Interview: Director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky of THE HEIRESS at Theatre 40

The classic 1947 American romantic drama The Heiress was written by real-life spouses Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz, based on the novel Washington Square by Henry James. The pair adapted it for the screen in 1949, which was directed by William Wyler. Olivia de Havilland won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Catherine Sloper, the plain-Jane daughter of a tyrannical rich man who dominates her life and subjects her to constant comparison to her vibrant mother, who died when Catherine was young.

But while attending a high society ball, Catherine meets Morris Townsend, a charming but impoverished young man, with whom she falls hopelessly in love. But her father threatens to cut her out of her inheritance if she marries him, believing Morris is only after her wealth due to his daughter’s lack of beauty and charm. But Catherine turns out to be smarter than both the men, and after facing heartbreak, learns to stand on her own two feet and take charge of her life – a very modern exploration of the emotional growth required to overcome such mid-19th Century restrictions on a woman’s place in society.

The Heiress opens on November 12 at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky and features Diana Angelina, Alison Blanchard, Candace Del Rio, Quinn Ruby DeVries, Troy Guthrie, Joey Hill, Robin Middleton, Katyana Rocker-Cook, and David Hunt Stafford in the cast. I spoke with Ann about her vision for directing the play, her choice of actor to portray Catherine Sloper, and how she plans to showcase the character’s emotional growth as the story evolves.

Director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky
Photo courtesy of Theatre 40
Production photos will be added when received.

Thanks for speaking with me, Ann. What fueled your interest in directing The Heiress for Theatre 40?

It was a wonderful surprise to read an old-fashioned, traditional play in theme and composition, especially one so well-crafted with story well-told. I was not familiar with the play before reading it for this production, and I truly enjoyed it when Theatre 40 asked if I’d like to direct it. It has challenges of course, as a result of its period and structure - and we are presenting it as close to the original form as our space, time and budget allow.

The play’s themes include love, inheritance, and familial control in 19th‑century New York society. Which of these themes do you feel are most relevant to contemporary audiences, and how have you highlighted them in the staging?

I definitely think family influence and an ever-relevant love story feels contemporary and resonates to our lives today. The challenges and obstacles may be different, but trust, belief, discovering one’s heart and devotion through love are surely matters of the modern heart as well. There is something refreshing and encouraging to feel these emotions are familiar, even if the circumstances and challenges are so different today

Catherine Sloper’s journey from rejection to self‑discovery is central to the story. How did you go about casting such an important role?

Katyana Rocker-Cook was an easy casting choice to embrace. In her auditions, she captured the strength and fragility of this character who learns and evolves through her experiences and her family’s treatment of her. I believed her when she related that she could personally identify with much of Catherine’s family’s understanding of her. And this transformed the beautiful Katyana into the shy and confidence-lacking Catherine. And a woman who ultimately has the strength and tragedy to cope in her own best way.

How have you chosen to portray Catherine’s emotional growth to draw modern audiences into her story? 

I wanted Catherine’s hurt to evolve to protect her, shield her, and create a kind of self-reliance that may or may not be in her best interest.

With such psychological depth required of the characters, how are you managing to keep the dialogue fresh and audience-friendly in its scope?

I found the dialogue and conversations evocative of a distant period, but still understandable. Watching the play is like taking a trip to a far-off land where we readily notice the differences and similarities. Experiencing an adventure to other cultures often results in returning home to a new appreciation of where we are in time and place, as well as insight and trepidation and delight into how things are elsewhere.

With the play being written in 1947 and set in 1850, what creative choices did you make to honor its original vision of the timeframe while making it fresh for today’s audience?

We are embracing a fairly conventional telling of this story as there aren’t any added characters, dialogue changes, or modern dress. I believe the play is familiar and recognizable as it is, and part of the fun of such examples of theatre IS the journey to distant places and times. So New York in the mid-nineteenth century and the challenges of being a woman in a well-to-do society 175 years ago will hopefully be easy to imagine and embrace.

The original novel and play explore manipulation and independence. How have you balanced the portrayal of Catherine’s intellectual growth with the social constraints of her era?

I have enjoyed watching Catherine evolve in rehearsals as she finds places where she can defy in a small almost timid way, then on to bolder, cleaner, stronger and forceful objections and declaration of her will. She dances within the social confines until she is able to reject that and find her own way through to a life she herself controls. But I do find it also interesting the cost that has to her.

The Goetzes’ adaptation preserves the novel’s psychological nuance while streamlining the plot for theater. How have you used set, lighting, or design to support this balance?

At this point, those design elements have yet to be incorporated, so we shall see! Our designers are familiar to me and I very much trust and admire them. I know there will be some lovely realizations to capture time and place, as well as capturing the feelings of limitation, oppression and the longing for freedom.

What has been the biggest challenge so far during rehearsals?

The always present small theatre limitations of time, space and what there is to spend! Fortunately, we have a very dedicated cast, the immense talents of designers Jeff Rack (set), Derrick McDaniel (lights) and Michael Mullen (costumes). Nick Foran is also coming to my rescue again for sound.

What do you hope audiences are talking about after seeing the play?

Is everything as it seems? Did he or didn’t he? Should she or shouldn’t she have made the choices she did?!

Are you planning to hold talkbacks with audiences?

I enjoy a discussion with the audience after a show, but I don’t believe any are scheduled at present. But this is a good idea, I think it would be informative as well as fun.

Anything else you would like to add?

Not just yet, but I am very proud of the enthusiasm and commitment the cast and designers have brought to rehearsals. We are just about to step into the next phase of adding technical elements and shaping the rhythm of the show, so there is still lots of work to do!

Thanks so much!

Thank you Shari, always great and thoughtful questions!

Written by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz, based on the novel Washington Square by Henry James, The Heiress is produced for Theatre 40 by David Hunt Stafford. Performances run November 12 - December 13, 2026 on Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Dark on November 26 and 27 (Thanksgiving). There will be Wednesday performances at 7:30 p.m. on December 2 and December 9.