiquitous onscreen this past year, brings a trembling, quiet delicacy to Catherine Sloper, the title role in Moises Kaufman’s revival of 'The Heiress.'"
Bloomberg News
Jeremy Gerard
"No wonder 'The Heiress' has returned to Broadway time and again since its 1947 premiere. Romance, money, lies, manipulation and petticoats: Ruth and Augustus Goetz’s melodrama has it all."
The New York Post
Elisabeth Vincentelli
"Full credit goes to Chastain, who has buried herself in dullness to play one of theater's more formidable proto-feminist roles."
The Associated Press
Mark Kennedy
"Director Moises Kaufman's crisp, first-rate production finds an admirable complexity in Ruth and Augustus Goetz' 1947 drama, based on the Henry James novel 'Washington Square.'"
Entertainment Weekly
Thom Geier
"There were five separate outbreaks of applause during the first 10 minutes. The first came as soon as the curtain rose on Derek McLane’s set, a sumptuous interior of a New York house on Washington Square that might do double duty for an episode of Masterpiece’s silver-plated hit ‘Downton Abbey.’"
The New York Times
Ben Brantley