Bell, Book and Candle (play)

• Shepherd Henderson — Rex Harrison
• Gillian Holroyd — Lilli Palmer
• Miss Holroyd (Aunt Queenie) — Jean Adair
• Sidney Redlitch — Larry Gates
• Nicky Holroyd — Scott McKay

• Anthony Henderson — Rex Harrison
• Gillian Holroyd — Lilli Palmer (from September 21, 1955: Joan Greenwood)[4]
• Miss Holroyd — Athene Seyler
• Sidney Redlitch — Wilfrid Lawson (from January 24, 1955: Esmond Knight)[5]
• Nicholas Holroyd — David Evans

Gillian Holroyd is one of the few modern people who can actually cast spells and perform feats of supernaturalism. She casts a spell over an unattached publisher, Shepherd Henderson, partly to keep him away from a rival and partly because she is attracted to him. He falls head over heels in love with her at once and wants to marry her. But witches, unfortunately, cannot fall in love, and this minute imperfection leads into a number of difficulties. Ultimately, the lady breaks off with her companions in witchery, preferring the normal and human love offered her by the attractive publisher. But before the happy conclusion of the romance, Gillian comes very near to losing him—but doesn’t.

Regarding the play itself, author Druten stated in an interview: “Originally Bell, Book and Candle was a rather more serious play, but then I asked myself what constitutes witchcraft ... and I felt the answer lies in the fact that witches primarily seem to exist for their own self-gratification. However, one has to stop living in terms of ‘self’ if aspects of love are ever to be realized.”[6]

The action passes throughout in Gillian Holroyd’s apartment in the Murray Hill district of New York City.

Act I

Scene 1: Christmas Eve

Scene 2: About three hours later

Act II

Two weeks later

Act III

Scene 1: Four hours later.

Scene 2: Two months later.

The origin of the phrase “Bell, Book and Candle” dates back to the 14th century. In Old English it first appeared as: “Curced in kirc an sal ai be wid candil, boke, and bell” and was used in excommunication ceremonies or “anathema”.[7] William Shakespeare used the phrase in his 1595 play King John: “Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back, When gold and silver becks me to come on.”

• From 1951-52, between the Broadway and West End productions, Evelyn Laye and Frank Lawton starred in a major tour of the play in Australia and New Zealand, with Leity Craydon, John Edmund and William Rees also in the cast. The tour opened at the Theatre Royal, Sydney on November 3, 1951.[8]
• The H.M. Tennent UK tour that immediately followed the 1954–55 West End production, again directed by Rex Harrison, featured Kay Kendall as Gillian, Robert Flemyng as Tony, Viola Lyel as Miss Holroyd, David Evans as Nicholas and Lloyd Pearson as Sidney. This version was jokingly referred to in showbusiness circles as 'Bell, Book and Kendall'.[9]
• Arena Players Repertory Company — East Farmingdale, NY (1985). Cast: Barbara Carlson — Gillian Holroyd, Allen McRae — Shepherd Henderson, Edith Traynor — Miss Holroyd, Don Frame — Nicky Holroyd, Robert Rosin — Sidney Redlitch.[10]
• San Francisco Playhouse — San Francisco, CA (2012). Cast: Lauren English — Gillian Holroyd, William Connell — Shepherd Henderson, Zehra Berkman — Miss Holroyd, Scott Cox — Nicky Holroyd, Louis Parnell — Sidney Redlitch.[11]
• Hartford Stage — Hartford, CT (2012). Cast: Kate MacCluggage — Gillian Holroyd, Robert Eli — Shepherd Henderson, Ruth Williamson — Miss Holroyd, Michael Keyloun — Nicky Holroyd, Gregor Paslawsky — Sidney Redlitch.[12]

A controversy erupted in 2015 citing set plagiarism, after a new production of the play was launched at Theatre Works New Milford in New Milford, Connecticut. The theater company immediately stopped all performances after it was noted that their set design was strikingly similar to that of the critically acclaimed revival in 2012 at Hartford Stage.[13] Theatre Works New Milford acknowledged the similarity in an apology letter to Alexander Dodge and Darko Tresnjak, who originally designed the sets for the 2012 production, stating that their production was “inspired” by their designs.

• Film — Bell, Book and Candle (1958) screenplay by Daniel Taradash, directed by Richard Quine, starring James Stewart as Shep, Kim Novak as Gillian, Jack Lemmon as Nicky, Ernie Kovacs as Redlitch, Elsa Lanchester as Miss Holroyd and Hermione Gingold as Mrs De Pass (a character referred to but not present in the play).

Screenwriter Sol Saks wrote in his book The Craft of Comedy Writing that “the idea of a witch living as a mortal…has been used in Greek mythology, in fairy tales, in novels, on the stage, and in motion pictures.” Saks went on to state in an E! True Hollywood Story interview that he drew inspiration from the 1942 film I Married a Witch and the 1958 film Bell, Book and Candle (adapted from the play of the same name) for the popular TV series Bewitched.[14][15]

• Bell, Book and Candle at the Internet Broadway Database