The 1967 film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was one of the first to directly address interracial marriage at a time when segregation was still the norm in many parts of the United States. The story concerns Joanna “Joey” Drayton, who surprises her politically liberal parents, Matt and Christina, when she brings home Dr. John Prentice, a black man she intends to marry. With the country still bitterly divided on race and interracial marriage illegal in 17 states, the Draytons are less than thrilled. To further complicate things, Dr. Prentice, 14 years Joanna’s senior, plans to fly to Geneva the next day and insists on having Matt and Christina’s blessing before he marries their daughter.
Todd Kreidler’s play is a faithful adaptation, preserving the story and most iconic moments from the movie, with some changes to the character’s backstories. In the stage version, Matt and Christina lost their son to an illness 15 years prior, giving them some common ground with Dr. Prentice. Kreidler also introduces some flaws into Dr. Prentice’s character and gives John Prentice, Sr. more agency over the final outcome. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is still set in the 1960s, but the dialogue has been adjusted to fit modern sensibilities against the backdrop of racial justice reckonings and difficult conversations around the topic of race and systemic discrimination. In that sense, it is, as Kreidler explains, “set in the 60s but not of the 60s”.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner guide sections
