Directed by John Gerstad and written by Mary Drayon, the play's stars were Tom Helmore (who was also married to Ms. Drayton) and Inger. The cast and crew had traveled to Boston early on in the month for try-outs at the Wilbur Theatre and one critic asserted that Inger was “a born actress and she shines all over the stage.”. In the play, a Southern belle falls for a newspaperman who doesn’t match her family’s social standards.
Leading up to the play’s Broadway opening, Inger was the star of a multi-page spread in This Week magazine. She posed with animals in the Central Park Zoo and shared acting techniques she’d learned from Strasberg during her classes at the Actor’s Studio.
Walter Winchell assured readers that Inger was far from fault for Debut’s failure, stating, “Locals still gab about the fine performance of newcomer Inger Stevens…most critics raved about her.” Though Winchell was a good guy to have in your corner, it is certain that his positive take was not enough to strengthen Inger against the negative reviews of her performance.
Brooks Atkinson called Inger’s acting “a problem” and her performance “high-strung, aggressive…shallow, frantic.” This complaint of franticness was echoed in Hal Eaton’s assertion that Inger “bounces around like a rubber ball”, Viola Jenning’s reflection that Inger was imitating a “human being shot from a cannon.” Inger’s harshest critic was Isabel Dunn, author of the book Maria and the Captain on which the play was based, who summed Inger up as “absolutely incompetent.”
Several critics saw promise in the Broadway newcomer, however. John McClain called Inger “extremely lisson” and wondered what she might be able to accomplish with a more realistic role. Noel Mostart was grateful that Debut “brought forward one of the prettiest girls since…well, since Marilyn Monroe gave her press conference a week or two back. The girl is Inger Stevens. She was the only reason I kept my seat until the end.”
One reason Debut was not a success was due to uncomplimentary comparisons to the recent stage success The Ponder Heart. The Ponder Heart was praised for its imagination and humanness while Debut was deemed humorless and unoriginal. It seems that the main cause of the play’s downfall was its failure to seem authentic in its Southern setting. Critics slammed the exaggerated accents of the performers and found the play dull and completely unconvincing.
Although Debut did not propel Inger to Broadway stardom, it did provide her with invaluable experience which she applied to future theatrical performances. Though disappointed in the failure of Debut, Inger was resilient and continued to move forward with her acting career. By the end of the year, Inger would be living in Los Angeles, signed to a film contract, and preparing for her first major motion picture Man on Fire.
