Editing José Ferrer (section)

===Theatre===
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}

[[File:Scene from Othello with Paul Robeson 8e07910v.jpg|thumb|[[Paul Robeson]] (Othello) and Ferrer (Iago) in the 1943 [[Theatre Guild]] production of ''Othello'']]
Ferrer's first professional appearance as an actor was at a "showboat" theater on Long Island in the summer of 1934.

In 1935, Ferrer was the stage manager at the Suffern Country Playhouse, operated by [[Joshua Logan]], whom Ferrer had known at Princeton. [[Ruth Gordon]] and [[Helen Hayes]] recommended him to [[Jed Harris]].
 
Ferrer made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1935 in ''[[A Slight Case of Murder]]'' which ran 69 performances.

He could also be seen in ''Stick-in-the-Mud'' (1935) and ''Spring Dance'' (1936). Ferrer's first big success was in ''[[Brother Rat]]'' (1936–38) which ran for 577 performances. ''In Clover'' only ran for three performances. ''How to Get Tough About It'' (1938) also had a short run, as did ''Missouri Legend'' (1938).

''Mamba's Daughters'' (1939) ran for 163 performances. Ferrer followed it with ''[[Key Largo (play)|Key Largo]]'' (1939–40) with [[Paul Muni]] and directed by [[Guthrie McClintic]], which went for 105 shows and was later turned into a film.

Ferrer had a huge personal success in the title role of ''[[Charley's Aunt]]'' (1940–41), partly in [[drag (clothing)|drag]], under the direction of [[Joshua Logan]]. It went for 233 performances.

Ferrer then replaced [[Danny Kaye]] in the musical ''[[Let's Face It!]]'' (1943).