''Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith'' is a play by

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

, styled "A Three-Act Drama of Puritan times". It opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 11 September 1876, starring Hermann Vezin,

Johnston Forbes-Robertson Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (16 January 1853 – 6 November 1937''Sir Johnston Forbes Robertson, Beauty And Grace in Acting'', Obituaries, '' The Times'', 8 November 1937.) was an English actor and theatre manager and husband of actress Gert ...

and

Marion Terry Marion Bessie Terry (born Mary Ann Bessy Terry; 13 October 1853 – 21 August 1930) was an English actress. In a career spanning half a century, she played leading roles in more than 125 plays. Always in the shadow of her older and more famous si ...

. The play was a success, running for about 100 performances and enjoying tours and several revivals. It was popular enough to be burlesqued in a contemporary work, ''Dan'l Tra-Duced, Tinker'', at the Strand Theatre. In an 1894 revival,

Nancy McIntosh Nancy Isobel McIntosh (25 October 1866 – February 20, 1954) was an American-born singer and actress who performed mostly on the London stage. Her father was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which had been blamed in connec ...

played Dorothy. The text notes that "An incident in the First Act was suggested by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's Novel '' Silas Marner''".

Background

Gilbert and Sullivan had already produced their hit one-act

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

'' by the time ''Dan'l Druce'' was written, but both Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were still producing a considerable amount of work separately. The comic actor

Edward Sothern Edward Askew Sothern (1 April 182620 January 1881) was an English actor known for his comic roles in Britain and America, particularly Lord Dundreary in ''Our American Cousin''. He was also known for his many practical jokes. Life and career ...

had contacted Gilbert, in April 1875, noting that he was taking over the management of the Haymarket Theatre and needed a play for December, though Sothern did not plan to appear in the play. Gilbert was unable to complete the play on time and asked for an extension. Sothern then left to go on tour in America and wrote to Gilbert to be ready with another play by October, this time to feature him in a serious role. That play, '' The Ne'er-do-Weel'', was also late and did not open until 1878. Hermann Vezin took the title role in ''Dan'l Druce'' in a cast featuring

and the 19-year-old

as Dorothy. The title character was originally called Jonas Marple, but Gilbert changed the name to one less closely identifiable with

's '' Silas Marner'' (published in 1861), first to Abel Druce and then to Dan'l Druce. He also changed the character's occupation from weaver to blacksmith, and altered Eliot's story to make Druce the true father of the child who is left at his house in place of his stolen gold. Bits of Dan'l Druce would echo in later operas. For instance, one of Reuben's speeches, beginning "I will so coll thee, coax thee, cosset thee, court thee, cajole thee, with deftly turned compliment, pleasant whimsy, delicate jest and tuneful madrigal" has similarities with Jack Point's speech in Act II of ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

''.Stedman, p. 141 Elements of the characters of Dorothy and Geoffrey are later seen in Rose Maybud and Richard Dauntless in ''

Ruddigore ''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...

''. The play ran for 119 performances and enjoyed tours in Britain and America and revivals, achieving reasonable popularity, and even gaining a burlesque parody, ''Dan'l Tra-Duced, Tinker'', by Arthur Clements.

Synopsis

Dan'l is a miser and a drunkard whose wife has eloped. Two deserters from the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

seek shelter at his house. They send him to buy food and steal his money, then run off, leaving at his cottage a baby girl with a note that says that his gold has taken the form of the baby. Fourteen years later, Dan'l is a blacksmith. The villains return, but Dan'l does not want to surrender the now-teenaged girl. Ultimately, she stays with Dan'l and marries her young sweetheart. In the words of a review from the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'' of 16 September 1876:

Roles and original cast

*Sir Jasper Combe, a Royalist Colonel – Mr. Howe *Dan'l Druce – Hermann Vezin *Reuben Haines, a Royalist Sergeant – Mr. Odell *Geoffrey Wynyard, a Merchant Sailor –

*Marple – Mr. Braid *Joe Ripley, a Fisherman – Mr. Weathersby *Sergeant of the Parliamentary Army – C. Allbrook *Soldier of the Parliamentary Army – Mr. Fielder *Dorothy –

Critical response

The audience was enthusiastic, and the critics generally gave the piece, and particularly Vezin and Terry, a warm reception.Stedman, p. 142 According to the ''

'' of 16 September 1876: A London-based French critic described the piece as "", and ''The Theatre'' called the story "pure and true and elevated". However, when George Eliot attended a performance of the play shortly after the opening night, her husband recorded in his diary, "Wretched stuff, poorly acted". The author Walter Sichel commented that Gilbert himself would have laughed at the play, had it not been his own: "It tends occasionally to touch on the genre which Gilbert so often satirised."

Notes

References

* * *Knapp, Shoshana, "George Eliot and W. S. Gilbert: Silas Marner Into Dan'l Druce" in ''Nineteenth-Century Fiction'', Vol. 40, No. 4 (March 1986), pp. 438–59. (Onlin
here- requires subscription)
* * The

of 16 September 1876, page 275, column 1.
''Dan'l Druce'' at the G&S Archive

External links

''Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith''
text scan at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

*
Crowther, Andrew, "Hunchbacks, Misanthropes and Outsiders: Gilbert's Self-Image"The cover of a theatre programme from the original production
{{Silas Marner Plays by W. S. Gilbert 1876 plays