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The Devil of a Wife

Play · 1686

Jobson, a weaver, routinely abuses his kind wife, Nell. Jobson attends a raucous party run by Sir Richard Lovemore, but the proceedings are disrupted by Lovemore's peevish and controlling wife, Lady Lovemore, who considers such events sinful now that she has come under the influence of a preacher who frequents the Lovemores' house. Sir Richard's servants devise a scheme to pretend to be demons in order to scare the preacher (who is staying with the Lovemores) and are successful in their endeavors. Meanwhile, after being rudely addressed by Lady Lovemore, a doctor resolves to cast a spell that makes Lady Lovemore appear to the world as Nell, and Nell as Lady Lovemore. The next morning the women wake up in the beds of the other's spouse. The doctor decides to rescind the spell; by that point Lady Lovemore's treatment of Jobson has taught him to appreciate his wife, and Jobson's behavior towards Lady Lovemore has made her attitude gentler.

The Devil's Disciple

Play · 1897

The setting is in the Fall of 1777, during the Saratoga Campaign. Richard (Dick) Dudgeon is an outcast from his family in colonial Websterbridge, New Hampshire. He returns their hatred with scorn. After the death of his father, Dick returns to his childhood home to hear the reading of his father's will, much to his family's dismay. Anthony Anderson, the local minister, treats him with courtesy despite Dick's self-proclaimed apostasy, but Dick's "wickedness" appalls Anderson's wife Judith. To everyone's surprise, it is revealed that Dick's father secretly changed his will just before he died, leaving the bulk of his estate to Dick. Dick promptly evicts his mother from her home, but also invites his cousin Essie (the illegitimate daughter of Dick's never-do-well uncle Peter), orphaned by the hanging of her father as a rebel by the British, to stay as long as she wants. At the end of the Act, Dick proclaims himself also a rebel against the British and scorns his family as cowards when they flee his home. He warns Anderson that the approaching army hanged his uncle in error, believing him to be a man of highest respect, unaware of his ill repute, and that Anderson will be the example set in Websterbridge. While visiting Anderson's home at the Reverend's invitation, Dick is left alone with Judith while Anderson is called out to Mrs. Dudgeon's deathbed. Perceiving Judith's distaste for him, Dick attempts to leave, but Judith insists he stay until Anderson returns. While they are waiting, British soldiers enter Anderson's home and arrest Dick, mistaking him for Anderson. Dick allows them to take him away without revealing his actual identity. He swears Judith to secrecy lest her husband give the secret away and expose himself to arrest. Anderson returns and finds his wife in a state of great agitation. He demands to know if Dick has harmed her. Breaking her promise to Dick, Judith reveals that soldiers came to arrest Anderson but Dick went in his place. Anderson is stunned. He grabs all his money and a gun and quickly rides away, ignoring Judith's appeals. Judith believes her husband to be a coward, while Dick, whom she despised, is a hero. Dick is being held for court martial at the local British Army headquarters. Judith visits Dick and asks to be present at his trial. He allows it as long as she promises not to speak up. The proceedings are run by the charming British General Burgoyne. After some back and forth, where, among other things, Dick makes treasonous statements, it is decided the prisoner will be hanged at noon. Judith can no longer hold her tongue and tells the court Dick is not her husband, but this makes no difference—the sentence will still be carried out. The action moves to the gallows at the Websterbridge market place, where Dick is soon to be hanged. He is saved at the last second, however, by Anderson, now the commander of a militia that has won the day.

The Dining Room

Play · 1981 est

The play is a comedy of manners, set in a single dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine. Presumably, each story is focused around a different family during different time periods who has in their possession the same dining room furniture set, manufactured in 1898. The stories are about White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) families. Some scenes are about the furniture itself and the emotional attachment to it, while other scenes simply flesh out the culture of the WASPs. Overall, it tells the story of the dying and relatively short-lived culture of upper-middle class Americans, and the transition into a much more efficient society with less emphasis on tradition and more emphasis on progress. Some characters are made fun of, as is the culture itself, but there is also a genuine longing for the sense of stability, comfort and togetherness that the culture provides. From the back of the playbook: The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is a mosaic of interrelated scenes—some funny, some touching, some rueful—which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP. The actors change roles, personalities and ages with virtuoso skill as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events; a father lectures his son on grammar and politics; a boy returns from boarding school to discover his mother's infidelity; a senile grandmother doesn't recognize her own sons at Thanksgiving dinner; a daughter, her marriage a shambles, pleads futilely to return home, etc. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes coalesce, ultimately, into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor and abundant humanity.

The Dippers

Play · 1922

London lawyer Henry Talboyes is stranded at a small railway station. He accepts a lift to a nearby country house whose nouveau riche owner, Lord Mellingham, is hosting an elaborate party that evening. Talboyes is mistaken for one half of the professional dancing couple hired for the occasion, the eponymous Dippers, as the wife has turned up but the husband was delayed en route. The only person capable of untangling the mess is Talboyes's fiancee, the young widow Mrs Tavistock, who is providentially present at Mellingham Hall.

The Disappointment

Play · 1684

The Disappointment; Or, The Mother In Fashion is a 1684 comedy play by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was first performed by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The prologue was written by John Dryden. The original cast included Thomas Betterton as Alphonso, William Smith as Lorenzo, John Wiltshire as Alberto, Anthony Leigh as Rogero, Sarah Cooke as Erminia, Susanna Percival as Juliana, Frances Maria Knight as Angelline, Katherine Corey as Her Supposed Mother and Elinor Leigh as Clara.

The Disbanded Officer

Play · 1786

The Disbanded Officer; Or, The Baroness of Bruschal is a 1786 comedy play by James Johnstone, inspired by the 1763 German play Minna von Barnhelm by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 24 July 1786. The original London cast included John Palmer as Colonel Holberg, John Bannister as Paul Warmans, Robert Baddeley as Katzenbuckel, William Parsons as Rohf, Charles Farley as Boy, Elizabeth Farren as Baroness of Bruschal, Mary Bulkley as Lisetta and Elizabeth Inchbald as Lady in Mourning. The Irish premiere took place at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin on 15 February 1787. Johnstone dedicated the publisher version to Queen Charlotte.

The Discovery

Play · 1763

The Discovery: A Comedy in Five Acts is a comedy by Frances Sheridan. The play premiered on 5 February 1763, at the Drury Lane Theatre, London. The actors being David Garrick as Sir Anthony Branville, Frances' husband Thomas Sheridan as Lord Medway, William O'Brien as Sir Harry Flutter, Charles Holland as Colonel Medway, Mrs. Hannah Pritchard as Lady Medway, Mary Ann Yates as Mrs Knightly, and Jane Pope as Lady Flutter. Garrick agreed that Thomas Sheridan should play the lead role and be paid with two night's profits. Aldous Huxley controversially rewrote the play and provided a new ending, for a Chatto and Windus edition in 1924.

The Distaff Side

Play · 1933

The Distaff Side is a 1933 comedy play by the British writer John Van Druten. It premiered at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh before beginning a 102-performance run at the Apollo Theatre in London between 5 September and 2 December 1933. It was produced by Gilbert Miller. The original cast included Sybil Thorndike, Martita Hunt, Clifford Evans, Edgar Norfolk and Viola Keats. Its New York run began in September 1934 and lasted for 177 performances at the Booth Theatre.

The Doctor

Play · 2019

The play follows Professor Ruth Wolff, the Founding Director of the Elizabeth Institute, who refuses to let a Catholic priest into the operating room where a girl is dying from a botched self-administered abortion. After a recording of the physical altercation with the priest goes viral on the internet, Ruth begins to receive severe backlash from some of the hospital staff, the girl’s father, a network of social media users, and eventually, a TV panel of social activist groups. Each of the panellists question Ruth’s intention for prohibiting the priest’s entrance, who is later revealed to be a Black man, and criticize her refusal to identify with labels. The Doctor explores themes of identity, race, privilege, religion, mental health, and sexuality. In the original production, nontraditional casting methods were employed, such as color-conscious casting, to manipulate the audience’s expectations and internal biases towards identity groups.

The Doldrum

Play · 1796

The Doldrum is a 1796 comedy play by the Irish writer John O'Keeffe. A farce, it premiered as an afterpiece at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 23 April 1796. The original cast included Joseph Shepherd Munden as Sir Marmaduke, John Quick as Septimus, James Middleton as Captain Septimus, William Macready as Flam, Thomas Knight as Gyp, Samuel Simmons as Looby, Elizabeth Mansell as Emeline and Isabella Mattocks as Mrs. Auburne. The play's prologue made reference to Vortigern and Rowena, a forged play supposedly by Shakespeare, that had recently been staged at the rival Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 11 July 1796.

The Domestic Crusaders

Play · 2005

The play takes place over the course of one day, in an upper-middle-class suburban family home of a Muslim-American family of Pakistani origins. Six members of a Pakistani-American Muslim family, spanning three generations, reunite at the family home to celebrate the youngest son's 21st birthday. Each individual family member, or "domestic crusader", attempts to assert his or her individual definition of self and destiny in the face of collective family and societal constraints, fears and misunderstandings.

The Double Deception

Play · 1779

The Double Deception is a 1779 comedy play by the British writer Elizabeth Richardson. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 28 April 1779, and was her only play. The original cast included James William Dodd as Flippant, William Parsons as Welford, James Aickin as Fairgrove, Robert Baddeley as Rudely, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Robin, John Palmer as Sir Henry Varnish, Elizabeth Farren as Louisa Freemore, Elizabeth Hopkins as Lady Varnish, Priscilla Brereton as Sophia Welford, Jane Pope as Kitty.

The Double Gallant

Play · 1707

The Double Gallant, or the Sick Lady's Cure is a 1707 comedy play by the British writer Colley Cibber. It was originally performed on 1 November 1707 at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket with a cast that included Benjamin Johnson as Sir Solomon, Barton Booth as Clerimont, Robert Wilks as Careless, Colley Cibber as Atall, William Bowen as Captain Strut, Henry Norris as Sir Squabble Splithair, George Pack as Saunter, William Bullock as Old Wilful, Richard Cross as Sir Harry Atall, Anne Oldfield as Lady Dainty, Letitia Cross as Lady Sadlife, Jane Rogers as Clarinda, Lucretia Bradshaw as Sylvia and Margaret Saunders as Wishwell.

The Dramatist

Play · 1789

The Dramatist: Or, Stop Him who Can! is a 1789 comedy play by the British writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 15 May 1789. The original cast included John Quick as Lord Scratch, Joseph George Holman as Harry Neville, William Blanchard as Floriville, William Macready as Willoughby, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Ennui, James Thompson as Peter, William Thomas Lewis as Vapid, Ann Brunton as Louisa Courtney, Lydia Webb as Lady Waitfor't and Mary Wells as Marianne.

The Druid's Rest

Play · 1943

The Druid's Rest is a 1943 comedy play by the British writer Emlyn Williams. Set in his native Wales it was based on memories of village life there. It takes place entirely in The Druid's Rest a bar in a small community who mistakenly believe the man they are sheltering in their village, and need to with the Eisteddfod, is a murderer. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool before transferring to St Martin's Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 180 performances between 26 January 1944 and 17 June 1944. The cast included Richard Burton (later replaced by Stanley Baker), Lyn Evans, Roddy Hughes, Michael Shepley, Gladys Henson and Nuna Davey. The play marked the stage debuts of both Burton and Baker.

The Duchess de la Vallière

Play · 1837

The Duchess de la Vallière is an 1837 historical play by the British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It is based on the life of Louise de La Vallière, a French aristocrat and mistress of Louis XIV in the seventeenth century. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 4 January 1837. The original cast included Helena Faucit as Louise de la Vallière, William Macready as the Marquis Alphonso de Bragelone, John Vandenhoff as Louis XIV, William Farren as the Duke of Lauzun, John Langford Pritchard as the Count de Grammont, William Harries Tilbury as Bertrand and Sarah West as Madame la Vallière. It benefited from the more liberal licensing regime of Charles Kemble, who passed it without a protest. It was not a success, running for eight nights, and being attacked in the press for immorality. It appeared at the Park Theatre in New York on 13 May of the same year, where the title role was played by Ellen Kean.

The Duck House

Play · 2013

The play is set in May 2009, one year before the General Election, Gordon Brown's Labour government is unpopular. Robert Houston is a Labour backbencher seeking to defect to the Conservatives to keep his seat, when the expenses scandal hits the papers the day before his interview with Sir Norman Cavendish to complete the switch. Houston is in trouble and so is his staff (his wife Felicity, his son Seb and his Russian housekeeper Ludmilla) What follows is a comedy of errors as Houston and his family try to cover their expenses claims including a massage chair, a glittered toilet seat, hanging baskets and an ornamental duck house.

The Duellist

Play · 1773

The Duellist is a 1773 comedy play by the British writer William Kenrick. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 20 November 1773. The original Covent Garden cast included Henry Woodward as General Gantlet, William 'Gentleman' Smith as Captain Boothby, Edward Shuter as Sir Solomon Bauble, John Quick as Serjant Nonplus, William Thomas Lewis as Counsellor Witmore, Richard Wroughton as Lord Lovemore, John Cushing as Mactotum and Jane Green as Lady Bauble.

The Dumb Knight

Play · 1601 est

After the King of Cyprus conquers Sicily, knight Philocles wins the decisive duel and falls in love with Mariana. She asks him to remain silent for a year to prove his devotion, and his vow nearly leads to her execution. Mariana later exposes her brother the Duke of Epire’s plot against the King and helps save Philocles and the Queen. A comic subplot follows orator Prate, whose wife’s affair with Lord Alphonso and neglect of his clients are exposed before the King.

The Dupe

Play · 1763

The Dupe is a 1763 comedy play by the Irish writer Frances Sheridan. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1763. The original cast included Richard Yates as Sir John Woodall, William Havard as Friendly, John Hayman Packer as Wellford, Thomas King as Sharply and Hannah Pritchard as Mrs Etherdown, Kitty Clive as Mrs Friendly. It was one of only two new mainpieces debuting at Drury Lane that year along with a clutch of afterpieces. Sheridan, the mother of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was best known for her novel Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph but had enjoyed success with the play The Discovery earlier in the year.

The East Indian

Play · 1799

The East Indian is a 1799 comedy play by the British writer Matthew Lewis. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 22 April 1799. It was partly inspired by characters from Frances Burney's Cecilia while the playbill advertised it as being inspired by the 1790 play Die Indianer in England by August von Kotzebue. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Palmer as Lord Listless, William Barrymore as Modish, John Philip Kemble as Rivers, Charles Kemble as Beauchamp, James Aickin as Walsingham, Ralph Wewitzer as Friponeau, Thomas Hollingsworth as Squeez'em, John Bannister as Frank, Jane Powell as Mrs. Ormond, Dorothea Jordan as Zorayda and Charlotte Tidswell as Mrs. Blaball. Lewis had written the play several years earlier, and it was published in 1800 by John Bell.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

Play · 1965

The play revolves around a dysfunctional family consisting of single mother Beatrice and her two daughters, Ruth and Tillie, who try to cope with their abysmal status in life. The play is a lyrical drama, reminiscent of Tennessee Williams' style. Shy Matilda Hunsdorfer, nicknamed Tillie, prepares an experiment involving marigolds raised from seeds exposed to radioactivity for her science fair. She is, however, constantly thwarted by her self-centered and abusive mother, Beatrice, and by her extroverted yet unstable sister Ruth, who submits to her mother's will. Over the course of the play, Beatrice constantly tries to stamp out any opportunities Tillie has of succeeding, due to Beatrice's own lack of success in life. As the play progresses, the paths of the three characters diverge: Ruth has a nervous collapse while attempting to stand up to Beatrice, who, driven to the verge of insanity by her deep-seated enmity, impulsively kills the girls' pet rabbit, and wallows in her own perceived insignificance. Tillie meanwhile (much like her project's deformed yet beautiful, hardy marigolds) wins the science fair through sheer perseverance.

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

Play · 2009

Macedonio Guerra is a professional wrestler at THE Wrestling. Despite being the superior wrestler Mace is delegated to playing the heel to the champion, Chad Deity. Everett K Olson, CEO of THE Wrestling, capitalizes on racial stereotypes to win support from the audience. Tired of being “the guy who loses to make the winners look good, Mace recruits Vigneshwar Paduar (VP) to THE Wrestling. Unable to fit the racially ambiguous VP into his show, Olson initially refuses. But with the help of Chad Deity, Olson brings VP on as The Fundamentalist, with Mace playing his partner, Che Chavez Castro. The pair, billed as anti-American extremists, quickly become fan favorite villains. Act One ends with The Fundamentalist calling out Chad Deity on stage. VP watches the fight from his home in bed. He is happy to see Macedonio Guerra on stage, not Che Chavez Castro. In the final moments of the play, Mace is powerbombed by Chad Deity. Prompting his girlfriend to ask “Why are they rooting for the bad guy?”

The Elephant Man

Play · 1977

The Elephant Man opens with Frederick Treves, an up-and-coming surgeon, meeting his new employer Francis Carr-Gomm, the administrator of the London Hospital. Ross, the manager of a freak show, invites a crowd on Whitechapel Road to come view John Merrick, the Elephant Man. Treves happens upon the freak show and is intrigued by Merrick's disorder. He insists that he must study Merrick further; Ross agrees, for a fee. Ross then gives a lecture on Merrick's anatomy, making Merrick stand on display while Treves describes his condition to the audience. The freak show travels to Brussels after being driven out of London by the police. Merrick tries to converse with three freak show "pinheads", or people suffering from microcephaly and mental retardation. The "pinheads" go onstage to sing "We Are the Queens of the Congo", but the police will not allow Merrick to perform, because they consider his condition "indecent". Ross decides that Merrick is more trouble than he is worth, steals his savings, and sends him back to London. When Merrick arrives in London, his appearance incites a crowd to riot. The train's conductor and a policeman are able to fetch Treves to calm the situation. Treves takes Merrick to the London Hospital and interviews a woman, Nurse Sandwich, for the position of Merrick's caretaker. Sandwich assures Treves that she has cared for lepers in Africa and is quite prepared for anything. However, when she sees Merrick taking a bath, she bolts from the room and refuses to take the job. Bishop How visits Merrick and declares him a "true Christian in the rough". He tells Treves he would like to educate Merrick in religion. Carr-Gomm argues with Bishop How about the importance of science versus the importance of religion. Carr-Gomm announces that, due to a letter he had printed in The Times, the people of London have donated enough money to allow Merrick to live at the hospital for life. Treves tells Gomm that he is glad Merrick now has a place where he can stay without being stared at, and is determined that Merrick should lead a normal life. When two attendants, Will and Snork, are caught peeking into Merrick's room, Will is fired and Snork is given a severe warning. Treves believes that it is important to enforce these rules, but Merrick worries what will happen to Will and his family. Merrick grew up in the workhouses, and wishes that no one had to suffer that fate. Treves says that it is just the way things are. John Merrick has a visitor by the name of Madge Kendal, an actress who came across Carr-Gomm's section in the newspaper. When Mrs. Kendal meets Merrick, she requires all of her self-control in order to disguise her horror at Merrick’s appearance. After several minutes of strained conversation, Merrick mentions he is reading Romeo and Juliet, and Mrs. Kendal shares her experience in the role of Juliet. Merrick amazes Mrs. Kendal with his thoughtful and sensitive views on Romeo and the nature of love. Mrs. Kendal says that she will bring some of her friends to meet Merrick, then shakes his hand and tells him how truly pleased she is to meet him. Merrick dissolves into tears as Treves tells Mrs. Kendal that it is the first time a woman has ever shaken his hand. Mrs. Kendal's high society friends visit Merrick and bring him gifts while he builds a model of St. Phillip's church with his one good hand. He tells Mrs. Kendal that St. Phillip’s Church is an imitation of grace, and his model is therefore an imitation of an imitation. When Treves comments that all of humanity is a mere illusion of heaven, Merrick says that God should have used both hands. Merrick's new friends—Bishop How, Gomm, the Duchess, Princess Alexandra, Treves, and Mrs. Kendal—all comment upon how, in different ways, they see themselves reflected in him. However, Treves notes that even though Merrick has become popular, his condition is worsening with time. Merrick tells Mrs. Kendal that he needs a mistress and suggests that he would like her to do that for him. Mrs. Kendal listens compassionately, but she tells Merrick that it is unlikely that he will ever have a mistress. Merrick admits that he has never even seen a naked woman. Mrs. Kendal is flattered by his show of trust in her, and she realizes that she has come to trust him. She undresses and allows him to see her naked body. Treves enters and is shocked, sending Mrs. Kendal away. Ross comes to the hospital to ask Merrick to rejoin the freak show. Ross's health has drastically worsened, and he tells Merrick that without help he is doomed to a painful death. He tries to convince Merrick to charge the society members who visit him. Merrick refuses to help Ross, finally standing up to him after suffering years of abuse at his hands. Ross makes one final pathetic plea to Merrick, who refuses him, saying that's just the way things are. Merrick asks Treves what he believes about God and heaven. Then he confronts Treves, criticizing what he did to Mrs. Kendal and the rigid standards by which he judges everybody. Treves realizes that he has been too harsh with Merrick and tells him that although he will write to Mrs. Kendal, he does not believe she will return. After Merrick leaves the room, Treves says that it is because he does not want her to see Merrick die. Treves has a nightmare that he has been put on display while Merrick delivers a lecture about his terrifying normality, his rigidity, and the acts of cruelty he can commit upon others "for their own good". Carr-Gomm and Treves discuss Merrick's impending death. Treves displays frustration at the fact that the more normal Merrick pretends to be, the worse his condition becomes. He confronts Bishop How, telling him that he believes Merrick’s faith is merely another attempt to emulate others. It comes out that the real source of his frustrations is the chaos of the world around him, with his patients seemingly doing everything they can to shorten their own lives. No matter how hard he tries he cannot help them, just as he cannot help Merrick. He finally begs for the bishop to help him. Merrick finishes his model of the church. As usual, he goes to sleep while sitting, a posture which he must adopt due to the weight of his head. As he sleeps he sees visions of the pinheads, now singing that they are the Queens of the Cosmos. They lay him down to sleep normally, and he dies. Snork discovers his body and runs out screaming that the Elephant Man is dead. In the final scene, Carr-Gomm reads a letter he has written to The Times, outlining Merrick’s stay at the hospital, his death and his plans for the remaining funds donated for Merrick's care. When he asks Treves if he has anything else to add, a distressed Treves says he does not and leaves. As Carr-Gomm finishes the letter Treves rushes back in, saying that he’s thought of something. Carr-Gomm tells the doctor that it is too late: it is done.

The Emperor of the Moon

Play · 1687

Dr. Baliardo believes that the moon is inhabited, and that he will be able to spy on its king through his telescope. His obsession leads him to neglect his daughter Elaria and his niece Bellemante. Don Cinthio and Don Charmante form a plan to marry Elaria and Bellemante, as well as to cure Baliardo's obsession. They masquerade as the Emperor of the Moon and his brother, the Prince of Thunderland. The gullible Baliardo receives these otherworldly suitors, and so the stage is set for the grand finale: a masque-like pageant that the schemers perform in an abandoned building. There, Baliardo is greeted by (allegedly) the Emperor of the Moon's court and the entire zodiac.

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