Editing Henry Fonda (section)

===Early stage work===

At age 20, Fonda started his acting career at the [[Omaha Community Playhouse]] when his mother's friend Dodie Brando (mother of [[Marlon Brando]]) recommended that he try out for a juvenile part in ''You and I'', in which he was cast as Ricky.<ref name="iron">{{Cite book |last=Bain |first=David Haward |title=The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2004 |isbn=0-14-303526-6 |location=New York City |pages=65–6}}</ref> He was fascinated by the stage, learning everything from set construction to stage production, and embarrassed by his acting ability.{{sfn|Fonda|2005|page=30}} When he received the lead in ''[[Merton of the Movies (play)|Merton of the Movies]]'', he realized the beauty of acting as a profession, as it allowed him to deflect attention from his own tongue-tied personality and create stage characters relying on someone else's scripted words. Fonda decided to quit his job and go east in 1928 to seek his fortune.{{Sfn|McKinney|2012|p=41}}

He arrived on Cape Cod and played a minor role at the Cape Playhouse in [[Dennis, Massachusetts]]. A friend took him to Falmouth, MA where he joined and quickly became a valued member of the [[University Players]], an intercollegiate [[summer stock]] company. There, he worked with [[Margaret Sullavan]], his future wife.{{sfn|Houghton |1951| pages = 56-58}} [[James Stewart]] joined the Players a few months after Fonda left, though they were soon to become lifelong friends. Fonda left the Players at the end of their 1931–1932 season after appearing in his first professional role in ''The Jest'', by [[Sem Benelli]]. [[Joshua Logan]], a young sophomore at Princeton who had been double-cast in the show, gave Fonda the part of Tornaquinci, "an elderly Italian man with a long white beard and even longer hair." Also in the cast of ''The Jest'' with Fonda and Logan were [[Bretaigne Windust]], [[Kent Smith]], and [[Eleanor Phelps]].{{sfn|Houghton |1951| page = 58}}

Soon after, Fonda headed for New York City to be with his then wife, [[Margaret Sullavan]]. The marriage was brief, but when [[James Stewart]] came to New York his luck changed. Getting contact information from [[Joshua Logan]], "Jimmy" and "Hank" found they had a lot in common, as long as they didn't discuss politics. The two men became roommates and honed their skills on [[Broadway theater|Broadway]]. Fonda appeared in theatrical productions from 1926 to 1934. They fared no better than many Americans in and out of work during the early part of the [[Great Depression]], sometimes lacking enough money to take the subway.{{sfn|Fonda|1981|page=60}}