Overview
Synopsis
Grandpa Vanderhof and his wacky family, the Sycamores, have been happily living their zany lives in his house by Columbia University in New York for many years. This family (and their friends) are a madcap group of eccentrics, marching to the beat of their own drum, with pride and joy. Their hobbies include collecting snakes, building fireworks in the basement, writing a myriad of plays that never get published, and taking ballet lessons. Things like stress, jobs, and paying taxes to the government are for other people, not for them! But when practical young Alice Sycamore becomes engaged to her company’s Vice President Tony Kirby, the Vanderhof/Sycamore clan must straighten up to meet the new in-laws. Disaster ensues when the Kirbys arrive at the wrong time and, despite the best laid plans, see Alice’s family in all of its crazy glory. The evening ends with everyone in the house getting arrested, and Alice ending the engagement. It isn’t until Grandpa’s wise speech to Mr. Kirby about the importance of living life to the fullest that the two families find a way to accept each other, and love conquers all. You Can’t Take It With You is a madcap, idealistic comedy that reinforces the idea that you can only live life to the fullest by doing whatever makes you happy.
Show Information
- Book
- Moss Hart , George S. Kaufman
- Text And Format
- Moss Hart , George S. Kaufman
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1936
- Genres
- Comedy
- Settings
- Period, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- the vanderhof/sycamore house, new york, ny, 1936
- Cast Size
- large
- Licensor
- Ideal For
- high school theatre, college / university theatre, community theatre, professional theatre, ensemble cast, large cast, College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Elderly, Mature Adult, Adult, Young Adult Characters, Large Cast
Context
When You Can’t Take It With You opened on Broadway on December 14, 1936 it was an instant hit. It eventually played 838 performances on Broadway and earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The uplifting comedy, with its life-affirming credo and madcap humor, struck a chord with American audiences recovering from the Great Depression.
You Can’t Take It With You succeeded as a welcome addition to the crop of screwball comedies on Broadway that allowed audiences to escape from their troubles.
to read the context for You Can't Take It With You and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
As the play opens, we are introduced to the Vanderhof/Sycamore family, a lovable group of screwballs who live together in Grandpa Vanderhof’s house by Columbia University in New York City. Every person in the house has his or her own eccentricities: Grandpa turned his back on commerce 35 years ago, so he could happily do things like collect snakes and attend commencement speeches; his daughter, Penny, despite having no previous playwriting aspirations, has written eleven different
to read the plot for You Can't Take It With You and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
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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.
The financial and industrial slump of 1929 and subsequent years.
An award for an achievement in American journalism, literature, or music
Slapstick is a style of physical comedy, often involving chases, silly and exaggerated movements and activities, and simple practical jokes. It can also represent violence in an over-the-top, comical guise.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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