The Climbers

Climbers, The (1901), a play by Clyde Fitch. [Bijou Theatre, 163 perf.] Although their greed and pushiness played no small part in killing George Hunter, his wife and younger daughters return from his funeral with only bitterness toward him, for they have discovered he died bankrupt. Only Blanche Sterling (Amelia Bingham), Hunter's oldest daughter, is genuinely rueful. Paying their formal respects are several women and a social butterfly of a man who, like Mrs. Hunter, have been determined social climbers. Their private comments are brutal, one noting, “Mrs. Hunter went to the most expensive decorator in town and told him, no matter what it cost, to go ahead and do his worst!” Even their actions are thoughtless, with the sharp‐tongued Miss Godesby (Clara Bloodgood) dickering with Mrs. Hunter for gowns she will no longer need. Blanche's problems are exacerbated when she reads her father's papers and learns that her husband (Frank Worthing) indulged in irregular business dealings that could send him to prison. Guilt‐ridden and recognizing that his wife has a loyal, loving friend in Edward Warden (Robert Edeson), Sterling commits suicide. Quinn has observed, “The Climbers is a masterly portrayal of human strength and human weakness. The strong characters are strong just in those qualities of courage, decision and unselfishness which kindle admiration, and the weak ones are tainted by a failing which, directed into a proper channel, might become legitimate ambition. . .their motives always are comprehensible.” Bingham produced the play herself and triumphed in the leading role.