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Edmunds, which sponsored a new play every year for its annual social festivities known as the “Hunt Bespeak.” Brandon Thomas' play was first performed at ...
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Cover art by Scott McKowen.
guardians, an unflappable butler, improbable disguises, false identities, witty dialogue, high manners, physical comedy and cross-dressing. From the moment Jack and Charley enlist their friend to impersonate Charley’s aunt, the play moves from one unbelievably absurd situation to the next with domino-effect alacrity, as the two college gents try to keep up with the lie they have perpetrated in order to propose to the women they love.
It would be easy to fixate only on the play’s broad comedy and wind up with only fluff and silliness on stage. But no matter how high a level of preposterousness the play can rise to, at the heart of the play is one powerful theme that grounds it in reality—a force that has at one time or another, made us all do some very foolish things: love. What are the lengths we will go to for love? What are the sacrifices we will make and the indignities we will suffer for it? And in the end, it is love that makes all the trouble worth it. To me, this is what drives the play’s characters, action and the comedy itself. Crafting the many moments of comedy with this cast has been a daily dose of fun. But underneath it all has been this theme, which I hope makes your journey through the play just a bit more dear and delightful. It has been a gift to work on a play like this and to share it with you.
May the laughter it provides be a satisfying tonic for these times. -Joseph Discher , Director
LEFT: Program from the original London production. Source: Wikipedia. BELOW: Poster for the San Francisco run of the popular Broadway production of Where’s Charley? featuring Ray Bolger. • Poster for the 1941 film version starring Jack Benny as “Babbs,” 20 th^ Century-Fox Pictures. Source: Osdan Galleries.
Walter Brandon Thomas (December 24, 1848 – June 19, 1914) was born in Mount Pleasant, Liverpool to Hannah and Walter Thomas, a boot seller. He was educated at the Liverpool Institute and later at a private school in Lancashire. At the age of 14, he enlisted in the Royal Marines but was bought out after six weeks and apprenticed to a shipbuilder. He learned bookkeeping and was a clerk with local Liverpool timber merchants until 1875 when he and his family moved to Hull.
Thomas augmented his salary with occasional journalism, and The Times noted that at 17 he published “a striking pamphlet” attacking the hymn-writers Moody and Sankey. Thomas’ chief love, however, was the theatre. He appeared as an amateur in Hull, singing and reciting at concerts, performing in music halls and drawing room entertainments, playing the piano and singing his own songs. Through the influence of a local businessman, Albert Rollit, he secured an engagement with William and Madge Kendal
at the Court Theatre in London. He made his first professional stage appearance there at age 30, in April 1879, as Sandy in The Queen’s Shilling.
Thomas continued to write, and the Kendals accepted his new play Comrades for their theatre. It opened at the Court in 1882, with a cast including Arthur Cecil, D. G. Boucicault and Marion Terry. He remained in their company playing small roles until 1885, when he joined Rosina Vokes’s company as its leading man on an American tour. Upon his return to London, he attracted significant attention in Sweet Lavender by Arthur Wing Pinero. In the role of the banker Geoffrey Wedderburn, “he at once leapt into favor as a strong and virile representative of elderly men.”
In 1888, Thomas married Marguerite Blanche Leverson, the daughter of a diamond merchant. Thomas and his wife had three children; Amy Brandon Thomas and Jevan Roderick Brandon Thomas each had theatrical careers, but Sylvia M. Brandon Thomas did not.
In 1891, Thomas found great artistic and financial success in a triple bill at Terry’s Theatre. He invested £1,000 (roughly $155,000 today) in a production of three one-act plays: his own The Lancashire Sailor , Weedon Grossmith’s A Commission , and Cecil Clay’s A Pantomime Rehearsal. He took prominent roles in all three, displaying his versatility as “a romantic young lover, a delightfully cynical model, and as the heavy, stupid Captain.”
Despite this praise, Thomas’ outstanding hit was as a writer with a farce entitled Charley’s Aunt. The title role was written for his friend, the actor W. S. Penley. Penley produced the play and took the star role of Lord Fancourt Babberly. The early performances of the play were given on tour in the English provinces in February 1892. When the
Walter Brandon Thomas, by Napoleon Sarony albumen cabinet card, circa 1885. The National Portrait Gallery.
Isaac Hickox-Young as Charles Wykeham, Aaron McDaniel as Jack Chesney, and Seamus Mulcahy as Lord Fancourt Babberly. Photo credit: Jerry Dalia.
SPOILER ALERT: The following includes some details about the play that you may wish to wait to discover until viewing the production. To avoid giving away the ending, we have only included a description of the first two acts of the play.
Jack Chesney and Charley Wykeham, two students at Oxford University, are in love with Kitty Verdun and Amy Spettigue respectively, but they seem entirely unable to express their love to the young ladies. To make matters worse, the ladies are leaving for Scotland with Amy’s testy uncle, Stephen Spettigue, the next morning, so for the young men, time is of the essence. Unfortunately the boys cannot see Kitty and Amy without a chaperone. An unexpected opportunity presents itself, however, when Charley receives word that his wealthy aunt (whom he has never met) is in town and will be calling on him that very afternoon. The boys use her arrival as an opportunity to invite the young ladies to luncheon where they plan to sneak a few stolen moments alone
to proclaim their affections. They enlist the aid of Lord Fancourt “Babbs” Babberly, another student, to distract Charley’s Aunt Donna Lucia while they court Kitty and Amy. Babbs feels sympathy for the boys, having recently fallen in love himself with a young lady he met on a yachting tour of the Mediterranean. Babbs, who has become interested in amateur theatricals, has recently been cast in an upcoming presentation. Eager to see what the others think, he steps out to try on his new costume.
While Charley goes to the railway station to pick up his aunt, Jack’s father, Sir Francis, unexpectedly arrives with bad news. Sir Francis informs his son that the family’s fortunes have been wiped out and that they will need to be very frugal for the next few years. Jack suggests that his father court Charley’s wealthy widowed aunt in hopes of marrying into money. His father is hesitant but agrees to come for lunch to meet Donna Lucia. Charley returns with word that his aunt will not be arriving after all. The boys are in a panic; without a chaperone, the girls will not stay. All hope is lost until Babbs returns wearing the costume for his new role – an old woman. The girls arrive, and Babbs is introduced as “Charley’s aunt.” Babbs, who has never acted before, does his best. The girls are charmed with Babbs immediately.
Mr. Spettigue arrives unexpectedly and is outraged to discover
Charley’s Aunt
A Synopsis
Aaron McDaniel as Jack Chesney and Erica Knight as Kitty Verdun. Photo credit: Jerry Dalia.
that his niece and his ward are lunching with two college boys without his permission. His tone quickly changes, however, when he learns that Charley’s aunt is the celebrated millionaire Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez. He apologizes for his rude remarks and stays for lunch in an attempt to woo the wealthy widow.
In the expansive gardens of the college, Jack and Charley try unsuccessfully to get their girls alone. Jack’s father has decided to propose marriage to “Donna Lucia” to remedy his ruined financial circumstances. When he is rejected by Babbs, however, he is relieved.
In the meantime, the real Donna Lucia arrives. She is an attractive and successful woman; nothing like the character Babbs has presented. With her is her adopted niece, Ela Delahay, who has come into money from her deceased father. Ela reveals that in his dying days, her father, a gambler, won the money from a kind young man named Fancourt Babberly, a boy for whom she still feels affection. Ela’s missed chance at romance sparks a recollection in Donna Lucia. She reminisces about a handsome colonel named Frank whom she met over 20 years ago. Sadly, he was shipped off to war before they could express their true feelings to each other. When Sir Francis enters, Donna Lucia recognizes
him immediately as the handsome young colonel. He remembers her as Lucy, the sweet young lady with whom he shared a dance. Before she can introduce herself properly, however, she discovers that someone claiming to be Charley’s aunt is already present. So that she can investigate the impostor, she introduces herself as Mrs. Beverly-Smythe, a penniless widow.
Jack and Charley finally declare their love to Kitty and Amy but discover that they must gain consent from Mr. Spettigue. The consent for Kitty’s marriage must be in writing. The girls seek Babbs’ assistance in obtaining Spettigue’s consent. In hopes of gaining an opportunity to speak with “Donna Lucia” in private, Spettigue invites the entire group, including the real Donna Lucia and her niece, to his home for dinner.
The evening at Mr. Spettigue’s has everyone on pins and needles. Jack, Kitty, Charley, and Amy anxiously await for consent from Mr. Spettigue. Mr. Spettigue relentlessly courts the overwhelmed “Donna Lucia,” while the real Donna Lucia attempts to discover the true identity of her impersonator. Babbs, having recognized Ela as the girl he fell in love with, is ready to give up the whole charade much to the distress of Jack and Charley. The wild events come to a climactic head when engagements are announced and secrets are revealed.
Seamus Mulcahy as Lord Fancourt Babberly and John Ahlin as Stephen Spettigue. Photo credit: Jerry Dalia.
Erika Rolfsrud as Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez and Sally Kingsford as Ela Delahay. Photo credit: Jerry Dalia.
Charley’s Aunt(s)
Famous Faces:
Here are just a handful of the famous faces who have taken on the titular role of the aunt over the years.
Sydney Chaplin, half-brother to Charlie Chaplin, performed the role in the 1925 silent film adaptation.
Charles Ruggles, famous for decades of work in film and television, donned the dress for the 1930 film adaptation.
Jack Benny’s 1941 film adaptation was a tremendous success.
In the 1948 musical adaptation called Where’s Charley? , the roles of Charley and Babbs are merged, and Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz ) charmed audiences in both. The stage production was made into a film in 1952.
Art Carney of The Honeymooners fame took on the role as part of the Playhouse 90 series in
In 1975 and 1976, years after his appearance in the Planet of the Apes films, Roddy McDowall toured a production of Charley’s Aunt and had to fight off the advances of Vincent Price, who played the eager wooer, Stephen Spettigue.
A decade before he donned the nose of Cyrano de Bergerac , José Ferrer donned the wig for a Broadway revival of Charley’s Aunt.
ABOVE: Costume renderings (clockwise from above) for Jack, Charley, Lord Fancourt Babberly, Babbs as Charley’s Aunt, Amy, and Kitty by Natalie Loveland.
ABOVE: Scenic renderings for the three acts of Charley’s Aunt by Brian Prather.
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