Ladies in Retirement

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Ladies in Retirement

August 14 – August 29, 1964

by Edward Percy and Reginald Denham

Miss Fiske, ex-actress, lives in a remote house with her companion, Ellen Creed. Ellen, who has devoted her life to her sisters, Louisa and Emily (simple-minded maiden ladies), invites them to visit her. These eccentric persons make themselves at home, but when Miss Fiske reminds Ellen it is time for them to go back, they are unwilling to do so. Miss Fiske and Ellen quarrel, and Ellen prepares to send her sisters to London. She has, however, secretly told them that they shall always remain with her. The sisters go for a drive, though Miss Fiske thinks they are leaving for good; the servants have been sent away (by Ellen), and Ellen and Miss Fiske are left alone together. On the return of the sisters Miss Fiske is gone—on a trip, Ellen says—and all three sisters settle down in what they regard as their own home. Meantime, Albert, nephew of the Creed sisters, who had paid a secret visit and got money from Miss Fiske, turns up again. He has robbed a bank and determines to hide with his aunts. Learning that Miss Fiske is away, and suspecting something, he pieces together the evidence. With the help of the maid Lucy, he lays a trap for Ellen, by reproducing in pantomime, in the moonlit living room, the scene of Ellen’s murder of Miss Fiske. Ellen, who faints when she sees what she imagines is the ghost of her victim, plays a courageous but losing game. Knowing that Albert and Lucy realize what she has done, she plans for the security of her sisters and gives up to the police.

Lenora Fiske

 Cast
Lucy Gilham Lynn Lazzara
Jeanne Miller
Ellen Creed Jeanne Van Zandt
Albert Feather Robert Blumenfeld
Louisa Creed Goria Valone
Emily Creed Barbara Berkowitz
Sister Theresa Mary Biling
Crew
Producer Ernest Lazzara
Director Vivian Lazzara
Asst. Producer Carmen Sarro
Stage Manager Joseph Ciraco, Jr
Assistant Stage Manager Jocqueline Bouchard
Set Design Vivian Lazzara, Ernest Lazzara
Set Construction Ernest Lazzara, the Villagers
Lighting Joseph Kresnetsky
Sound Elliot Glickman
Music Ray Aloia
Make-Up Margaret Edmonds
Properties Kitty Morgan, Carl Erbacher
Costuming Terry Landy, Phylis Seigal, Marilyn Johnson
Stage Hands Pam Valone, Kathy Miller, Stuart Berkowitz
News Photography George Philcox
Publicity Jacqueline Bouchard
House Manager Helen Paxton
Acting House Manager Hanna Lecomte
Program David Wald

Ladies in Retirement