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Clear filtersA magistrate's wife has concealed her age and her son is older than he believes. She and her sister visit a hotel to confront old acquaintances; the magistrate and his stepson end up there too, and a police raid sets off a chase that leads him to hear the case involving his own family.
Lady Loadstone’s household is crowded with suitors pursuing her niece Placentia, a financially controlling uncle, and unruly female servants. When Placentia goes into premature labour, a hidden infant switch from fourteen years earlier is revealed: the apparent niece is the governess’s daughter, while the maid is the true heir. The worthy steward Compass and Captain Ironside prove suitable matches for the women.
Jean-Claude Carrière’s stage adaptation of the Sanskrit epic unfolds in three parts: The Game of Dice, The Exile in the Forest, and The War.
Ismenia and Antonio fall in love despite a feud between their families, while their companions’ pursuit and a botched pageant complicate their courtships. At the same time, the miller’s daughter Florimel is abducted by Count Otrante but resists his attempts to make her his mistress; the king eventually discovers she is the long-lost daughter of a nobleman, clearing the way for her marriage and the resolution of the romances.
The Maid of Bath is a 1771 comedy play by the British actor-manager Samuel Foote. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 26 June 1771. It was inspired by the life of the singer Elizabeth Ann Linley of the Bath-based Linley family. The prologue was written by David Garrick.
Camiola loves Bertoldo but refuses to marry him while he remains bound by vows as a knight of a religious order. After he is captured in a military campaign, she pays his ransom and secures a marriage contract, but his attraction to another woman leads Camiola to reject him, enter a nunnery, and give away her fortune.
The Maid of Kent is a 1773 comedy play by the English writer Francis Godolphin Waldron. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 17 May 1773. The original cast included William Parsons as Sir Thomas Richacre, John Hayman Packer as Doctor Goodman, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Metre, John Palmer as George, Joseph Vernon as William, John Moody as O'Connor, Robert Baddeley as La Poudre, Richard Griffith as Robert, Elizabeth Younge as Emily, Jane Pope as Patty and Mary Bradshaw as Dame Quickset.
The Maid of Mariendorpt is an 1838 play by the Irish writer James Sheridan Knowles. It was inspired by the 1821 novel The Village of Mariendorpt by Anna Maria Porter. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 8 October 1838. The original cast included Sheridan Knowles as Muldenhau, Robert Strickland as General Kleiner, Walter Lacy as Baron Idenstein, Benjamin Nottingham Webster as Joseph, John Buckstone as Hans, Fanny Cooper as Adolpha, Emma Elphinstone as Meeta, Julia Glover as Esther. The same year it appeared at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.
A five-act tragedy loosely follows Joan of Arc: after falling in love with an English knight she spares him, is accused of sorcery and dismissed, then escapes captivity to save the French army, dying as victory is won.
The Maid's Last Prayer: Or, Any Rather Than Fail is a 1693 comedy play by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane by the United Company. The original cast included George Powell as Granger, John Bowman as Gayman, John Verbruggen as Garnish, Thomas Doggett as Lord Malepert, George Bright as Sir Ruff Rancounter, William Bowen as Sir Symphony, Cave Underhill as Drydrubb, William Pinkethman as Porter, Carey Perin as Christian, Elizabeth Barry as Lady Malepert, Anne Bracegirdle as Lady Trickitt, Susanna Mountfort as Lady Susan Malepert, Jane Rogers as Maria, Mary Betterton as Wishwell, Elinor Leigh as Siam and Mary Kent as Florence. It included music composed by Henry Purcell. The published version was dedicated to Charles Boyle.
When Duke Telemachus orders Eurymine killed for loving his son Ascanio, she escapes into the forest. Apollo transforms her into a boy at her request; she and Ascanio struggle to reunite amid mistaken identity and pastoral comic episodes, until Apollo restores her and her royal parentage is revealed.
In Portugal, Catalina's deceptive courtship of Antonio to conceal his love for her sister Berinthia leads her to plot her sister's abduction and poisoning. When Antonio saves Berinthia, a chain of family commands and duels ends in murder and reciprocal revenge.
When a king forces Amintor to marry Evadne instead of his betrothed Aspatia, Evadne reveals that the king has made her his mistress. She kills him; later Aspatia deliberately receives a fatal wound in a duel with Amintor, Evadne kills herself, and Amintor follows. The tragedy also follows General Melantius's revenge plot and the court's political upheaval.
At the Sicilian court, the queen’s love for her favorite Philocles is obscured by his misunderstanding of her feelings and the court’s expectation that she marry Lysimantes. Their shifting loyalties and restraint keep the outcome uncertain, alongside a comic courtship plot involving Celadon and Florimel.
When wealthy older bachelor Don Diego plans to marry 16-year-old Francisca, he believes she consents. She is in love with his nephew Carlos, who has come to stop the wedding. After discovering their feelings and recognizing the pressure both young people face, Diego lets Francisca choose and she marries Carlos.
Sisters and housemaids Claire and Solange take turns impersonating their absent mistress, Madame, in a ritual of domination and revenge. After their attempt to implicate Monsieur and drug Madame fails, they enact the murder in their role-play, with Claire ultimately drinking the tea herself.
A company hires a pleasure steamer for its staff party, where the boss announces impending redundancies. Employees compete to prove why they should keep their jobs, submitting to intimate confessions and increasingly cruel games. Rat commentators and motivation exercises expose a workplace in which dignity and survival are at stake.
The Major is an 1881 comedic play produced by Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart. It debuted to a full house at the new Theatre Comique on Broadway in New York City on August 29, 1881. Songs contributed by David Braham include "Major Gilfeather", "Miranda, When We Are Made One", "Veteran's Guards' Cadets", "Clara Jenkins' Tea" and "4-11-44". It ran for over 150 performances, closing on January 7, 1882, the longest of any Harrigan and Hart production at that time. The play was revived in March 1885 at the Fourteenth Street Theatre.
After an engineering project causes the death of a local river god, British engineer Frederick Compton and his wife invent a replacement deity, Moo, for the community. Its worship grows into an organized apocalyptic blood cult, eventually led by the Comptons’ son as prophet.
The deposed Duke Altofronto returns to the corrupt court of Genoa disguised as the caustic Malcontent Malevole, exposing his enemies’ schemes and maneuvering to regain his dukedom and reunite with his imprisoned wife.
Postwar soldier Beckmann returns from Russia to find his home and family lost. After failed attempts to reconnect with his former life and a suicide attempt, he confronts those responsible for the deaths of his men, but receives no answer to his questions about guilt, suffering, and responsibility.
A theatrical research piece created through research, improvisation, and ensemble exploration, inspired by Oliver Sacks's book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
The play is set in the small town of Mesalia, Ohio in the weeks leading to Christmas in the late 1930s. The famously outlandish New York City radio wit Sheridan Whiteside ('Sherry' to his friends) is invited to dine at the house of the well-to-do factory owner Ernest W. Stanley and his family. But before Whiteside can enter the house, he slips on a patch of ice outside the Stanleys' front door and injures his hip. Confined to the Stanleys' home, Whiteside is looked after by several professionals: Dr. Bradley, the absent-minded town physician, Miss Preen, his frantic nurse, and Maggie Cutler, his faithful secretary. Confined to the house for a month, Whiteside drives his hosts mad by viciously insulting them, monopolizing their house and staff, running up large phone bills, and receiving many bizarre guests, including paroled convicts, and the eccentric Professor Metz, who brings him a glass-encased cockroach colony. Although he earns the intense dislike of Mr. Stanley, Whiteside manages to befriend his adult children, June and Richard, as well as his wildly eccentric older sister, Harriet Stanley. He also befriends local newspaperman and aspiring playwright Bert Jefferson but soon learns that Maggie has fallen in love with Bert, and plans to leave her job to marry him. Unable to bear the thought of losing his secretary, Whiteside invites his friend, the glamorous and loose-living actress Lorraine Sheldon, to Mesalia to look at Bert's new play, hoping she can break up the marriage plans. Dr. Bradley tells Whiteside he was mistaken in his diagnosis, and Whiteside is well enough to leave. Whiteside buys the doctor's silence by pretending to want to work on a book with him, and for the rest of the play keeps brushing him off. Whiteside encourages June Stanley to elope with a young union organizer whom her father disapproves of, and Richard to run away and pursue his dream of becoming a photographer. Lorraine arrives, and Maggie instantly suspects Whiteside's efforts to interfere with her and Bert. Whiteside and Maggie then receive a visit from their friend, noted British actor and playwright Beverly Carlton. Maggie learns Beverly can do a great impression of Lord Bottomley, an English lord whom Lorraine is desperate to marry. She gets Beverly to call Lorraine from the train station and pretend to be Lord Bottomley proposing, to get Lorraine to leave. However, Whiteside soon sees through the ruse and when Lorraine realizes Maggie's involvement, she starts to seduce Bert as revenge. The next day, Christmas, Bert is enthralled with Lorraine, and Maggie, hurt by Whiteside's betrayal, tells him she is quitting. Feeling guilty, Sherry tries to think of a way to get Lorraine out of Mesalia. He gets help from an unexpected visit by his friend, movie comedian Banjo. Mr. Stanley, however, furious at Whiteside's interference with his family, has now ordered Sherry's eviction from the house and gives him fifteen minutes to leave. All looks hopeless until an Egyptian mummy case is delivered to Whiteside (a Christmas gift from the Khedive of Egypt). Whiteside and Banjo manage to trick Lorraine into the mummy case and shut her inside. Sherry then sees a photo of Harriet Stanley when she was younger, and recognizes her as a famous axe murderer. Using this information, he blackmails Mr. Stanley into helping them get the case onto Banjo's plane. Whiteside now stands, telling Maggie she is free to marry Bert and prepares to return to New York by train. Unfortunately, as he is leaving the house, he slips on another patch of ice, injuring himself again. He is carried back inside the house screaming as the curtain falls.
The Man Who Changed His Name is a mystery play by the British writer Edgar Wallace, which was first staged in 1928. A young woman begins to suspect that her wealthy, respectable husband may be an escaped Canadian murderer. Its initial run lasted for 77 performances at the Apollo Theatre in the West End. The original cast included James Raglan, Hartley Power and Dorothy Dickson.
David Beeves, a young Midwestern auto mechanic, seems to overcome every obstacle through extraordinary luck while those around him fail. Over several years, his successes bring wealth and family, but he becomes uneasy about whether luck or his own hard work accounts for them; he finally recognizes the care and effort behind his prosperity.
The Man Who Had Three Arms is a two-act play for three actors by Edward Albee. The play ran briefly on Broadway in 1983.
Across 17 years, Daryll Fairley moves from a rebellious young woman seeking independence to a successful dressmaking-business owner who supports her family, then to an unfulfilled wife who returns to work. The play examines how control of family money shapes gender and power.
A young scholar from New York arrives in the frontier town of Twotrees, where he builds a life with a local woman while facing the outlaw Liberty Valance.
A historical play about the Rum Rebellion in colonial New South Wales.
At a south-east English boarding house, Christopher Brent appears to be a lazy coward who refuses to enlist, but is secretly a British agent. He works to expose German spies using a wireless transmitter hidden in the hotel fireplace.
A man falls from a roof and turns into a stick. Two hippies pick it up, and workers from Hell debate whether to return it to the dead man’s son, while the stick’s life of dissatisfaction is recounted and a crowd is likened to a forest of sticks.
At intervals throughout the play the mandolins and guitarist are heard playing The Fishermen's Song, usually off stage. During the opening of Act III an unseen orchestra softly plays an aria from Pagliacci, the music coming through the open doors of the conservatory at the rear of the salon. Act I (The terrace of the Hotel Regina Margherita in Sorrento. Morning.) Exposition between Mariano and Ribiere identifies the main characters and their relationships. The Earl, his son, Lady Creech, Ethel, Hoarce, and Hélène form one party. The Grand Duke has met Pike at a hotel in Naples and is bringing him along to Sorrento. Hawcastle and Hélène discuss their latest venture, the capture of Ethel and Hoarce's money through promised matrimony. News of an escaped Russian convict alarms Hélène, but Hawcastle assures her it cannot be Ivanoff. Almeric confirms Ethel has accepted him. Hawcastle tells Hoarce the "settlement" will be £150,000. Hoarce acquiesces in order to appear worldly, though this is Ethel's entire estate. Mariano explains a commotion from the village is the arrival of Herr von Gröllerhagen and his American friend. The Earl's party dismiss the German as common and the American as gauche. Ethel and Hoarce are embarrassed by their countryman, and horrified to learn he is Ethel's guardian. Pike, in turn, is astonished at the settlement and Ethel's choice of fiancé. (Curtain) Act II (The hotel's entrance garden. Afternoon.) Pike, working on the engine of Doc's auto, ignores Hoarce's protests. Pike has refused to discuss a settlement with Hawcastle. Pike sends Doc for some clean rags, which amuses him. Lady Creech is seen peering out a second story window, spying on Pike. Ivanoff appears on the garden wall and begs Pike's help. With the reluctant help of Doc, Pike is able to convince the carabinieri that Ivanoff is a chauffeur. Mariano expedites matters by secretly revealing Doc's real identity to the carabinieri. Ivanoff tells his story to Pike and Doc. Doc allows Ivanoff to stay in his suite of rooms, but is troubled. Lady Creech steals away to tell Hawcastle what she has seen. Pike and Ethel argue about the settlement. A letter from England that Pike hoped would dissuade her fizzles out but does let Ethel know Pike is fond of her. Hawcastle now confronts Pike: approve the settlement or face Italian justice for aiding a fugitive. (Curtain) Act III (A private salon in the hotel. Evening.) Pike discusses the situation with Doc about Ivanoff and Hawcastle's threat. He apologises for getting him into this situation. Doc is unconcerned; he has already had Ribiere take steps about which he doesn't tell Pike yet. Pike calls Ivanoff into the room to give him the situation. Doc leaves on an errand of his own outside. Ivanoff notices his silver cigarette box and vodka bottle and realizes Doc is really Russian. He and Pike look out the window to see Doc speaking with the carabinieri, who salute him. Ivanoff panics, but Mariano enters to announce Lady Creech. Pike dismisses Ivanoff, but Lady Creech isn't fooled. She repeats Hawcastle's threat, but Pike has a sudden epiphany about the Earl, Hélène, and Ivanoff. He summons Ethel to the salon, and commands her to stay no matter what. Ethel agrees, and when her brother, the English party and the Cometesse arrive, she resists their demands to leave. Pike forces Hawcastle to repeat his threat in front of Ethel. He then summons Ivanoff, who recognizes his wife and Glenwood in Hélène and the Earl. Hélène is terrified of her husband and Hawcastle alarmed. He urges Almeric to go for the police, but Doc enters and announces the carabinieri have been dismissed. When Hawcastle challenges him, Ribiere identifies Doc as the Grand Duke Vasili, who has arranged a pardon for Ivanoff. Pike is stymied when Ethel still stands by Almeric; she has given her promise. (Curtain) Act IV (Same as Act I. Morning.) Hélène has already gone. Hawcastle urges Almeric to keep after Ethel, as he prepares to flee in fear of a now free Ivanoff. Lady Creech reveals Ethel has wept upon hearing Ivanoff's tale. Ethel also had Pike give Ivanoff a large sum of money. As porters load his carriage, Hawcastle rushes out. Grand Duke Vasili now takes his leave of Ethel and Pike, praising the latter and signaling to the girl he knows where her heart is drifting. Ivanoff then comes to thank Ethel; he will go to London to teach languages and serve as a reproach to Hawcastle. As Ethel is still determined to honor her promise, Pike grants her request for the settlement. Hoarce is angry, but Ethel seems happy. However, Almeric blights it all by congratulating Ethel for "buying off the convict". She repudiates her promise on his opinion of her venality. Most of all she is angry with Pike for acquiescing now, and not earlier. But as she berates him, she realizes he has acknowledged her right to choose the life she wants. Slowly she enters the hotel, and soon the sound of her playing the piano and singing Sweet Genevieve, Pike's favorite song, drifts through the open door. Pike is staggered, then as a man in a dream, goes towards the music. (Curtain)
At an Australian outback station, Stephen Maitland is unaware that his manager colludes with cattle thieves. His daughter Mona and a mysterious stranger, Dave Goulburn, help him confront the scheme.
The Man in Half Moon Street is a 1939 play by the British writer Barré Lyndon. It premiered at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth before beginning a West End run of 172 performances, first at the New Theatre before transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre. The cast included Leslie Banks, Ann Todd, Malcolm Keen, Leslie Dwyer, Michael Shepley and Frederick Piper.
The Man in the Street is a comedy play by the British writer Geoffrey Kerr. It first appeared at the Manchester Opera House before transferring to the St James's Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 44 performances between 9 October and 15 November 1947. Presented by the impresario Basil Dean the West End cast included Bobby Howes, Lloyd Pearson, Edward Jewesbury, Kynaston Reeves, Charles Lloyd Pack, Helen Christie and Beryl Measor. The play revolved an ordinary man of the people being celebrated by a newspaper proprietor. While The New Statesman described it as "slick and frequently amusing comedy" the review in The Spectator was more critical.
The Man in the White Suit is a play by Sean Foley, based on the 1951 Ealing film by Alexander Mackendrick, John Dighton and Roger MacDougall.
At an inn in Italy in 1796, Napoleon learns that dispatches have been stolen by a youth and confronts the young person’s sister, an Englishwoman in disguise. She eventually returns the dispatches but withholds a letter about Josephine; Napoleon pretends they remain missing to prevent scandal, and the woman burns the letter.
In Restoration London, libertine Dorimant schemes to end his affair with Mrs. Loveit and pursue heiress Harriet, while disguises and rival courtships entangle two young couples.
The Man of Newmarket is a 1678 comedy play by the English writer Edward Howard. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane by the King's Company. The original cast featured John Wiltshire as Passal, Nicholas Burt as Maldrin, Martin Powell as Nonsuch, Joseph Haines as Whiffler, Thomas Clark as Swiftspur, Cardell Goodman as Trainsted, Philip Griffin as Bowser, Carey Perin as Plodwell, Michael Mohun as Breakbond, John Coysh as Pricknote, Mary Corbett as Clevly and Katherine Corey as Quickthridt.
The Man of Taste is a 1735 comedy play by the British writer James Miller. It was a success and was performed numerous times during the theatre season. It is also known by the longer title The Man Of Taste or, The Guardians. The original Drury Lane cast included Benjamin Griffin as Sir Positive Bubble, John Mills as Freelove, William Milward as Valentine, John Harper as Sir Humphrey Henpeck, William Mills as Harcourt, Theophilus Cibber as Martin, Richard Cross as Lewis, Joe Miller as Renard, Richard Arne as Almanzor, Frances Cross as Lady Henpeck, Kitty Clive as Maria and Hannah Pritchard as Dorothea and Sarah Thurmond as Dorinda.
The Man of Ten Thousand is a 1796 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Holcroft. The original Drury Lane cast featured William Barrymore as Sir Pertinax Pitiful, John Palmer as Lord Laroon, Charles Kemble as Dorington, John Bannister as Hairbrain, James William Dodd as Curfew, Richard Suett as Consol, Robert Palmer as Major Rampart, Ralph Wewitzer as Herbert, James Aickin as Hudson, Walter Maddocks as Thomas, John Phillimore as Clerk, Jane Pope as Lady Taunton, Maria Gibbs as Annabel and Elizabeth Farren as Olivia.
Two Nazi airmen, Rudolph and Stumer, escape internment in Canada and find themselves in New York where they are arrested. A policeman arranges for them to escape so the policeman may recapture and beat them. Stumer escapes but Rudolph is captured by a gang of kids. They are about to force him to jump off a roof when Ruth, fiancée of one boy Involved, takes him away to her apartment via the fire escape. At Ruth's apartment he is fed and well treated by her mother, while the boys search for him. One of the boys is shot by the police before he is about to spot Rudolph. Rudolph gives himself up to the police.
In a bar late at night, a dying man speaks with a businessman who has missed his train. Their dialogue contrasts the dying man's intense awareness of the little time left to him with the other man's ordinary preoccupations.
The Man's Bewitched is a 1709 comedy play by the British writer Susanna Centlivre. It is known by the longer title The Man's Bewitch'd; or, The Devil to do about Her. The original Haymarket cast included John Bowman as Sir Jeffrey Constant, John Mills as Captain Constant, Benjamin Husband as Lovely, Robert Wilks as Faithful, Benjamin Johnson as Sir David Watchman, Richard Estcourt as Trust, Thomas Doggett as Num, Richard Cross as Slouch, William Pinkethman as Clinch, William Bullock as Roger, Colley Cibber as Manage, Anne Oldfield as Belinda, Mary Porter as Maria, Margaret Saunders as Dorothy and Margaret Bicknell as Lucy.
When a theatre manager learns that all his actors have left, he cancels the season, only for the actors to turn up after all. The comedy includes theatrical in-jokes about Colman himself.
Callimaco conspires with a marriage broker and a corrupt friar to trick Nicia into believing a mandrake potion will help his wife Lucrezia conceive, arranging for Callimaco to sleep with her under disguise.
A collection of autobiographical accounts from people living with mental illness, their family members and friends, and mental-health professionals. The stories address diagnoses including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and PTSD.
The Manor of Northstead is a 1954 comedy play by the British writer William Douglas Home. It is a sequel to his 1947 hit The Chiltern Hundreds. The title refers to the Manor of Northstead. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham before transferring to the Duchess Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 307 performances between 28 April 1954 and 22 January 1955. The original London cast included A.E. Matthews, Jean Lodge, Marie Lohr, Charles Heslop, Bryan Coleman, Ronald Adam, Arthur Hewlett and Viola Lyel.
A promenade drama adapted from the York, Chester and Wakefield Mystery Plays, selecting biblical teachings and episodes from Creation through the Passion.
A four-person Off-Broadway stand-up comedy show whose humor centers largely on marijuana.
A puppeteer presents the eternal struggle between Hero and Demon. Hero, weary of fighting, refuses to act until a fortune-teller warns of his death; he then slays the Demon and is mortally wounded, while the townspeople cannot lift his sword.
In 1735 France, the return of Eloise, a singer and former lover of Count Raoul, disrupts the arranged marriage of their children Adrienne and Miguel. The revelations that Miguel and Adrienne share a mother lead to a forced marriage, a duel and the older generation’s reconciliation.
In a dream, Henryk's childhood home becomes an inn and his father claims kingly status, setting a royal marriage to his fiancée in motion. The dream shifts through political transformations until Henryk's demand that his friend Władzio sacrifice himself leads to the marriage's cancellation.
Marriage counselor Judith Jackson advises others while neglecting her own troubled marriage. When an old college flame tempts her to leave her husband, Hurricane Katrina-displaced parents and family tensions complicate the household; Judith’s choices unravel as Roger tries to renew their relationship.
The Marriage Promise is an 1803 comedy play by the British writer John Till Allingham. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 16 April 1803. The original cast included Charles Kemble as Charles Merton, John Dwyer as Sidney, William Dowton as Consols, John Bannister as Tandem, Robert Palmer as Woodland, Alexander Pope as George Howard, William Powell as Jeffries, Walter Maddocks as Bailiff, Jane Powell as Mrs Howard, Harriet Mellon as Mary Woodland, Sarah Sparks as Mrs Harvey and Dorothea Jordan as Emma The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 8 June 1803.
On the day of Figaro and Suzanne's wedding, Count Almaviva pursues Suzanne while the household schemes, lawsuits, disguises, and mistaken identities expose his plans and reconcile the couples.
The Marriage of Kitty is a 1902 comedy play by Cosmo Gordon Lennox. It is an English-language adaptation of the French play La Passerelle by Francis de Croisset and Fred de Gresac which premiered in Paris the same year. It ran for 293 performances on its initial run in London's West End, first at the Duke of York's Theatre before moving to Wyndham's then to the Criterion Theatre. The original cast included Marie Tempest, Leonard Boyne, Gilbert Hare and Ellis Jeffreys. A Broadway production at the Hudson Theatre ran for 51 performances in 1903.
A fanatically driven prosecutor, Florestan Mississippi, seeks a murder confession from the young widow Anastasia and proposes marriage as her punishment. Their entanglement with two other men—one seeking to change the world and another to save it—turns into a bitter comic struggle over ideology, power and human motives.
Politician William Ashe marries the impulsive Lady Kitty Bristol despite her warning about her temperament. Her restless social life and involvement with Geoffrey Cliffe place increasing strain on their marriage and Ashe’s political ambitions.
The Marriage-Go-Round is a 1958 play written by Leslie Stevens. The 1961 film adaptation of the same name, written and produced by Stevens, stars Susan Hayward, James Mason and Julie Newmar, who reprised her role from the play. The play follows a happily married academic couple whose life is upended when a bold young Swedish visitor tries to persuade the husband to father her child. The play was inspired by a suggestion that dancer Isadora Duncan supposedly made to playwright George Bernard Shaw: The two of them should have a child because "with your mind and my body, think what a person it would be!" The play, a sex comedy, was a Broadway theatre success with a run of over 700 performances; it did poorly at the film box office.
The Marriage-Hater Matched is a comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in January 1692. The original cast included John Bowman as Brainless, William Mountfort as Sir Philip Freewit, Samuel Sandford as Limber, John Hodgson as Darewell, Anthony Leigh as Myn Here Van Grin, George Bright as Bias, Thomas Doggett as Solon, William Bowen as Callow, Colley Cibber as Splutter, Elizabeth Barry as Lady Subtle, Katherine Corey as Lady Bumfiddle, Anne Bracegirdle as Phoebe, Charlotte Butler as La Pupsey and Abigail Lawson as Margery.
The Married Beau or The Curious Impertinent is a 1694 comedy play by the English writer John Crowne. It is inspired by a passage from Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote. Incidental music was composed by Henry Purcell. It was first staged by the United Company in London. The original Drury Lane cast featured George Powell as Loveley, Thomas Betterton as Polidor, Thomas Doggett as Thorneback, William Bowen as Sir John, Elizabeth Barry as Mrs Loveley, Elizabeth Bowman as Cecilia, Anne Bracegirdle as Camilla and Susanna Verbruggen as Lionell. The published version was dedicated to the Tory politician the Marquess of Normanby.
The Married Man is a 1789 comedy play by the English writer Elizabeth Inchbald, inspired by the 1727 French play Le Philosophe Marié by Philippe Néricault Destouches. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 15 July 1789. The original cast included John Palmer as Lord Lovemore, John Bannister as Sir John Classick, James Aickin as Mr Classick, Stephen Kemble as Tradwell Classick, James Brown Williamson as Dorimant, Elizabeth Kemble as Lady Classick and Mary Whitfield as Lucy.
The Married Philosopher is a 1732 comedy play by the writer John Kelly. It was inspired by the 1727 play Le Philosophe Marié by the French writer Philippe Néricault Destouches. The original Lincoln's Inn Fields cast included Lacy Ryan as Sir Harry Sprightly, Charles Hulett as Odway, James Quin as Old Bellefleur, William Milward as Young Bellefleur, Thomas Walker as Horatio, Thomas Chapman as Brush, Anne Hallam as Melissa and Elizabeth Younger as Violetta.
As property magnate Malcolm Boyce faces terminal illness, his youngest son Luke tries to prove he can run the family company. Drawn into its underworld connections, Luke falls for a campaigner seeking to expose his father's wrongdoing.
At a masked ball, Suzanne Blondet feigns drunkenness to influence her dissipated husband and bring about his reform.
After comic scenes at the court buttery, dancing bears and a procession of pilgrims, Apollo descends with mythological figures to present the masque’s serious portion, followed by torchbearers, dancers and Jove. The court spectacle praises the proposed Spanish marriage of Prince Charles.
A court masque sequel to The Masque of Blackness presents the daughters of Niger cleansed of the black pigment they wore in the earlier work. Sixteen court ladies appear on a floating island’s Throne of Beauty, perform dances, and join male courtiers in a spectacle celebrating the refurbished Whitehall banqueting hall.
Niger asks Oceanus for help after his daughters lose confidence in their beauty. They seek a land ending in 'tannia' and are told to travel to Britannia and appear before its sun-like king, James I, whose light is expected to whiten them. The masque allegorizes British union and sovereignty; the promised transformation was not staged.
The Sun stages a contest between Winter and Spring over whether wine or tobacco is superior; men transformed into flowers are restored. The entertainment included Silenus and the tobacco figure Kawasha, followed by flower dancers.
A Chinese magician announces that Indian and Chinese knights have been brought by cloud to Hampton Court. The eight courtiers appear with torches and lanterns, present emblems and gifts to King James, and dance with the king, Anne of Denmark, and her ladies. The magician returns at the end and reveals the masquers' identities.
The Masque of Kings is a 1937 three-act drama written by Maxwell Anderson. It was produced on Broadway by the Theatre Guild and directed by Philip Moeller. Lee Simonson created the scenic and costume design. It ran for 89 performances from February 8, 1937 - April 24, 1937 at the Shubert Theatre.
At a court entertainment for Prince Charles, the ghost of Captain Cox rides a hobby horse and presents six owls who had once been men. Their identities satirize London tradesmen and a language teacher whose hopes rested on the Spanish Match.
A mistress witch and eleven disciples perform a disruptive anti-masque before the House of Fame appears with twelve virtuous queens. Their spectacle contrasts disorder and witchcraft with the idealized royal order represented by Queen Anne as Bel-Anna.
For the wedding festivities of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V, Mercury and Iris present mythological knights and dancing anti-masques of Naiads, Hyades, Cupids, statues and rustic figures in a court spectacle grounded in Greek mythology.
Across the Battersea Arts Centre’s Old Town Hall, audiences roam through an immersive collage inspired by eight Edgar Allan Poe stories. Overlapping scenes, dance, detailed sets, and props evoke a plague-struck world without a single central narrative.
The Masquerade is a 1719 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Sir George Jealous, Thomas Elrington as Ombre, Joe Miller as Smart, Colley Cibber as Masquerader, Henry Norris as Whisper, Anne Oldfield as Sophronia, Sarah Thurmond as Lady Frances Ombre and Christiana Horton as Caelia.
A British politician swaps places with his journalist cousin, who is his double, leaving the politician’s wife torn when she falls in love with the man she believes to be her husband.
During the French Wars of Religion, the Duke of Guise helps orchestrate the massacre of Huguenots in Paris. Henry of Navarre escapes, later joins forces against the Catholic League, and becomes king after Henry III is assassinated.
The Massacre of Paris is a 1689 tragedy by the English writer Nathaniel Lee. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It is based around the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which led the killing of many Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. The events had previously been portrayed in Christopher Marlowe's Elizabethan play The Massacre at Paris. The original Drury Lane cast included William Mountfort as Charles IX of France, Joseph Williams as Duke of Guise, Edward Kynaston as Cardinal of Lorrain, Joseph Harris as Alberto Gondi, William Bowen as Lignoroles, Thomas Betterton as Admiral of France, John Bowman as Genius, John Freeman as Cavagnes, John Verbruggen as Langoiran, Mary Betterton as Queen Mother, Elizabeth Barry as Marguerite and Frances Maria Knight as Queen of Navarre. Henry Purcell provided the incidental music. It was the most stridently anti-Catholic play of the period, and as such harked back to an earlier era. The first performance was attended by the new Queen Mary who had recently come to the throne as part of the Glorious Revolution that overthrew her Catholic father James II.
Halvard Solness, a successful but fearful builder, is unsettled by the arrival of Hilda Wangel, who urges him to fulfill a promise by climbing the tower of his new home. He climbs before a crowd and falls to his death.
Google's Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto attempt to create a technology-driven neighbourhood on the city's waterfront. A satirical account of the project's collapse traces corporate ambition, public consultation, and the competing interests behind the proposed smart city.
An East India millionaire's business associates suffer mysterious personal and financial disasters. He and his love interest investigate the apparent conspiracy before he becomes its next victim; the play satirizes popular melodramas.
In a compressed drama set in Thornfield Hall, governess Jane is drawn to her difficult employer Rochester while his confined wife and a web of Gothic secrets threaten the household; the wife ultimately sets the mansion ablaze.
The Matchmaker is a 1954 Broadway play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play The Merchant of Yonkers.
A jester and shepherd raise a maypole and dance before presenting gifts to the household audience. A nymph prepares the room for Venus, who dances a canary; Urania then summons woodland and stream nymphs for a May song and a dance devised by Rachel Fane.
During the Garrat elections carnival, Jerry Sneak is elected mayor and briefly tries to stand up to his domineering wife, who is being courted by Major Sturgeon. Sneak's resolve collapses when his wife cries, and the election's mock civic proceedings frame the domestic farce.
A group of soldiers under Don Lope of Figueroa stops in the town of Zalamea, where the captain of the troop, Don Alvaro, is housed by the wealthy farmer Pedro Crespo. Hearing about the military's plans, Pedro Crespo decides to hide his daughter and niece in the attic, knowing that when the military comes around, honors are often ruined. However, Don Alvaro arrives with the intention of seeing Isabel, for he has heard the rumors of her beauty. Housed by Pedro Crespo, Don Alvaro devises a plan to fake a fight with Rebolledo and have him run away into the attic in order to catch a glimpse at Isabel and ascertain for himself whether the rumors about her beauty are true. The plan works, although the ruckus brings the attention of the general, Don Lope of Figueroa. Don Lope decides to stay at Pedro's house, and they develop an instant dislike for each other. Don Lope brashly declares that he would hang anyone who might bring any slight harm to his men. Pedro makes the same vow for anyone who would besmirch his honor, stating that honor is the connection to the soul and thus to God. They part ways, each thinking the other overtly stubborn. The day Alvaro marches his men out of Zalamea, he decides to leave them under the supervision of a subordinate and return for Isabel. Juan has also decided to depart and become a soldier under Don Lope's forces. Having come out of the house with her family to send her brother off, Isabel is taken by the captain; a few of his men help and prevent Pedro Crespo and Ines from helping her. Juan, having not gone far, hears the cries of anguish and returns to assist, not knowing that it is his father or sister that are being attacked. Isabel, who has been raped by Don Alvaro, wanders around until she finds her father. She tells him what happened to her, including how her brother injured Don Alvaro. Both desire death, knowing that their honor is ruined, but Pedro brings his daughter back to town. Once there, Pedro discovers that he has been elected mayor and that King Philip II is to arrive in town the next day. He also finds out that the soldiers are still there in town trying to mend Don Alvaro's wound. Pedro, as a father, goes to Don Alvaro and begs him to marry his daughter, offering any amount of his fortune he desires as dowry. Enraged, Don Alvaro refuses. Pedro arrests Don Alvaro, deciding to take matters legally. Pedro, acting as mayor, also arrests Juan upon his return for his assault on an officer. Hearing of Don Alvaro's arrest, Don Lope returns to Zalamea prepared to storm the jail. At this moment, the King arrives. After being told the facts, the King decides that the law has been followed, but that the accused must be tried elsewhere. Pedro then reveals that justice has already taken place, opening the door to show that Don Alvaro has already been executed by garrote. Pedro argues that it does not matter who executes a man that is to die anyway, a logic with which the King cannot argue. Pedro is then appointed permanent mayor of Zalamea. Juan is pardoned and returns to Don Lope's army. Isabel decides to go to a convent in order to restore her honor with God.
At a movie studio, an elderly security guard tries to stop a producer from destroying a set of model cities, persuading him to preserve it.
In a present-day bookshop, Olaudah Equiano connects a debate about a book on slavery to the Zong massacre and the insurance trial that followed. He persuades abolitionists to pursue a criminal prosecution and confronts the experiences of enslaved women aboard the ship, including one who survived being thrown overboard.
An imagined meeting in a Harlem hotel in 1965 brings Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X together during the civil rights movement.
Russian Jewish immigrant David Quixano, whose family was killed in a pogrom, hopes to compose a symphony for a society beyond ethnic divisions; he falls in love with Vera, whose father led the attack on his family.
Twelve-year-old Frankie Addams feels disconnected from her small Southern town and hopes to join her brother and his bride on their honeymoon in Alaska. With her closest companions, Berenice Sadie Brown and John Henry West, she negotiates belonging, identity, and the disappointment of a fantasy that cannot come true.
A court masque presented for Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V's wedding festivities, featuring Virginia-themed sun-worshipping princes who honor the couple and accept Christianity, alongside an anti-masque of baboons and allegorical figures.
In a black comedy about bureaucracy and conformity, an organization introduces Ptydepe, a constructed language intended to make communication more efficient. The language instead impedes work, and director Josef Gross’s efforts to understand a memorandum in Ptydepe lead him into conflict with his deputy and the organization’s shifting rules.
Three sisters, Teresa, Mary, and Catherine, gather before their mother's funeral, each haunted by her own demons. The play focusses on how each sister deals with the death and how it directly affects her. The three each have different memories of the same events, causing constant bickering about whose memories are true. As the three women meet after years of separation, all their hidden lies and self-betrayals are about to reach the surface. A theme of the play is, eponymously, memory. The sisters' memories interact with each other, and show that despite synchronicities of time and place they cannot agree upon one unifying experience. This is echoed in Vi's final speech, which portrays Alzheimer's disease as being adrift among a series of islands of your own identity. The sisters drift around their own islands of memory, unable to agree on one particular point, and yet are unified by their familial bond (Vi comments that "some things stay in your bones"). The play exhibits the unity of time, place, and character present in a tragedy, as the play seems to take place at one time, in one space, and without change in the characters' outlooks. However, because the comedy is so often interspersed with the tragic, it may be considered a tragi-comedy.
Characters introduced 35 years previously during The Boys in the Band are reunited. The group is brought back together at the funeral of Larry, who died of pancreatic cancer. They revisit the same apartment in Manhattan as the first play, and again begin talking and arguing. The dialog and story is relayed in "real time". New characters include Scott, a younger man dating Michael, who is poorly received by the group. Michael angrily defends Scott, and yells at the new character Jason, a "strident young activist" who had been romantically involved with Larry. Emory and Harold get involved in the arguments, while non-combative characters include Donald, Bernard, and Rick, a male nurse who had been harboring feelings for Larry.
In a budget hotel room, middle-aged manager Ted develops a utopian plan to change society, testing his friendship with Morrie.
Wesker’s two-act reworking centers on Shylock as a good man and close friend of Antonio. They share a love of knowledge and opposition to their community’s antisemitism; Shylock’s demand for a pound of flesh begins as a jest he cannot retract, and both men are relieved when the court denies it.
The Merchant of London is an 1832 historical play by the British writer Thomas James Serle. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 26 April 1832. The original cast included William Macready as Scroope, Henry John Wallack as Edward Beaufort, John Cooper as Richard Fitzalan, John Pritt Harley as Flaw, and Paul Bedford as Bloodmore. It takes place in Elizabethan London.
When merchant Antonio guarantees a loan for his friend Bassanio, the lender Shylock demands a pound of Antonio's flesh if it is not repaid. Bassanio wins Portia's hand, and Portia disguises herself as a lawyer to intervene at Antonio's trial.
The Merchant of Yonkers is a 1938 play by Thornton Wilder.
Set on September 12, the play follows Ben, a World Trade Center employee who was away during the attacks, as he considers exploiting his family’s belief that he died to begin a new life with his mistress, Abby, who is also his boss.
This synopsis is based on the 1946 published play. The setting throughout is said to be "any large American city, other than New York", with Boston or Philadelphia the likeliest candidates for a two-week tryout run, and what the author has in mind. Act I Scene 1 (Living room of a suite in an excellent hotel. Monday at 11:30pm.) Clem sits in his suite after the first tryout of his new play. George brings a case of whiskey instead of a bottle; he knows theatre people have many unexpected visitors. Bertha enters and calmly accepts that her second-act lines will have to be cut. Bertha and Clem discuss adultery, the subject of his new play. He is surprised to learn he was her only liaison, and she otherwise disapproves of it. Jessica calls Clem on the phone; she is in New York with their daughters. He asks if she considers him an immoral playwright and is stunned at her affirmative reply. Clem tells Bertha about meeting a Navy ensign and his girl in the tryout audience. Clem invites them up to his room when Thad calls from the lobby. Thad and Dee are introduced to Bertha. Dee talks about her father's admiration for Bertha's acting. The four get along so well that when Laura Musgrave calls Clem, he finagles an invitation for them to go to Laura's party. (Curtain) Act I Scene 2 (The same, 3:30am.) Dee and Clem bring the early newspaper editions back to his hotel room, after dropping Thad off at the train station. They read the reviews by the local drama critics: two are positive, and one decries the lack of "action". They discuss their lives and develop a rapport. Dee urges Clem to come tour a local art museum with her that afternoon, and they agree to meet for lunch at the hotel bar. As she leaves to take a taxi home, Clem impulsively kisses her. (Curtain) Act II Scene 1 (The hotel bar, Tuesday at noon.) Bertha and the Elderly Gentleman discuss her part being reduced. He is outraged about the change, his protests heard by Clem and Dee who have just come in for lunch. Bertha takes her admirer away, but Dee and Clem are soon interrupted by Betty James. She thrusts herself upon them, inveigling free tickets from Clem, while dropping Thad's name into the conversation to let Clem know Dee has a fiancé. Betty leaves, making a veiled threat to Dee about telling Mrs. Matthews where her daughter is and with whom. Mrs. Matthews comes to the bar to ask Dee to call her Red Cross supervisor, having been alerted by Betty James. While Clem takes a phone call, Dee and Mrs. Matthews discuss the impropriety of the situation and the likelihood of Betty spreading rumors. To forestall her, Mrs. Matthews invites Clem to dinner on Friday. (Curtain) Act II Scene 2 (Mrs. Matthews' house, Friday at 10:30pm.) Having finished dinner, Clem, Mrs. Matthews and Dee relax in the living room. Also present are Betty and Professor James, and the bibulous Luther. The Professor and Luther badger Clem about his new play and his opinions on other playwrights, while Betty makes suggestions the adultery in Clem's play reflects his own predilections, with side glances at Dee. The latter is convinced her mother arranged this fracas to put Clem off, rather than to stop Betty's rumor-mongering. Clem, however, handles the aggravation adroitly, and offers to guide the staggering Luther back to their hotel. Afterwards, Mrs. Matthews admits to Dee that he behaved much better than the other guests. When she goes to bed, Dee calls a taxi to take her to the hotel. (Curtain) Act II Scene 3 (The hotel bar, around midnight.) Throughout this scene, two nearby tables are occupied: a Girl and a Man at one, and a Drunk at another, while a Waiter serves the customers. None of these characters has more than a few lines, and they have no effect other than as background ambience. At the center table, Bertha and Clem talk about Dee. Bertha probes Clem's intentions towards her. He denies being a cradle-snatcher, but she is unconvinced, and warns him not to trifle with her. They are startled to see Dee come into the bar. Dee confirms Clem's recounting of the dinner. Bertha gets a telephone call from her Colonel and has to leave. Dee tells Clem she is falling in love with him. He tries to bluff her out of it but fails. She candidly confesses she is not a virgin, so he shouldn't worry about that. Luther barges into the bar, having left his hotel room where Clem deposited him. He tries to hit on Dee but is chased off. Clem then fends off Dee's advances and sends her home. (Curtain) Act III Scene 1 (Park across from hotel, early Saturday morning.) Clem encounters Dee sitting on a bench. She has been waiting, thinking he might come out to the park. He tells her about his wife and daughters. Tentatively, Dee asks if she might visit him in New York. Clem gives her a qualified yes; he isn't quite sure they understand each other. After Dee leaves, Bertha sits next to him and tells her sad story. She spent the night with the Colonel in her hotel room, only to find out in the morning he has a wife and family in Wyoming, and was now on his way there having received his discharge. (Curtain) Act III Scene 2 (Same as Act I, that afternoon.) Clem is visited by Mrs. Matthews. Dee has told her she is thinking of going to New York. Mrs. Matthews expresses her concern to Clem that he will ruin Dee's life; she knows there can be no real future there for Dee. Clem is disingenuous at first, but admits he hasn't discouraged Dee from the notion that she might fit into his world. After she leaves, Thad comes up to the hotel room. Betty has attached herself to him, bringing books for Clem to autograph. She is pushed out, and Thad delivers his plea to Clem: don't encourage Dee to stray from home. Jessica calls Clem; their daughter Joan wants to see his new play for her 15th birthday so they will come on Monday. As Clem hangs up, Dee shyly enters his room. She has brought a sketch of Clem she drew herself. Clem now discourages her from any thought of an affair or New York. She bursts into tears, but realizes he won't fall in love with her. Dee tears the sketch in half. Bertha phones to invite Clem to lunch, as Dee slips out of the room, exchanging painful glances with Clem. As he speaks with Bertha, Clem tears the sketch into tiny pieces. (Curtain)
Sir Arthur Clare delays his daughter Milliscent's marriage while she resists a nunnery and considers her love for Frank Jerningham. Raymond Mounchensey seeks to court her, enlisting magician Peter Fabell's help; their plot and a separate thieves' scheme converge before Milliscent confesses she has married Raymond.
John John suspects his domineering wife Tib of an affair with the local priest, Sir John. Tib and the priest trick him into doing household chores while they eat a pie together; John eventually throws them out, then follows them in renewed anxiety.
Falstaff tries to profit by courting the married Mistresses Ford and Page, who discover his identical letters and set out to trick and humiliate him. At the same time, their daughter Anne pursues her own choice of husband despite her parents’ competing plans.
The Metamorphosis is a 1783 comedy play by the Irish writer William Jackson. The original Drury Lane cast included James William Dodd as Toupee, Richard Suett as Sir Charles Freeman, John Hayman Packer as Mr Marlow, William Barrymore as Freeman and Mary Ann Wrighten as Mary.
Young people and workers at a Toronto youth shelter describe daily life, difficult histories, and uncertain futures. Their recorded words form a documentary portrait of the relationships and systems surrounding youth homelessness.
The Midnight Caller is a play by American playwright Horton Foote. The work was first performed in 1957 as part of a student production at the Neighborhood Playhouse with a cast including Robert Duvall. It had its professional premiere Off-Broadway at the Sheridan Square Playhouse where it opened on July 2, 1958. Directed by Leo Penn, the opening night cast included Mary James as Alma, Rebecca Dark as Cutie, Mary Perry as Rowena, Nora Dunfree as Mrs. Crawford, Justin Reed as Ralph, Patricia Frye as Helen, and Robert Morris as Harvey.
The Midnight Hour is a 1787 comedy play by the British actress and writer Elizabeth Inchbald. A farce, it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 22 May 1787. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as The Marquis, John Quick as The General, Thomas Ryder as Sebastian, John Edwin as Nicolas, James Fearon as Mathias, James Thompson as Ambrose, Mary Wells as Julia, Lydia Webb as Cecily and Isabella Mattocks as Flora. The Irish premiere took place at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin on 17 December 1787.
The Midshipmaid is a 1931 British comedy play by Ian Hay and Stephen King-Hall, which ran for 227 performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End. The following year Hay wrote a novel based on the play.
The story of former gang members in Newark, New Jersey.
At an Italian villa, dying widow Flora Goforth resists acknowledging her illness while engaging with the enigmatic Christopher Flanders, whom some regard as an opportunist and who says he helps people face mortality.
Epifania Ognisanti di Parerga, the richest woman in England (and possibly Europe), barges into the offices of solicitor Julius Sagamore wanting him to draw out a will leaving everything to her husband Alistair Fitzfassenden (an amateur tennis and boxing champion), and states that after the will is signed, she intends to kill herself. Sagamore manages to get her to calm down, and she explains her circumstances: before her father died and left her thirty million pounds, he had made her promise that if any man wanted to marry her, she was to give him one hundred fifty pounds and six months to turn it into fifty thousand; if the man failed, she was never to see him again. Alistair succeeded (by co-producing a hit play), but the marriage has since imploded to the point where Alistair is having a relationship with Patricia Smith (nicknamed "Polly Seedy-Stockings") and Epifania is spending time with Adrian Blenderbland (a self-styled intellectual and inveterate gourmand). Alistair and Polly arrive at Sagamore's office while Epifania is there wanting to discuss a possible separation between Alistair and Epifania, and Blenderbland also turns up also wanting to consult Sagamore. After a confusing consultation in which nothing gets resolved, Epifania leaves with Blenderbland to have lunch somewhere in the country and Alistair and Polly leave together (with Polly telling Sagamore that she fully intends to have Alistair for her own). Epifania and Blenderbland are at a rather run-down riverside establishment having just finished lunch. Epifania is cheerful, but Blenderbland is totally "out of temper" because of the horrible meal he has just had to endure. His bad mood leads to harsh words between the two, and when Blenderbland makes disparaging remarks about Epifania's late father (whom she still worships), she uses her knowledge of and skill at judo to throw him not only all over the room but down the stairs, after which she collapses in hysterics. She is found in that condition by an Egyptian doctor, who, seeing that her fit has subsided, rushes to Blenderbland's aid instead of staying with her (much to her astonishment) and later returns to inform her that the landlord is taking Blenderbland to the local hospital in her car. She becomes fascinated by the doctor and insists that he become her doctor, which he refuses. Her feminine wiles also have no effect on him, since "Women are neither interesting nor attractive to me except when they are ill. I know too much about them, inside and out," and he is completely dedicated to his work; however, as a case she does interest him. As they talk, Epifania becomes extremely interested in the doctor and tells him point-blank that she wants to marry him, She starts to tell him about her father's test, but he interrupts her to inform her that his late mother had made him promise to impose a similar test on any woman who wanted to marry him: he is supposed to give the woman two hundred piastres (approximately thirty shillings or one and a half pounds) and she is to make her living for six months with only that money and the clothes she is currently wearing. Epifania accepts the challenge (even though he has to borrow the two hundred piastres from her) and arranges for him to get the one hundred fifty pounds. She departs, leaving the doctor to wonder if she's not one of Allah's jokes on humanity (and on himself in particular). Epifania tries to get work at a sweatshop somewhere in London, but the owner and his wife are scared that she’s really a labor Inspector and try to bribe her off. In the course of their conversation, Epifania learns not only about the workings of the sweatshop but also the conditions most female workers have to exist under. She begins to suggest certain ideas to cut out the middlemen that the owner and his wife have to deal with and how the operation can be upgraded to make it more profitable for everyone. Epifania leaves (not finding much of a challenge for her here) to get a job elsewhere, but promising to return every so often to keep things running smoothly (in effect, taking control over the business from the owner and his wife); her intelligence and force of will are so powerful that the owner and his wife have no choice but to comply. Alistair and Polly are enjoying a quiet weekend at the riverside inn from Act Two which has been rebuilt and remodeled into a first-class hotel. The manager tells them the story about how a newly hired scullery-maid got control of the old inn, upgraded everything and eventually took over, forcing the old owners (his parents) out but giving him a well-paying job and making the business a major success. Alistair is horrified to discover that Epifania is the scullery-maid of the story and is about to beat a hasty retreat with Polly when Sagamore arrives with Blenderbland, who is still recovering from the injuries inflicted upon him by Epifania in Act Two. Blenderbland intends suing Epifania for damages and hospital costs, which Sagamore hopes Alistair and Polly can talk him out of. Epifania arrives and upon learning of Blenderbland's plan orders Sagamore to begin countersuit proceedings against Blenderbland, insisting that she will not submit to blackmail. Sagamore finally makes Blenderbland see that suing Epifania would be a waste of time; not only will her financial means outlast his, but a jury (presumably all-male) would have no sympathy with a man who had been thrashed by a woman. With that matter out of the way, Epifania finally decides to divorce Alistair on the grounds of spousal abuse (he had accidentally knocked her out with a solar plexus punch during a fight on their honeymoon) and announces her intention to find a man truly worthy of her. At that moment, the Egyptian doctor enters, having been summoned to attend Blenderbland, and Epifania announces her intention to marry him, having easily fulfilled the conditions of his mother’s test. However, the doctor has NOT fulfilled the terms of her father’s test; he has used the money to help the widow of his old medical teacher. It turns out that the teacher had invented a new type of filament but never filed for a patent on it, and the doctor had forced the company using the filament to compensate the inventor’s widow, thereby (in retrospect) investing in the discovery and making more than the required fifty thousand pounds. Blenderbland warns the doctor that in marrying Epifania he will be headed for trouble, but Epifania counters with, “What do the unmarried know of this infinitely dangerous heart tearing ever-changing life of adventure that we call marriage? Face it as you would face a dangerous operation: have you not performed hundreds of them?” The fact that the doctor has fallen in love with Epifania’s pulse (the strongest and steadiest he has ever encountered) settles the matter, and Epifania instructs Sagamore to arrange both her divorce and the marriage proceedings.
The Mineola Twins is a play by Paula Vogel with music by David Van Tieghem, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1999.
The Minister and the Mercer is an 1834 historical comedy play by the British writer Alfred Bunn. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 8 February 1834. The original cast included William Farren as Count Bertrand De Rauntzu, Charles James Mathews as Falkensteid, John Duruset as Count Berghen, William Dowton as Raton Burkenstaff, John Cooper as Eric Burkenstaff, Benjamin Nottingham Webster as John, Robert William Honner as Dorsten, Mrs. Sloman as Marie Julie, Ellen Kean as Christine and Julia Glover as Madame Burkenstaff. It was inspired by the 1833 French play Bertrand et Raton by Eugène Scribe. It takes place in Denmark in 1772 at time when Christian VII of Denmark was mad, and his physician takes virtual charge of the country leading to a coup to oust him.. It ran for forty one days.
A comedy satirizing the evangelical preacher George Whitefield.
Fonvizin’s comedy satirizes the brutal, selfish ignorance of the provincial gentry through Mitrofanushka, a vulgar and self-centered young man who gives no affection even to his doting mother. The play contrasts this family with idealized lovers and virtuous uncles.
The Minutes is a comedic play written by Tracy Letts. It had its premiere at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago on November 9, 2017, and began previews at the James Earl Jones Theatre in New York City on February 25, 2020. It was scheduled to open on March 15, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was suspended. The production ultimately opened on April 17, 2022, at Studio 54. In 2018, Letts was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, losing to Cost of Living by Martyna Majok. The play was also nominated for the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play, but lost to The Lehman Trilogy.
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