The Heir at Law

About the show

The Heir at Law (1797) is a comedic play in five acts by the English dramatist George Colman the Younger that remained popular through the 19th century. It and John Bull (1803) were Colman's best known comedies. The piece debuted at the Haymarket in London on 15 July 1797, with John Fawcett playing Dr. Pangloss, and ran for 27 performances. It was first performed in the United States at the Park Theatre in New York in April 1799. Many American actors played the role of Pangloss to success, including comedian Joseph Jefferson starting in 1857 at the Olympic Theatre in New York.