Sabrina Fair

by Samuel Albert Taylor

"is a modern version of the Cinderella fable," writes Atkinson, in the Times. It is set on Long Island in the 1950s, and deals with the involvement of a very rich family named Larrabee with Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of their family chauffeur. She is bright, well-educated, and has just returned from five years in Paris, where she has done a brilliant job as an executive in a U.S. government overseas office. She has come home to find out if she is still in love with the younger Larrabee son, David. The elder son, Linus, a cynical, good-humored tycoon who has taken control of the family fortune, detects Sabrina's feeling for his brother, and for his own amusement lays a trap to bring them together. It works: David falls in love with Sabrina and wants to marry her. At the same time, a rich young Frenchman who has known Sabrina in Paris turns up and asks her to marry him. Faced with this dilemma, Sabrina discovers it is really Linus she wants. After an amusing scene in which Sabrina's father, the chauffeur, makes a rather amazing revelation, Sabrina breaks down Linus' resistance and gets her man. An unusual number of fine character parts for actors: the beautiful mother of wit and perception; the father, whose one passion is attending funerals; the chauffeur who has been dabbling in the stock market and likes his job because it gives him time to read; the smart magazine editor who, as a house guest, is the interested observer. "SABRINA FAIR is a delightful, sparkling hit." Robert Coleman, NY Mirror.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Classics, Theatre, Romance

182 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1955

Reviews

[Kiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

- من بخوام دنیا رو با قدرت بگیرم و تو با عشق ، کدوممون میتونیم دنیا رو فتح کنیم؟ تو یا من؟
+ تنهایی ، هیچ‌کدوم.

[سـارا · Rating 4 out of 5]

« ۴/۵ ستاره»
کیف کردم حقیقتا؛ و چقدر بیشتر از فیلمش دوسش داشتم. البته اینکه تصویر سابرینا، تمامِ مدتِ خوندن تو ذهنم آدری زیبا بود هم بی تاثیر نیست :)

[°•.Melina°•. · Rating 5 out of 5]

عااااااشقش شدمممم!!!
بی‌نقص بود. سر تا پا ملینا پسند.


بااینکه فیلمشو دو سه سال پیش دیدم هیچی ازش یادم نبود و بخاطر علاقه‌م به آدری هپبرون وقتی دیدم نمایشنامه‌ش هست بدون هیچ شکی خریدمش و کاملا برام یچیز جدید و متفاوت بود چون هیچ اسپویلی از قبل تو ذهنم نبود-البته چون تااونجا که فهمیدم با هم یکم فرق دارن- الان هیجان زده‌ام که فقط برم دوباره فیلمشو ببینم-اینکه سابرینا رو در طول نمایش خود آدری هپبورن عزیزم تصور میکردم هم تو جذابیت کتاب دست داشت اما وای در کل شیفته‌ی متن و موضوع و مضمون شدم، نمایشنامه به این میگن...
کاش هرچه زودتر تو ایران اجراش کنن..

"اگه من بخوام دنیا رو با قدرت بگیرم و تو با عشق، کدوممون می‌تونیم دنیا رو فتح کنیم؟ تو یا من؟"
"اگر تنها باشیم، هیچکدوم"

[Roshana · Rating 4 out of 5]

انگار آدری هپبورن دست روی هر کتاب یا نمایشنامه ای هم که برای اجرا گذاشته اون اثر عالی شده.
خیلی حس خوبی داشت:)

لاینس: اگه حق با مادر باشه و من بخوام دنيا رو با قدرت بگیرم و تو با عشق، كدوممون مى‌تونيم دنيا رو فتح كنيم؟ تويا من؟
سابرينا: (به طرف لاينس مى رود.) تنهايى... هيج كدوم.
لاينس: پس به همين خاطر بايد باهات ازدواج كنم.

[Yas · Rating 5 out of 5]

{سابرینای زیبا/ گوش کن آنجا که نشسته‌ای/ زیر موج زلال و شفاف و آرام/ در پیچاپیچ سوسن‌های در هم تنیده/ در سلسله گیسوان کهربایی‌ات}

سابرینا چقدر عشقهههه، چقدر قابل درککک😭❤️
عجب داستانی، کارکترپردازی، دیالوگ‌ها... کیف کردم. با اینکه فیلمش رو دیده بودم ولی نمایشنامه‌اشم لذت خاصی داشت.

[SABRINA · Rating 4 out of 5]

زیبا بود و پراحساس.
و بیشتر از همه ژرف‌اندیشی سابرینا شگفت زده‌ام می‌کرد حین خوندن.
اینم بگم که کاراکتر سابرینا رو به شکل آدری هپبورن عزیز تصور می‌کردم از بس که این زن این نقش رو بسیار بوسیدنی اجرا کرده.

[Shriya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had my own set of qualms about reading Sabrina Fair because I loved the movie too much and didn't want a different story-line to ruin the charm for me! Bad News: it did! Good News: And for a good reason! Unlike the movie, where because it is a typical Cindrella Story, Sabrina is a love-struck idiot and David a Casanova, Sabrina Fair presents all the characters in a new light where our heroine is as much of a realist as she is romantic, our hero is gullible and naïve and more of an over-grown moron and our anti-hero is an imp and a hardcore feminist. The play is full of interesting characters like Julia, who wasn't even there in the movie and Linus Larrabee Sr., who enjoys going to funerals for fun! Because this story shatters the ideas of fairy-tale romance and then restores it only for the sake of practicality and because it is deeply feminist in nature, it deserves as much admiration as Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man and hence deserves the same rating!

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

سابرینا همیشه برای من دلچسب بود، چه زمانی که فیلمش دیدم و چه در طول مدت خوندن کتابش.
استعدادش تو زندگی کردن، سبک بالیش تو فکر کردن، صداقتش و از همه مهم تر سفرش، اینکه اصرار داشت باید بفهمه و تجربه کنه.
سابرینا ازدواج دوست داشت و از مطیع شدن میترسید. به نظر من تفاوتی که بین این دوتا مقوله قائل بود نشون میداد خیلی بیشتر از یک کارکتر ساده و زودباوره.

[qamar⋆｡°✩]

read this because i wanted to know more about the source material for the film sabrina (1954) which i had watched recently! safe to say, audrey hepburn and william holden really added the charm to their characters.

[Bahareh · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐ یکی از بهترین نمایشنامه‌هایی که خوندم. مخصوص این روزهایِ بهاری.

[Fatemeh Rahmani · Rating 4 out of 5]

به نظر من فیلمی که از روی این اثر ساخته شده خیلی خیلی زیباتره به طوری که عشق و زیر پوست احساس می کنی.من خودم لاینس لارابی که از سابرینا بیست سال بزرگ تره رو ترجیح میدم🥲🥲

[seemoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It should be interesting, Linus. You want to conquer the world; she wants to love it to death."

Joseph Cotten as Linus and Margaret Sullavan as Sabrina...!

This is so much different from the 1954 film, but they did keep much of the same quotes and the elder Larrabee is still hilarious. I guess this is a sophisticated play, with some very down to earth characters. Sabrina and David are the same age, around 30. Now I wonder about Audrey in the role when she was a bit older. Sabrina worked at a government agency in Paris and captured the heart of a rich Frenchman and then she returns home to Long Island and wonders if she's still in love with David Larrabee. But Linus Larrabee has plans of his own. Very, very charming.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

read in one sitting

particularly loved the themes of feminism woven into the play. i’m a big fan of the 95 film (and the one w audrey hepburn) so when i found out it was based on a play, i had to check it out. i think it read very fast and might be something i’d like to return to someday. it was way more focused on marriage and what it means to be free which was interesting to read about

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Play vs. Film(s)

So vastly different from the movie version, it's no wonder that Samuel Taylor walked out.

This comedy of manners, for the most part, is from the perspective of friend-of-the-family Julia Ward McKinlock. A delightful character, she's the kind of "aunt" everyone wishes they had grown up with.

Linus is also quite the ladies' man, and at the play's outset he is "taking out" his brother's ex-wife.

As with the movie, Sabrina's return from Paris takes everyone aback, and breathes a new life into the Larrabee household. While her eyes are set on sorting out her feelings for David, the interplay between her and the mischievous Linus is subtle and satisfying.

Their opposing life philosophies and banter make it clear that they would both benefit as a united pair—and *not* that one needs to convert the other.

Add in the absent-minded but loveable Linus Sr., the opportunistic ex-boyfriend, and the appalled father, and Sabrina Fair makes a superior story.

[Bt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not nearly as good as the movie it inspired - Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden - but it's still an enjoyable read. I found a few good monologues I really like which is quite an accomplishment; the number of good monologues I have ever found is in the single digits. You should definitely watch the movie first/instead, though. The movie's plot is much better and more interesting, and the movie is funny in a way that the play isn't. On the other hand, I might like the play better if I saw it performed instead of just reading it. I didn't believe the relationship between Linus and Sabrina in the play. It just seemed kind of out of the blue. And Linus wasn't that likable. Again, though, that's something an actor can remedy in the space between the lines.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this so quickly and really enjoyed it. It's different from the movie version, but it was good in its own right.

[Kristin Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great play. I love the complex characters. My only complaint is that it's so short. I want to know more about Sabrina and Linus.

[McLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this expecting it to be more or less the same as the film.

That proved to delightfully not be the case.

All of the characters are more vibrant and developed in this, including some who are entirely absent in the film.

The most surprising difference is Linus. Humphrey Bogart was wonderful in the film, but his Linus is dour and reserved and only grudgingly drawn into Sabrina’s world.

By contrast, the Linus of the play is sparkling and flirty and feminist. He reads as if he were written with Cary Grant in mind. He is Puck. He is a smirking agent of productive anarchy in everyone else’s lives.

The other notable difference between this play and the film is that the play effectively only includes the first half of the story in the film. In adapting this for film, those in charge threw out the bulk of the character work in favour of instead introducing more and more plot.

And while the film still definitely works, I think in the end I prefer this play, with more character and less plot.

[Xristina Karvouni · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most beloved romantic comedy plays that has ever been written. Sabrina is a lovable main character, who has her ''Cinderella'' moment and gets her happy ending. The 1954 version with Audrey Hepburn and Humprey Bogart ia a note worthy film adaptation that perfectly captures the essence of the play.
LINUS: How do you say in French, "My sister has a yellow
pencil"?
SABRINA: "Ma soeura un crayon jaune."
LINUS: How do you say, "My brother has a lovely girl"?
SABRINA: "Mon frere a une gentille petite amie."
LINUS: And how do you say, "I wish I were my brother"?

[Trevor Ames · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite play acted out.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more depth to all the characters than in either of the movies but the end felt rushed.
Poor Paul I would have married him

[Kimia · Rating 4 out of 5]

۴/۵
خیلی دوسش داشتم و تمام مدت داشتم سابرینا رو با چهره‌ی آدری هپبورن تصور میکردم.
همینطور عاشق دیالوگ هایی بودم که بین لاینس و سابرینا رد و بدل میشد و اون کمیستری بین‌شون که واقعا جذاب بود.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well it's a play. The movies improved and deepened the source material and helped the characters have personalities. No need to read, watch the movies.

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Markedly different from the two film versions, but well worth a read for anyone familiar with them (or in love with at least the Hepburn one, as I am). If one has not seen the films, (s)he might receive the great characters even better than me. I had trouble getting Audrey, Bogart, and William Holden out of my head. That said, I would have loved to see Joseph Cotten take on the sardonic, even mischievous, Linus, Jr. the plays gives the reader.

[Benjamin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a 1950s theater fosil, the set for this play is overly elaborate. HOWEVER, the story, writing, characters, and under-stated comedy make it a gem. If you've only ever seen the Billy Wilder or Sydney Pollack film versions you're missing out on some of the original magic that only Broadway could dish out back in the day.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite plays. Most people remember the film versions, both titled Sabrina, better, but I have always loved the play. I first saw it performed in high school and I went out and bought a copy.

Another favorite that stands up to rereading: 12/23/2015

[Carolyn Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this play. A light comedy that inspired the 1950s movie "Sabrina" as well as the 90s remake. I'd pick this one for a community theater to put on. The challenge would be persuading your lead actress to not try and imp Audrey Hepburn.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the wit.

[Brookie Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this script and would loved to have seen the actual play

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharp, witty, and fresh even today, this play was a ton of fun to read. It's nothing really like the film version(s), but I still found it charming.