"Once upon a time ... Lived a very small girl on a very large estate."

My first exposure to the play Sabrina Fair by Samuel Taylor was in college.  I had a roommate that was a theater major and she also did community theater.  One of the times I went to see her perform during the year we lived together was in this play.  I don't remember much except that it was witty and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

A few years later, I discovered the two wonderful film versions of Sabrina -- 1954's version with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and the relatively new 1995 production starring Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond.  (Side note: Audrey's Givenchy dress in the party scene--the one you see in the picture here-- is my dream dress.  I want to wear that dress to a dance.  I want to look like Audrey does in it!  I dream of this dress!)

The story centers around Sabrina Fairchild, the chauffeur's daughter.  She is a mousy child who lives vicariously through the upper class happenings in the main house.  When she is grown, she leaves for Paris and spends time there growing and changing.  She returns and is barely recognizable -- she has become a woman and a glamorous one at that.  All that is left for her is to find out where her heart lies.

Each version of the story is different.  What Sabrina spends her time doing while she is in Paris changes greatly over the years.  In the 1954 play, she is a secretary.  In the movie the same year, she attends a culinary school.  In the 1995 film, she spends her time in the world of fashion and photography.  Her romantic situation also changes in a time-appropriate way.  I think that this gives the story a sense of timelessness.  Even the classism of the play is moderated over time.  And yet, it seems that some of the fire, the spark that makes her delightful, is taken away from Sabrina over time.  I like the 1954 Sabrina better but love the environment around her in the 1990s.

Regardless, this is one of my favorite stories, no matter how it's told.

But then one day the girl grew up
And went beyond the walls of the grounds
And found the world.

Lost in the fairy tale (and the dress),
K


Support our site and buy Sabrina Fair (the play), Sabrina (the 1954 film) and Sabrina (the 1995 film) on Amazon or find them at your local library.  We own both films and borrowed the play from the library.