The Colonel (play)
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''The Colonel'' is a
farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
in three acts by F. C. Burnand based on Jean François Bayard's ''Le mari à la campagne'' (''The Husband in the Country''), first produced in 1844 and produced in London in 1849 by
Morris Barnett Morris Barnett (1800 – 18 March 1856), was a British actor and dramatist. Biography Born into a Jewish family,William D. Rubinstein, Michael Jolles, Hilary L. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', Palgrave Macm ...
, adapted as ''The Serious Family''. The story concerns the efforts of two
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
impostors to gain control of a family fortune by converting a man's wife and mother-in-law to follow aestheticism. He is so unhappy that he seeks the company of a widow in town. His friend, an American colonel, intervenes to persuade the wife to return to conventional behavior and obey her husband to restore domestic harmony, and the colonel marries the widow himself. ''The Colonel'' was first produced on 2 February 1881, and its initial run at the
Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...
lasted for 550 performances, an extraordinary run in those days. Simultaneously, a second company was touring the British provinces with the play. On 4 October 1881, ''The Colonel'' received a command performance before
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
(the first play to do so in twenty years (since the death of Prince Albert in 1861). The play transferred to the Imperial Theatre in 1883 and then to the new
Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
in 1884, built by the producer of ''The Colonel'', Edgar Bruce, from the profits from the comedy's extraordinary success. In July 1887, there was a revival at the
Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,
.


Background

The play, like the Bayard play on which it is based, follows a ''
Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...
''-type plot: a wealthy family is infiltrated by a religious impostor who threatens to gain control over the family fortune until an old friend comes to the rescue — in this version, an American colonel, the title character of the play. A young husband generally uses the pretence of going to the country to escape his oppressive domestic circumstances. The old friend restores the husband's supremacy in his home by pointing out to the misguided wife the dangers inherent in suppressing innocent and fashionable pleasures in the name of an exaggerated devotion. Burnand's most important modification to this plot consisted in substituting "aesthetic" impostors for the religious hypocrites of the earlier versions — a fake "professor of aesthetics" is pitted against the practical American colonel.
Squire Bancroft Sir Squire Bancroft (14 May 1841 – 19 April 1926), born Squire White Butterfield, was an English actor-manager. He changed his name to Squire Bancroft Bancroft by deed poll just before his marriage. He and his wife Effie Bancroft are consi ...
, manager of the Haymarket Theatre had asked Burnand to create a new version of Bayard's story. Bancroft, however, decided not to stage the play, giving Burnand more license to freely adapt it. The "aesthetic craze," was an obvious target for Burnand, who had been a regular contributor to ''
Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...
'' since 1863 and had become its editor in 1880 (a position he held until 1906). Beginning in the late 1870s,
George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...
had published a long series of cartoons in the magazine satirizing the aesthetes.Stedman, p. 182 "The Colonel" was a recurring character in ''Punch''. ''Punch'' had so frequently attacked the aesthetic movement, as ''The Observer'' noted, that ''The Colonel'' came at a point when it "might, indeed, have been thought that ''Punch'' had well nigh played the subject out." ''
Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
'', a rival publication, wryly noted that Burnand should have acknowledged du Maurier as co-author. According to Burnand's memoir,
Frederic Clay Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for songs and his music written for the stage. Although from a musical family, for 16 years Clay made his living as a civil servant in HM Treasury ...
leaked the information to him that
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...
were working on an "æsthetic subject", and so Burnand raced to produce the play before the operatic duo's ''
Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...
'' opened. Burnand was "one of the most prolific dramatic authors and
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
writers ever known, nearly 200 works standing to his credit."


Roles and original cast

*Colonel Wootwell W. Wood, U.S. Cavalry —
Charles Francis Coghlan Charles Francis Coghlan (11 June 1842 – 27 November 1899) was an Anglo-Irish actor and playwright once popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Early life Charles F. Coghlan was born on 11 June 1842, in Paris, France to British subjects, ...
*Richard Forrester — W. Herbert *Lambert Strekye — James Fernandez *Basil Giorgione (his Nephew) — Rowland Buckstone *Edward Langton n love with Nellie— Eric Bayley *Mullins utler— Mr. Rowley *Parkes (Waiter) — Charles Cecil *Romelli estaurateur & Confectioner— Mr. Grey *Lady Tompkins — Mrs.
Leigh Murray Henry Leigh Murray (1820–1870) was an English actor. Early life Murray was born in Sloane Street, London, 19 October 1820, with the surname Wilson. While a clerk in a merchant's office he made a start on amateur acting, in a small theatre in ...
Elizabeth Lee performed under her husband's name as Mrs. Leigh Murray. Se
"Box and Cox"
''Theatre History'', accessed 11 November 2013. Excerpt from ''A Dictionary of the Drama'' by W. Davenport Adams. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1904, p. 195
*Olive (her Daughter, Forrester's Wife) — Myra Holme *Nellie (Forrester's Sister nd Ward — C. Grahame *Mrs. Blythe —
Amy Roselle Amy Roselle (28 May 1852 – 17 November 1895), born Amy Louise Roselle Hawkins was an English actress who performed in Britain, the US and Australia. She specialised in Shakespearean roles but also played parts in contemporary dramas. She ...
*Goodall (her Maid) — Miss Houston


Notes


References


''The Colonel'' and extensive information and links, including libretto, background, cast, design discussion, reviews and other materials
* *Burnand, F. C. ''Records and reminiscences, personal and general'', 2nd ed., 2 vols. (1904)


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonel, The 1877 plays