Windsor Wednesday Classic – 31

Damsels In Distress:

The synopsis for this play can be found in the attachment below. I tried my hardest to find as much information as I could but this is a very rare play. At some point I am sure that either myself,  or someone else will come up with further information on this spanking scene in the play. The first picture is from Christianburg in 1950 and the second one is from Wilmington in 1958. Below the pics is a clipping regarding the plays details and synopsis. These pics will be added to the Various School Plays folder.

The latest folder to be added is  “A Mind Of Her Own

damsels in distress 1950 christianburg

damsels 58 wilmington

damsels syn

Additional information provided by Harry:

The author of the play is Jay Tobias. Here’s my alternative synopsis:

Roommates Pamela Royle and Geraldine  ‘Gerry’  Ware have lied to their relatives about what they are studying:  Pam,  an art student,  has told her Aunt Eustacia that she is studying music,  and Gerry,  a drama student,  has told her uncle Braymer that she is taking a business course. The relatives are paying for their studies on the basis of these false statements,  and now decide to visit their nieces…Meanwhile Pam’s former boyfriend Jimmy Love has been turned over by thugs and robbed of his clothes. He steals a tablecloth from the landlady’s washing line to cover himself and climbs into the girls’  flat via the fire escape. The girls get him to impersonate their imaginary housekeeper,  ‘Mrs Jones’,  and he pretends to be suffering from influenza. This nicely distracts the two visiting relatives,  who have different ideas about how to treat the ailing  ‘chaperone’  and quarrel about it. Then the complications build up:  Natasha Federovna,  Jimmy’s jealous,  temperamental Russian fiancee arrives,  as do Shelby Parsons,  an impoverished medical student who is Pam’s current fiance,  and Ethelbert Meeks,  whose wife lent the girls some furniture without his consent and who is trying to get it back. The girls try to control the situation by inventing more and more lies,  but eventually they are found out,  and the play ends with the damsels in another kind of distress:  Pam is spanked by her aunt,  and Gerry by her uncle.

The spanking scene looks difficult to stage because both spankers have to occupy the same couch. The 1950 picture (the better of the two) shows the problem:  one girl’s feet risk kicking in the other’s face. This explains why the 1958 picture is so awkwardly posed.

6 thoughts on “Windsor Wednesday Classic – 31

  1. Thanks for these, Richard.

    The author of the play is Jay Tobias. Here’s my alternative synopsis:

    Roommates Pamela Royle and Geraldine ‘Gerry’ Ware have lied to their relatives about what they are studying: Pam, an art student, has told her Aunt Eustacia that she is studying music, and Gerry, a drama student, has told her uncle Braymer that she is taking a business course. The relatives are paying for their studies on the basis of these false statements, and now decide to visit their nieces… Meanwhile Pam’s former boyfriend Jimmy Love has been turned over by thugs and robbed of his clothes. He steals a tablecloth from the landlady’s washing line to cover himself and climbs into the girls’ flat via the fire escape. The girls get him to impersonate their imaginary housekeeper, ‘Mrs Jones’, and he pretends to be suffering from influenza. This nicely distracts the two visiting relatives, who have different ideas about how to treat the ailing ‘chaperone’ and quarrel about it. Then the complications build up: Natasha Federovna, Jimmy’s jealous, temperamental Russian fiancee arrives, as do Shelby Parsons, an impoverished medical student who is Pam’s current fiance, and Ethelbert Meeks, whose wife lent the girls some furniture without his consent and who is trying to get it back. The girls try to control the situation by inventing more and more lies, but eventually they are found out, and the play ends with the damsels in another kind of distress: Pam is spanked by her aunt, and Gerry by her uncle.

    The spanking scene looks difficult to stage because both spankers have to occupy the same couch. The 1950 picture (the better of the two) shows the problem: one girl’s feet risk kicking in the other’s face. This explains why the 1958 picture is so awkwardly posed.

    In the 1950 picture, it’s interesting that Gerry is being spanked with a slipper but Pam ony with her aunt’s hand.

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