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The Busie Body

Play · 1709

Scene 1. The play opens in St James's Park. Charles and Sir George Airy meet. Charles complains of his father's stinginess, and the way his foster-sister Miranda acts like his 'mother-in-law'. Sir George Airy is in love with two women: Miranda herself, and a mysterious 'incognita' who regularly meets him in disguise. Marplot arrives. He begs Charles, his foster-brother, to introduce him to Sir George. They discuss several of Marplot's foolish escapades. Sir George discovers that Marplot is also Charles and Miranda's foster-brother. Charles tries to have a private conversation with Sir George, but Sir George leaves to meet Sir Francis. These exchanges pique Marplot's curiosity. Whisper arrives, and tells Charles that Isabinda cannot meet him in the Park, but invites him to a clandestine rendezvous at her house when Sir Jealous is due to be out. They all exit. Meanwhile, Miranda arrives in a sedan chair. She meets Patch, the servant of her friend Isabinda, Charles's lover. They discuss Isabinda's impending marriage to Seignior Diego Babinetto, a man she has never met. As they are talking, Sir George re-enters with Sir Francis Gripe, Miranda's guardian. It is revealed that Miranda herself is George's 'incognita'. She overhears Sir George and Sir Francis come to an arrangement: Sir George will pay Sir Francis 100 guineas for one hour's conversation with Miranda, with Sir Francis at the other end of the room. After Sir Francis leaves, Miranda and Sir George have a witty conversation about love and marriage. Scene 1. At Sir Francis Gripe's house, Sir Francis and Miranda, his ward, discuss the arrangement with Sir George. Miranda pretends to have contempt for Sir George, and says she will marry Sir Francis tomorrow if only he will give her control of her estate. Sir Francis says he will settle the estate on her after their wedding. Miranda tells Sir Francis her plan for Sir George's visit: she will refuse to speak to him, no matter what he says. Sir Francis is delighted, believing that Miranda is slighting Sir George out of loyalty to him. In reality, she wishes to sound out Sir George, and conceal that she is his 'incognita'. Charles enters, and begs Sir Francis for money. Miranda leaves, and Sir Francis berates his son for his extravagance. Charles denies he is a spendthrift, observing that his miserly father doesn't give him any money to waste. He also points out that he is entitled to his dead uncle's estate, which Sir Francis refuses to relinquish. Marplot enters, begging £100 from Sir Francis (his guardian). Charles leaves, and Marplot runs off to try and follow him. Sir George enters, then Miranda. The famous 'dumb scene' ensues. Sir George tries to address Miranda, but she refuses to speak. He tells her to speak using sign-language, but she deliberately uses the wrong signs. He then impersonates her, pretending to answer his questions on her behalf. As she does not speak, he fails to realise that Miranda is the same person as his 'incognita'. Miranda leaves, and Sir Francis laughs at Sir George for thinking that Miranda would be interested in him. Scene 2. At Sir Jealous Traffick's house, Sir Jealous is berating his daughter Isabinda for standing out on the balcony. He praises the more modest customs of Spain, where ladies are veiled and don't display themselves in public. Patch, Isabinda's servant, pretends to agree with him. Isabinda puts up a spirited defence of English customs. Sir Jealous and Isabinda leave, and Whisper enters. Whisper is the servant of Charles, Isabinda's secret lover, and tells Patch that Charles is on the way to meet Isabinda secretly. Sir Jealous re-enters, and Whisper tries to cover by claiming he has entered the house in search of a lap-dog. Scene 3. At Charles's lodging, Marplot gives Charles the £100. Charles promises to pay him back, as Sir George enters, greatly disappointed by his conversation with Miranda. Marplot insists there must have been a 'trick' in the case, and offers to bring 'intelligence' from her to Sir George. Sir George engages him to do so. Scene 1. Charles waits anxiously outside Sir Jealous's house. Patch invites him in. Marplot sees everything, and decides to stay and watch what happens. Scene 2. Inside, Charles and Isabinda declare their love for one another. Patch rushes in—Sir Jealous has returned! Charles escapes to the balcony. Scene 3. Outside the house, Sir Jealous is accosted by Marplot, who foolishly reveals that an 'honest gentleman' (i.e. Charles) has entered the house. Sir Jealous is furious, beats Marplot, and rushes inside. Charles drops down from the balcony, and Marplot tells him what has happened. Charles rushes off in a rage. Marplot decides to go and see Miranda. Sir Jealous comes out of the house again, with his servants. Isabinda and Patch follow shortly after, and Sir Jealous berates Isabinda. Patch again pretends to be on Sir Jealous's side. Sir Jealous heads off to try and catch the intruder with his servants. Isabinda and Patch wonder who it was that betrayed Charles's presence in the house. Scene 4. Sir Francis and Miranda laugh about the 'dumb scene' with Sir George. Marplot enters, and criticises Sir Francis for duping Sir George, whom he describes as his 'friend'. Miranda sees an opening. She tells Sir Francis that Sir George has been loitering by the garden gate, hoping to see her, and instructs Marplot to tell Sir George that she is devoted to Sir Francis, and will have the men fire on Sir George if he is ever seen at the garden gate again. In an aside, she reveals her true motives: Sir George has in fact never loitered by the gate, but she hopes he will take the hint and come to her. Sir Francis is convinced by Miranda's act. Believing she will marry him tomorrow, he agrees to sign a document giving his consent for her to marry, thus freeing her from the conditions of her father's will. Scene 5. In a tavern, Sir George and Charles bewail their complicated love lives. Marplot enters with Miranda's message. Catching on, Sir George decides to go to the garden-gate tonight. Marplot suspects something, and decides to secretly follow him there. Scene 1. Outside Sir Jealous Traffick's house, Whisper gives Patch a letter for Isabinda from Charles, which is written in code. Charles is on the way to meet Isabinda. Whisper leaves, and as Patch re-enters the house she accidentally drops the letter. Sir Jealous arrives, happy with the news that Seignior Diego Babinetto has arrived in London to marry Isabinda. He is less happy when he finds the letter Patch has dropped, and storms inside. Scene 2. Inside, Patch and Isabinda confer, and Patch realises she has dropped the letter. Sir Jealous enters in a rage, accusing Isabinda of keeping up a secret correspondence, and demanding that she decipher the strange code. But Patch pretends the letter is actually a 'charm for the toothache' that she bought from a local wise woman. Isabinda desperately plays for time, knowing that Charles will arrive any minute. She takes the opportunity of the letter to berate her father for suspecting her. He tells her the Seignior has arrived and will wed her tomorrow. She plays a tune on the spinet, while Charles enters the house through the balcony and opens the door from Isabinda's room. Seeing Sir Jealous is there, he retreats, but not before Sir Jealous sees him. Seeing the truth, he dismisses Patch from her post, and tells Isabinda he will move her into the back of the house, where there is no balcony. Scene 3. Outside, Sir Jealous sends Patch away. He goes back inside, and Charles enters. He comforts Patch, saying he will look after her now she has been fired, and they hatch a plan together: Charles will impersonate Seignior Diego Babinetto, and marry Isabinda in his stead tomorrow. Scene 4. Sir George arrives at the garden gate of Sir Francis's house, and is admitted by Scentwell, Miranda's servant. Scene 5. Sir George and Miranda meet and declare their love for one another. Now that Miranda has secured written consent from Sir Francis, they plan to elope and marry immediately. Sir Francis returns unexpectedly with Marplot, and Sir George hides behind the chimney-board. Sir Francis is eating an orange, and tries to throw the peel behind the chimney-board, so Miranda pretends she is keeping a pet monkey there. Marplot begs to see the monkey, but Miranda protests and Sir Francis prevents it. Sir Francis decides to leave on his errand, and leaves with Miranda and the others, leaving only Marplot behind. Marplot lifts the chimney-board, and discovers Sir George. Marplot tells him to flee through a certain door, and to smash some china on the way out. Sir Francis, Miranda and Scentwell re-enter, and Marplot claims that the monkey escaped. Sir Francis finally leaves, Sir George emerges again, and Patch enters with news that Charles has a scheme, and needs Sir George's help. They all leave together. Scene 1. In Sir Francis's house, Miranda, Patch and Scentwell discuss Miranda's new condition: she has just married Sir George. She orders Scentwell to pack her things so she can leave the house before Sir Francis returns. Unexpectedly, he returns. To get him out of the house, Miranda and Patch tell him about Isabinda's impending nuptials, which he agrees to go and witness with them. Scene 2. In Sir Jealous's house, Charles arrives in his Spanish disguise. Sir George pretends to be 'Mr Meanwell', his English agent. They persuade Sir Jealous that Charles is the real Seignior Diego. Isabinda protests that she does not wish to marry this stranger against her will, but when Sir Jealous steps away, she is told by Sir George that this 'Seignior Diego' is actually her lover Charles. They all go into the next room to perform the wedding. Scene 3. Outside Sir Jealous's house, Marplot is hunting for Charles. He knows that Charles is in a Spanish costume, and when he discovers that a man in Spanish clothes has entered Sir Jealous's house, he demands admission. Scene 4.

The Business of Murder

Play · 1981

Stone, a humourless and dour man, invites Dee, a television playwright, over to his flat on the premise of discussing a script. Once there, she is surprised when Superintendent Hallett, the man with whom she is having an affair, also arrives for an entirely different reason. But nothing is as it seems and as the plot twists and turns, the motive of their host Stone gradually becomes clear. They are all, it would seem, in the same business... The Business of Murder.

The Butter and Egg Man

Play · 1925

A 1920s slang term popularized by Texas Guinan,—someone wealthy and unwary. A souvenir booklet for the original production of The Butter and Egg Man devoted an entire page to the various claims of origin for the phrase. Peter Jones is a young man who arrives on Broadway from Chillicothe, Ohio, hoping to invest $20,000 in a play and turn a profit sufficient to buy a local hotel back home. He is conned by Joe Lehman and Jack McClure into backing their play with a 49-percent stake. The play opens out-of-town in Syracuse and bombs. Lehman and McClure want out, and Jones buys them out, and revamps the play into a huge hit. Jones then sells back to them at a huge profit after learning of claims that the play was stolen, and returns home to get his hotel. Kaufman's comedy may be seen as a precursor to Mel Brooks' The Producers.

The Calendar

Play · 1929

The Calendar is a 1929 play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It is a crime thriller set in the world of horse racing world, the sport being among Wallace's interests. The protagonist is a financially struggling racehorse owner with a shady reputation. It premiered at the Palace Theatre in Manchester before transferring to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End. It was revived for a 42 performance run at the Lyceum Theatre the following year. That year Wallace also adapted it into a novel.

The Camp

Play · 1778

The Camp: A Musical Entertainment is a 1778 play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, with assistance from John Burgoyne and David Garrick. The set designs were by Philip James de Loutherbourg. The play gently satirised the preparations of the British to organise home defences during the American War of Independence when an invasion of the British Isles by France, and later Spain, seemed imminent. It focuses on Coxheath Camp,, a military camp placed near Coxheath in Southern England. It premiered on 15 October 1778 at the Drury Lane Theatre. The play was produced at a time when a genuine sense of crisis swept the country following France's entry into the war which culminated in the failed Armada of 1779. Because of his death while working on the play, Garrick is sometimes said to be the only casualty of the French invasion. The play proved to be a hit. It was the most performed work at the Drury Lane Theatre during the 1778-1779 season, comfortably beating School for Scandal.

The Campaign

Play · 1784

The Campaign: or, Love in the East Indies is a 1784 comedy play with songs by the Irish writer Robert Jephson. It premiered at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin in 1784, before transferring to Covent Garden where it first appeared in May 1785. The original London cast included John Quick as General Howitzer, John Edwin as Gregory, John Henry Johnstone as Captain Farquhar, Ralph Wewitzer as Squad, William Cubitt as Ensign Flag, Margaret Kennedy as Saib, Sarah Maria Wilson as Susan and Elizabeth Bannister as Miss Lucy Seymour. In 1787 John O'Keeffe adapted the work into a two-act afterpiece Love and War.

The Campaigners

Play · 1698

The Campaigners; Or, The Pleasant Adventures At Brussels is a 1698 comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane by Christopher Rich's Company. The original Drury Lane cast included Thomas Simpson as Don Leon, Benjamin Johnson as The Sieur Bondevelt, John Mills as Colonel Darange, Tobias Thomas as Kinglove, William Pinkethman as Min Heer Tomas, Colley Cibber as Marqui Bertran, William Bullock as Mascarillo, Frances Maria Knight as Angellica, Susanna Verbruggen as Madam la Marquise, Mary Powell as Anniky and Mary Kent as Gusset.

The Canterbury Guests

Play · 1694

The Canterbury Guests; or, A Bargain Broken is a 1694 comedy play by the English writer Edward Ravenscroft. It was the only new work performed by the United Company that autumn, amidst tensions that eventually led to a split. The original cast included Cave Underhill as Sir Barnaby Buffler, William Bowen as Justice Greedy, John Verbruggen as Lovell, George Powell as Carless, Thomas Dogget as Dash, William Pinkethman as Jack Sawce, Thomas Kent as Toby, George Bright as Durzo, Jane Rogers as Jacinta, Susanna Verbruggen as Hillaria, Abigail Lawson as Mrs Dazie, Frances Maria Knight as Arabella and Mary Kent as Mrs Breeder. The incidental music was composed by Henry Purcell.

The Captives

Play · 1724

The Captives is a 1724 tragedy by the British writer John Gay. The action takes place in the ancient Median Empire, following the fashion in many tragedies of the era to have oriental settings. It concerns a plot against the King, which involves his wife and two royal Persian captives. It was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre and starred the leading actors Robert Wilks as Phraortes, Anne Oldfield as Captive, Barton Booth as Sophernes, John Mills as Hydarnes, Mary Porter as Astarbe, Charles Williams as Araxes and Roger Bridgewater as Orbasius. It enjoyed a solid run of seven performances, but the rival Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre put on a series of popular hits such as The Recruiting Officer, The Drummer and The Double Dealer against it. George, Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Caroline attended a performance of the play.

The Cardinal

Play · 1901

The Cardinal is a 1901 historical play by the British writer Louis N. Parker. It is set in Renaissance Italy at the height of the power of the Medici Dynasty. It originally premiered at the Theatre Royal, Montreal before transferring to the Garden Theatre on Broadway. It then enjoyed a run of 106 performances at St James' Theatre in London's West End between 31 August and 5 December 1903. The original London cast included E.S. Willard, Frederick Volpe, Harry Lonsdale, Alice Lonnon, Joseph Farjeon and Helen Ferrers.

The Careless Husband

Play · 1704

The Carless Husband is a comedy play by the English writer Colley Cibber. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 7 December 1704. The original cast featured Cibber as Lord Foppington, George Powell as Lord Morelove, Robert Wilks as Sir Charles Easy, Anne Oldfield as Lady Betty Modish, Frances Maria Knight as Lady Easy, Henrietta Moore as Lady Graveairs and Jane Lucas as Mrs Edging. It has been described as Cibber's most successful play, and provided a vehicle for his popular foppish Lord Foppington personae.

The Careless Lovers

Play · 1673

The Careless Lovers follows the tyrannical London Alderman Mr. Muchworth, who is determined to block his daughter Jacinta from marrying her true love, Lovell. Instead, he plans to force her into a highly profitable arranged marriage with Lord De Boastado, an insufferably pompous and easily fooled nobleman. Muchworth is also tasked with managing his cynical, fiercely independent niece, Hillaria. Rather than helping her cousin, Hillaria is locked in a savage, rapid-fire war of wits with a fellow libertine named Careless; both loudly despise the traditional concept of marriage and spend their time trading insults. To stop the forced wedding, Jacinta, Lovell, and their highly proactive servants launch a series of chaotic, retaliatory scams to utterly ruin Lord De Boastado’s reputation. In the play's most famous farcical highlight, they hire two heavily pregnant tavern wenches to ambush De Boastado in public. The women scream and aggressively claim that the fop is the father of their unborn children, thoroughly embarrassing him in front of the Alderman. Meanwhile, the clever maidservant Beatrice decides to look out for her own financial future; she puts on an elaborate aristocratic disguise, seduces the clueless De Boastado, and successfully tricks him into legally marrying her instead of Jacinta. With De Boastado accidentally married to a maid and his social ambitions completely shattered, Muchworth has no choice but to capitulate and allow Jacinta and Lovell to wed. The final comedic victory belongs to the sub-plot: realizing they are intellectual and rakish equals, Careless and Hillaria finally agree to marry. However, they do so with a radically subversive twist, explicitly vowing that they will completely disregard traditional marital fidelity and remain "careless lovers" who are free to sleep with other people

The Carmelite

Play · 1784

The Carmelite is a 1784 tragedy by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Drury Lane Theatre on 2 December 1784. The play's hero Saint-Valori disguises himself as a Carmelite. The original cast included Sarah Siddons as Matilda, William Smith as Saint Valori, John Palmer as Lord Hildebrand, John Philip Kemble as Montgomeri, James Aickin as Lord De Courci, John Hayman Packer as Gyfford, John Phillimore as Fitzallan and John Fawcett as Raymond. The play enjoyed some success, and was later staged at a theatre in Belfast where Wolfe Tone saw it in 1791.

The Castle of Montval

Play · 1799

The Castle of Montval is a tragedy by the British writer Thomas Sedgwick Whalley. It was first published in 1781, but was not staged in London's West End until 23 April 1799 when it appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane where it succeeded The East Indian by Matthew Lewis. The Drury Lane cast included Sarah Siddons as Countess of Montval, John Philip Kemble as the Old Count, James Aickin as Count of Colmar, Charles Holland as Count of Montval, Charles Kemble as Marquis of Vaublane, William Barrymore as Lapont, John Hayman Packer as Blaise, Jane Powell as Matilda and Elizabeth Heard as Teresa. It was part of the tend of Gothic plays popular during the era.

The Cat and the Canary

Play · 1922

The story concerns the death and inheritance of old Cyrus West, a rich eccentric. He decrees that his will be read 20 years after his death, at which point his relatives converge at his old family home, now a spooky old haunted mansion. The will reads that his most distant relative still bearing the name of West be sole heir, provided they are legally sane. The rest of the night spent in the house calls into question the sanity of Annabelle West, a fragile young woman who is legally Cyrus West's heir.

The Changing Room

Play · 1971

At the play's core is a semi-pro Northern England rugby league team. During the week, its members are peaceable men toiling away at mindless, working class jobs. On Saturday, they prepare for gory combat on the playing field. The changing room is where they perform their pre-game initiation rites, strip down, loosen muscles, and get into their uniforms. After the match they return, often broken, muddy, and bloody, regretting their loss or giddy with victory in the communal shower. There is little in the way of plot, but Storey engages his audience with his ability to dissect his characters' hurts, hopes, desires, and fighting instincts.

The Chapter of Accidents

Play · 1780

The Chapter of Accidents is a 1780 comedy play by Sophia Lee. It was inspired by the play by Le Père de famille by Denis Diderot. The prologue was written by George Colman the Elder. It premiered at the Haymarket in London on 5 August 1780. The original cast included John Palmer as Woodville, Robert Bensley as Lord Glenmore, Richard Wilson as Governor Harcourt, Charles Bannister as Captain Harcourt, Francis Aickin as Grey, John Edwin as Jacob, Sarah Maria Wilson as Bridget and Elizabeth Farren as Cecelia.

The Cheats of Scapin

Play · 1676

The Cheats of Scapin is a 1676 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Otway. It is an adaptation of the French play Scapin the Schemer by Molière. It premiered at the Dorset Garden Theatre performed by the Duke's Company as an afterpiece to Otway's new tragedy Titus and Berenice. The original cast included Anthony Leigh as Scapin, Samuel Sandford as Thrifty, James Nokes as Gripe, Henry Norris as Octavian, Thomas Percival as Leander, John Richards as Shift, Elizabeth Barry as Lucia and Anne Shadwell as Clara.

The Child of Nature

Play · 1788

The Child of Nature is a 1788 comedy play by the English writer Elizabeth Inchbald, adapted from a French work by the Countess de Genlis. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 28 November 1788. The original cast included Thomas Ryder as Duke Murcia, William Farren as Marquis Almanza, William Thomas Lewis as Count Valantia, James Fearon as Seville, William Macready the Elder as Granada, Francis Aickin as Peasant, Isabella Mattocks as Marchioness Mérida and Ann Brunton Merry as Amanthis. The Dublin premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre on 13 February 1789.

The Children in the Wood

Play · 1793

The Children in the Wood is a 1793 two-act musical play with a libretto by English playwright Thomas Morton and music by Samuel Arnold. It was derived from the children's story Babes in the Wood, and was very popular into the early 19th century. The play debuted at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on October 1, 1793. The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure called it "one of the most interesting trifles that has been lately exhibited." "The subject is the old legendary tale of the Babes of the Wood; and though the author has necessarily departed from the anecdote in the ballad, by saving the infants, he has imparted much tenderness and simplicity to the fable, and in the gayer scenes thrown much cheerfulness into his characters." The review also praised the performance of actor John Bannister.

The Choleric Man

Play · 1774

The Choleric Man is a 1774 comedy play by the British author Richard Cumberland. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1774. The original cast included Thomas King as Andrew Nightshade, James Aickin as Manlove, John Hayman Packer as Stapleton, Samuel Reddish as Charles Manlove, Thomas Weston as Jack Nightshade, Robert Baddeley as Dibble, John Moody as Gregory, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Frampton. Roger Wright as Frederick, Elizabeth Hopkins as Mrs Stapleton, Frances Abington as Laetitia and Jane Pope as Lucy. The play's Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 14 April 1777. It also appeared later at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.

The Christian Hero

Play · 1735

The Christian Hero is a 1735 tragedy by the British writer George Lillo. It is based on the life of Skanderbeg who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. Two years earlier William Havard had written Scanderbeg, another work based on his life. The original Drury Lane cast included William Milward as Scanderbeg, James Quin as Amurath, William Mills as Mahomet, Edward Berry as Osmyn, Sarah Thurmond as Hellena, John Mills as Aranthes, Richard Winstone as Paulinus and Theophilus Cibber as Amasie.

The Citizen

Play · 1761

Philpot, a wealthy skinflint, has bargained with Sir Jasper Wilding, a fox hunter, for his son Young Philpot, a buck and wastrel, to marry Maria Wilding, and for his daughter Sally to marry Wilding's son, for settlements and twenty thousand pounds paid to Sir Jasper. Young Philpot has lost a fortune, but borrows money from his father and embarks on an insurance fraud involving shipwrecked goods. Maria plans to marry Beaufort, who loves her. As Young Philpot tries to propose, she convinces him she is half-witted, and he spurns her. In the second act, Philpot senior is visiting Corinna, a lady of loose virtue, but hides under the table when his son calls upon her. He overhears as Young Philpot tells her how he has cajoled the money out of his father. Maria's brother surprises them, and old Philpot is also discovered, to their mutual shame. In the final scene Sir Jasper with a lawyer obtains Philpot's signature to the agreements, but meanwhile Maria, an educated girl, shows her strong character to Young Philpot and he again refuses to propose. Having signed away his rights old Philpot offers to marry her, but the lawyer reveals himself as Beaufort, and explains that he has swapped the deeds, so that Philpot has unwittingly signed his agreement for Maria to marry Beaufort.

The Citizen Turned Gentleman

Play · 1672

The story centers on Mr. Jorden, a prosperous but deeply naive London draper who is utterly obsessed with shedding his middle-class roots to become an aristocratic gentleman. To achieve this, he foolishly hires a small army of expensive, bickering tutors in music, dance, fencing, and philosophy. They happily drain his bank account while privately mocking his complete lack of rhythm, coordination, and intellect. Jorden’s desperate vanity makes him an easy target for a bankrupt courtier named Dorant, who extravagantly flatters the merchant to borrow massive sums of money. Dorant promises to use the cash to woo a wealthy widow on Jorden's behalf, but secretly pockets the money and courts the lady for himself. The plot takes a farcical turn when Jorden’s daughter, Lucia, wants to marry Cleverwit, a witty young man of humble status. Because Jorden refuses to let his daughter marry anyone below the rank of nobility, Cleverwit and his servant launch a wild, low-budget hoax. Cleverwit disguises himself as the wealthy son of the Grand Signior of Turkey. He dazzles the starstruck Jorden by "ennobling" him in an absurd, entirely fake, grand backyard ceremony, complete with a chorus of chanting, fake Turkish paladins, bestowing upon the ecstatic merchant the completely fictional, nonsensical title of "Mamamouchi". Totally blinded by his ridiculous new "aristocratic" status, Jorden eagerly grants the fake Turkish prince his daughter’s hand in marriage, completely unaware that he has been swindled by his own family.

The City Bride

Play · 1696

The City Bride; Or, The Merry Cuckold is a 1696 comedy play by the English writer Joseph Harris. It premiered at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, staged by Thomas Betterton's company. The plot was inspired by John Fletcher's A Cure for a Cuckold. The original Lincoln's Inn Fields cast included John Bowman as Bonvile, John Thurmond as Friendly, George Bright as Justice Merryman, Samuel Bailey as Mr Spruce, John Freeman as Compasse, Elizabeth Bowman as Arabella, Elizabeth Boutell as Clara and Abigail Lawson as Nurse.

The City Directory

Play · 1889

A modern description of the New York production describes the plot as focusing on the confusion caused when Chicago detective John Smith (played by Charles Reed) travels to New York to arrest a crook, also named John Smith. A bunch of other "John Smiths" get into the act as they travel around Manhattan. Not atypical of farces of the period, the content of the show and musical numbers were subject to updating over time. On its 100th performance in New York, the show was advertised as being "rejuvenated" with new parts and music.

The City Lady

Play · 1696

The City Lady; Or, Folly Reclaim'd is a 1696 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Dilke. It was staged by Thomas Betterton's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre with a cast that included George Bright as Grumble, Cave Underhill as Bevis, John Bowman as Bellardin, John Hodgson as Lovebright, Joseph Harris as Pedanty, John Freeman as Burgersditius, William Bowen as Jasper, Elizabeth Barry as Lady Grumble, Elizabeth Bowman as Lucinda, Elinor Leigh as Secreta and Abigail Lawson as Fidget.

The City Ramble

Play · 1711

The City Ramble is a 1711 comedy play by the British writer Elkanah Settle. It should not be confused with the 1715 play A City Ramble. The original Drury Lane cast included Barton Booth as Rinaldo, Henry Norris as Count, John Mills as Carlo, William Bullock as Don Garcia, Benjamin Johnson as Common Councilman, Christopher Bullock as Chevalier, Thomas Elrington as Valerio, George Pack as Antonio, Lacy Ryan as Young Gentleman, Lucretia Bradshaw as Viola, Jane Rogers as Lucia, Elizabeth Willis as Old Woman and Frances Maria Knight as Common Councilman's wife.

The Climbers

Play · 1901

The Climbers is an American play in four acts by Clyde Fitch. The play premiered on Broadway at the Bijou Theatre on January 21, 1901. It ran for 163 performances, closing on June 1, 1901. Produced by Amelia Bingham, the production was directed by the playwright. It used scenic designs by Ernest Albert and Joseph A. Physioc. The production starred Bingham as Mrs. Sterling, Frank Worthing as Richard Sterling, Harry Wright as Richard Sterling, Jr., Clara Bloodgood as Miss Godesby, George C. Boniface as Dr. Steinart, Madge Carr Cook as Mrs. Hunter, Minnie Dupree as Clara Hunter, Maude Monroe as Jessica Hunter, Robert Edeson as Edward Warden, Ferdinand Gottschalk as Johnny Trotter, Henry Woodruff as Edward Warden, Thomas F. Fallon as Godesby, and John Flood as Frederick Mason. The Climbers was revived by Bingham on Broadway at the Princess Theatre in 1904. The play was adapted into a film three times, The Climbers (1915 film), directed by Barry O'Neil; The Climbers (1919 film), directed by Tom Terriss; and The Climbers (1927 film), directed by Paul L. Stein. The play was parodied in the 1901 Broadway musical The King's Carnival.

The Coast of Utopia

Play · 2002

The Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays: Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866. Having won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Play, it ended up becoming the most Tony-winning play of all time in this ceremony, a record it holds to this day. The title comes from a chapter in Avrahm Yarmolinsky's book Road to Revolution: A Century of Russian Radicalism (1959). The trilogy, nine hours in total, premiered with Voyage on 22 June 2002 at the National Theatre's Olivier auditorium in repertory, directed by Trevor Nunn. The openings of Shipwreck and Salvage followed on 8 July, and 19 July, completing its run on 23 November 2002. In 2006, directed by Jack O'Brien, the plays debuted on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, New York City, where it closed on 13 May 2007 after a combined total of 124 performances. The trilogy has also been performed in Russia; it opened at Moscow's Russian Academic Youth Theatre in October 2007, directed by Alexey Borodin. The trilogy received its Japanese premiere at Theater Cocoon, Bunkamura in Tokyo on 12 September 2009 and completed its run (including 10 one-day marathon performances) on 4 October 2009. The production was directed by Yukio Ninagawa.

The Cobbler of Preston

Play · 1716

The Cobbler of Preston (first published as The Cobler of Preston) is a 1716 comedy play by Christopher Bullock, although a separate play of the same title was written by Charles Johnson the same year. A one-act afterpiece is the origin of the phrase "Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes". In the preface to the published version Bullock suggested that he had begun writing the play just four days before its premiere. It takes inspiration from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare and is set in Preston, Lancashire. The town had recently been scene of fighting during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion at the Battle of Preston. Bullock's play does not overtly reference the rebellion, but has undertones supportive of the Hanoverian Dynasty. It first appeared at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre as the afterpiece to a revival of The Confederacy by John Vanbrugh. The cast included John Ogden as Sir Jasper Manly, James Spiller as Toby Guzzle, Christopher Bullock as Snuffle and William Bullock as Grist and Benjamin Griffin as Dorcas Guzzle.

The Coffee House

Play · 1738

The Coffee House is a 1738 comedy play by the British writer James Miller, written as an afterpiece. After being performed at Drury Lane, it was published later that year with some alterations to the play's original text. The original Drury Lane cast included Benjamin Griffin as Harpie, Charles Macklin as Bays, John Harper as Booswell, William Havard as Hartly, Richard Winstone as Gaylove, Theophilus Cibber as Cibber, a Comedian and Kitty Clive as Miss Kitty. The role of the poet played by Macklin was apparently intended as a caricature of Richard Savage.

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