The Male Animal (1940 Original) - repro

The original 1940 Broadway premiere of James Thurber and Elliott Nugent’s 'The Male Animal' exploded onto the stage of the Cort Theatre, running for an astonishing 243 performances and permanently establishing a classic blueprint for American academic farces. The breathless plot centers on a soft-spoken intellectual academic who is forced to deploy a series of hilarious, whiskey-fueled tactical deceptions to defend his progressive academic freedom against a tyrannical corporate board of trustees, while battling an arrogant former football star who attempts to court his wife. Directed under the precise comedic vision of Herman Shumlin, the historic premiere starred Gene Tierney.