''The Italian Father: A Comedy, in Five Acts'' (1799) is an American comedic play by
William Dunlap
William Dunlap (February 19, 1766 – September 28, 1839) was a pioneer of American theater. He was a producer, playwright, and actor, as well as a historian. He managed two of New York City's earliest and most prominent theaters, the John Stre ...
, though substantially adapted from Part II of ''
The Honest Whore
''The Honest Whore'' is an early Jacobean city comedy, written in two parts; ''Part 1'' is a collaboration between Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton, while ''Part 2'' is the work of Dekker alone. The plays were acted by the Admiral's Men.
...
'' (c. 1606) by
Thomas Dekker.
Dunlap considered it his best play. It was popular with the public at the time (who mistakenly believed it to be a translation of
August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (; – ) was a German dramatist and writer who also worked as a consul in Russia and Germany.
In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl L ...
and approved it accordingly as a great work),
[Dunlap, William]
A History of the American Theatre
pp. 265-66 (1832)[A History of the American Theatre from Its Origins to 1832](_blank)
p. xvi (2005) and considered positively by modern critics.
[Burt, Daniel S., ed]
The Chronology of American Literature
p. 108 (2004)[Coad, Oral Sumner]
William Dunlap: S Study of His Life and Works of His Place in Contemporary Culture
pp. 67, 167, 287 (1917) It debuted at the
Park Theatre in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on April 15, 1799, and played for three performances that season. It also played in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in the fall, and was revived in New York for one performance in 1802.
The play was published in 1810, wherein Dunlap admitted he had "enriched his work" from old English sources but claimed it was "without forfeiting his claim to originality in the composition."
When writing his ''History of the American Theatre'' twenty years after that, Dunlap admitted that "Decker furnished many of the finest passages in this drama."
[Hoy, Cyrus]
Introductions, Notes and Commentaries to Texts in 'The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker', Vol II
pp. 74-75 (1979)
The 1830 play ''The Deformed'' by
Richard Penn Smith
Richard Penn Smith (March 13, 1799 – August 12, 1854) was a minor American playwright who is best known for writing a largely fictitious account of events at and leading up to the Battle of the Alamo, which was presented as the work of Davy Cro ...
is based both on ''The Honest Whore'' and Dunlap's adaptation.
[Quinn, Arthur Hobson, ed]
The Literature of the American People: An Historical and Critical Survey
p. 470 (1951)
Original New York cast
*Michael Brazzo (the father) by Joseph Tyler
*Beraldo by
Thomas Apthorpe Cooper
Thomas Abthorpe Cooper (born London, England, 1776; d. Bristol, Pennsylvania, 4 April 1841) was an English actor.
Cooper was born in Harrow on the Hill, London, the son of a physician with the East India Company. He received a good education, ...
[Ireland, Joseph Norton]
A Memoir of the Professional Life of Thomas Abthorpe Cooper
p. 90 (1888)
*Hippolito by John Martin
*Lodovico by William Bates
*Fool by Joseph Jefferson (grandfather of
Joseph Jefferson
Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedia ...
(1829-1905))
*Carlo by Miller
*Beatrice by Eleanor Westray ("Miss E. Westray")
*Astrabel by Mrs.
Giles Leonard Barrett ("Mrs. Barrett")
*Leonora by Georgina George Oldmixon ("Mrs. Oldmixon")
References
External links
''The Italian Father''(1810 first publication, via Google Books)
*
1799 plays
Plays by William Dunlap
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