You Can't Take It With You

The time is the latter 1930s as the country was beginning to pull out of the Depression; the place is Manhattan, New York; and the family are the Sycamores. Headed by Grandpa Vanderhof, they are a motley group–some blood-related, others who stopped by the house and just stayed. There is a freedom in this family; they welcome one and all and enjoy all the possibilities that life presents. This is a story about living life and not just getting through each day.

There are glorious fireworks being developed downstairs, ballet lessons taking place in the living room, left-wing propaganda being printed and distributed in home-made candy, pet snakes surprising guests, and play after play being written on a typewriter that was delivered to the house by mistake. As Grandpa says, “Why not do what you want to do? After all—you can’t take it with you!”

In the midst of this wildly unconventional family is a tender love story: the romance of Alice, the “normal” one of the Sycamores, and her fiancé, Tony Kirby, the son of her wealthy, proper boss. When Tony brings his parents to meet the Sycamores on the wrong night, things get really interesting. Will this lead to the end of the romance? Why are the fireworks exploding now? And who called the FBI?

Answers to these questions and, we trust, much laughter will be yours to take with you at the conclusion of You Can’t Take It With You.