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Overview
Synopsis
In 1879, an idealistic farmer named Silas Morton had big dreams for the land his family pioneered. Determined to give future generations the education he never got, he founded Morton College on his hilltop. 40 years later, Felix Fejevary the Second, son of Silas Morton’s close friend, is head of Morton’s board of trustees. He has big dreams, too - to turn Morton College into an elite university. But the state funding he needs is threatened when Madeline Morton, Fejevary’s niece and Morton’s granddaughter, is arrested while protesting alongside two Hindu students on campus. Amid intense anti-radical sentiment during the height of the first Red Scare, Madeline’s activism could cost her freedom, unless she’s willing to let her powerful uncle exert his influence. One of America’s earliest contemporary historical dramas, Glaspell wrote Inheritors contemporaneously as a vigorous defense of individual ideals and freedom of speech.
Show Information
- Book
- Susan Glaspell
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 4
- First Produced
- 1921
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- A farmhouse and a college campus in the Midwest, 1879 & 1920
- Cast Size
- large
- Licensor
- None/royalty-free
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Regional Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Young Adult, Elderly, Mature Adult, Adult Characters, Large Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A government and economic system in which people do not own individual property.
A group of musicians, actors, or dancers who perform together.
Description of material not protected by copyright law.
A period of public fear over radical political agitation and the perceived rise of Communist ideologies.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Kevan Dunkelberg
Oklahoma-based drama teacher, actor and playwright