Theatre Review

The Little Foxes
By: Lillian Hellman
Directed By: Eda Holmes
At: The Shaw Festival of Canada
Website: www.shawfest.com
2008 Season
Location: Niagara-On-The-Lake
Theatre: The Royal George Theatre  

Reviewed By: Brittney Teasdale (Toronto Correspondent - Canada)

The title, The Little Foxes, comes from the King James Version of the Bible in verse fifteen of the Song of Solomon, which reads, "Take is the foxes, the little foxes, the spoil the wines: for our vines have tender grapes." The play, written by Lillian Hellman and first performed in 1939, is about one of the most poisonous combinations: family paired with money.  

When the three Hubbard siblings have an opportunity to invest in a new cotton Mill, the struggle for the biggest percentage of money begins. The Hubbard family has a ravenous desire for success and wealth, which brings destruction to their sense of morality and goodness. It is this characteristic of the Hubbard family which draws in the audience and makes them very identifiable and human. Hellman is drawing forth an important issue, and forces the audience to reflect on what is most valued in today's money hungry society.

The melodrama is set in 1900 and the scene is the living room of the Giddens' house, in a small town in the south. Act one is an evening in the spring of 1900, and depicts an anticipated alliance between a mercantile southern family, the Hubbard's, and a Chicago businessman, William Marshall. Alexandra realizes the truth of her father's death when she remembers what Addie, one of the Giddens' servants, states, "there were people who ate the earth and other people who stood around and watched them do it."  Ultimately, the play is about "good" versus "evil." 

The quality of acting was outstanding in the production of The Little Foxes, particularly that of Sharry Flett, who played Birdie Hubbard. Birdie Hubbard is the abused and broken wife of Oscar Hubbard, one of the greedy siblings trying to get his piece of the cotton mill wealth. I felt that she was a very strong component to the narrative and she kept the attention of the audience even when she was being completely ignored by the other characters. I must also bring to attention the amazing performance of Laurie Paton, who played the money-hungry Regina Giddens. Laurie Paton communicated the sheer evil and self-centeredness of Regina Giddens, who is the sister of Benjamin and Oscar Hubbard. Regina, after her ill husband will not agree to invest in the cotton mill, leaves him to die after he has dropped his bottle of medicine. She watches him struggle for his life and does not even think twice about helping him reach for his medicine. Laurie Paton does a remarkable and convincing job of portraying the absolute immoral Regina Giddens.

After intermission, at the beginning of Act three, all of the "good" characters are sitting in the living room of the Giddens' house, eating cake and drinking elderberry wine. At this time Alexandra Giddens, the innocent daughter of the evil Regina Giddens, one of the Hubbard siblings, says, "you know, we sit around and try to pretend nothing's happened. We try to pretend we are not here. We make believe we are just by ourselves, some place else, and is doesn't seem to work." At the end of the play, Alexandra is the character who realizes the immorality that is around her and decides to leave her mother for good.

The three acts of the play give a reminder to the audience that money does not make happiness, and that in the money crazy society that we live in, one must re-evaluate their morals and aim to make the right choices. The play was translated into a film version, directed by William Wyler, for RKO Productions in 1941. The infamous Regina Giddens was played by Bette Davis and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941. 

Although the play does not end on a happy note, it is a very interesting story that digs deep into the roots of human morality and I believe it is a play that everyone should try and see. The Royal George theatre is intimate, welcoming and a great venue for The Little Foxes, as the audience feels as though they are in the Giddens' living room with the characters. And as Hellman reminds us, "there were people who ate the earth and other people who stood around and watched them do it."