The Heir at Law
{{Short description|1797 play by George Colman the Younger}}
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File:Sol Smith Russell 2.jpg, one of many well-known actors who have played Dr. Pangloss]]
The Heir at Law (1797) is a comedic play in five acts by George Colman the Younger that remained popular through the 19th century. It and John Bull (1803) were Colman's best known comedies.Dabundo, Laura (ed.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=KMeOAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 Encyclopedia of Romanticism (Routledge Revivals): Culture in Britain, 1780s-1830s], p. 117 (1992)
The piece debuted at the Haymarket in London on 15 July 1797, with John Fawcett playing Dr. Pangloss, and ran for 27 performances.Highfill, Philip H., Jr., et al. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iR8jadDrevwC&pg=PA201 A Biographical Directory of Actors ... 1660-1800, Vol. 5], p. 201 (1978)
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.[https://books.google.com/books?id=8zI_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA110 The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, Volume 20], pp. 110-11 (1906)(29 March 1890). [http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2010/New%20York%20NY%20Dramatic%20Mirror/New%20York%20NY%20Dramatic%20Mirror%201888%20Dec-Aug%201890%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Dramatic%20Mirror%201888%20Dec-Aug%201890%20Grayscale%20-%200966.pdf At the Theatres], New York Dramatic Mirror, Vol. 23, No. 587, p. 4 (review of 1890 revival)
Characters and plot
The play is best known for creating the comic character of Dr. Peter Pangloss, a greedy and pompous teacher hired at a salary of 300 pounds a year to tutor merchant Daniel Dowlas, who has been recently elevated to the title of Lord Duberly after the death of a distant cousin. Pangloss refers to himself as an "LL.D. and A.S.S.", and the character is fond of spouting off literary quotes which he then attributes in the fashion of "Lend me your ears. Shakespeare. Hem!" or "Verbum sat. Horace. Hem!"Brewer, E. Cobham. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VtI9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA153 Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Volume V], p. 153 (1902) The surname "Pangloss" is derived from the character of that name in the 1759 novel Candide by Voltaire, the personal tutor of the main character Candide.Peake, Richard Brinsley. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kSbAolqWrP4C&pg=PA277 Memoirs of the Colman family, including their correspondence, Vol. II], pp. 277-79 (1841)
July 1797 cast
- John Fawcett as Dr. Pangloss
- Richard Suett as Daniel Dowlas, Lord Duberly
- John Palmer as Dick Dowlas
- Joseph Shepherd Munden as Zekiel Homespun
- Charles Kemble as Henry Horeland
- James Aickin as Steadfast
- John Henry Johnstone as Kenrick
- Maria Theresa Kemble (Miss De Camp) as Caroline Dormer
- Maria Gibbs as Cicely Homespun
- Mary Ann Davenport as Deborah Dowlas, Lady DuberlyMunden, Thomas Shepperd [https://books.google.com/books?id=BiNLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73 Memoirs of Joseph Shepherd Munden, Comedian], pp. 73-74 (1844)
References
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External links
- [https://archive.org/details/heiratlawcomedyi00colmrich The Heir at Law] at Internet Archive
- {{librivox book | title=The Heir at Law | author=Colman}}
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