The Little Foxes is a play written in 1939 by acclaimed and controversial American dramatist Lillian Hellman. It takes place in a small town in Alabama in 1900 and looks at strained dynamics within a Southern family. The original production starred Tallulah Bankhead as Regina Hubbard Giddens and premiered on Broadway to critical acclaim. The title is a reference to The Song of Solomon in the Bible, and was suggested by literary luminary Dorothy Parker.
The play follows the story of Regina Giddens, a young woman from Alabama who is looking to take control of her father's business, but is prevented from doing so by patrilineal inheritance structures in the South. Allegedly, the play is based on Hellman's own family and the discord between her various relatives, particularly surrounding the subject of the family business.
The play opened in February 1939 on Broadway and ran for 410 performances, before going on tour. In 1941, Hellman adapted it into a film, with Bette Davis taking over the role that Talullah Bankhead had originated onstage. In 1949, Marc Blitzstein adapted the play into an opera called Regina.
Notable revivals include a 1967 production directed by Mike Nichols and starring Anne Bancroft, a 1981 production starring Elizabeth Taylor (who earned a Tony nomination for her performance), a 1997 production starring Stockard Channing, and a revival in 2017 at the Manhattan Theatre Club starring Cynthia Nixon and Laura Linney (who alternated the roles of Regina Giddens and Birdie).
