Guest in the House

Performances

February 8, 1946

Venue

Scottish Rite Temple

Synopsis

Mr. Proctor is an illustrator who works successfully with a pretty, wise-cracking model. Mrs. Proctor is a good housewife and mother, and their little daughter is a healthy youngster who adds to their enjoyment. Evelyn, Mrs. Proctor’s young sweet-faced cousin who suffers from a heart ailment, arrives to upset their world. She appeals to everyone’s protective instincts, but it is soon apparent that she is selfish, conniving and cruel. She causes the model to desert, sends the servants away in a rage, causes a rift between the Proctors, and even turns the daughter into a hypochondriac. When the family discovers her true nature and decides to send her away, Evelyn runs to the minister with a disgraceful story about the Proctors. This brings scandal, reporters, and a grim determination in the mind of one character to dispose of Evelyn.

Authors: Hagar Wilde and Dale Eunson

Historian’s Corner

The set for “Guest in the House” involved much door slamming and running up and down the staircase. The set required a very strong set of stairs and a balcony that could hold 14 actors in lively scenes all around the set. To the rescue came a seabee just out of the service, Robert Hooton who helped not only with advice to the stage setting chairman and crew on building this challenging set, but also the skill and muscle. Robert had stopping in Bloomington for a short rest with his family before taking a job with an architectural firm in New York. Robert helped create a set piece that not only looked structurally sound, but also could have only a skeletal framework as the foundation. This former seabee’s mission was successfully accomplished.