The Greeks Had a Word for It

The Greeks Had a Word for It
Written byZoe Akins
Directed byWilliam Harris Jr.
Date premieredSeptember 25, 1930 (1930-09-25)
Place premieredSam H. Harris Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectEpisodes in the lives of three women
GenreComedy

The Greeks Had a Word for It (also known as The Greeks Had a Name for It) is a 1930 play written by Zoe Akins. It is a three-act comedy that becomes farce only at the end.[1] It has a medium-sized cast, multiple settings, and pacing that reviewers said showed "indecision" and "sluggishness".[1][2] It is so episodic in nature that one critic called it three one-act plays joined together by leading characters.[3] It depicts the relationships of three ex-chorus girls with one another and with would-be paramours. The author never reveals what word she had in mind.[4]

Produced and staged by William Harris Jr., with settings by Livingstone Platt, it starred Muriel Kirkland, Verree Teasdale, and Dorothy Hall.[2] It ran on Broadway from September 1930 through May 1931. One reviewer criticized its moral quality even as he praised its writing and performance,[5] while another put it on his end of season "Best Plays" list.[6] The play was never published nor revived on Broadway, but was adapted for the film The Greeks Had a Word for Them in 1932. It was presented in the West End from November 1934 to May 1935 at the Duke of York's Theatre and then at the Cambridge Theatre starring Hermione Baddeley, Angela Baddeley, Margaret Rawlings and Robert Newton.

  1. ^ a b Pollock, Arthur (September 26, 1930). "The Theaters". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Atkinson, J. Brooks (September 26, 1930). "The Play". The New York Times. New York, New York. p. 26 – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ Garland, Robert (October 3, 1930). "Zoe Akins' New Play Is Uneven". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Field, Rowland (September 26, 1930). "The New Play". Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Mantle, Burns (September 26, 1930). "'Greeks Had a Word for It', a Saga of The Kept Ladies". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 808 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Field, Rowland (May 10, 1931). "Both Sides of the Curtain". Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.