From the Streets of Dublin to the Streets of London, New York, Manchester, Liverpool... Dion Boucicault's Construction of Melodramas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2595-8127.v1i1p71-77Keywords:
Dion Boucicault, The Poor of New York, The Streets of Dublin, MelodramaAbstract
When investigating the prolific and chameleon playwright Dion Boucicault one is likely to enter a maze but unlike Thesus there is not an Anadne to help during the journey through it. It is rather difficult to come to terms with such a manifold character. The title of this essay already poses the problem: Boucicault wrote a play like The Poor of New York and adapted and renamed it several times to suit the places in which the play toured. The Poor of New York, previewed in 1857, had at its origin a French work called Les pauvres de Paris and Boucicault adapted it to New York audiences using the financial panic currently hitting the city’s banks as a basis for the plot. The play was a huge success and helped Boucicault get rid of his financial problems. However, when he was back in Europe in 1864, after his second bankruptcy, he revived the play, during his tour in Liverpool, as The poor of Liverpool. Again a major success as audiences packed the theatre. Boucicault having found his ‘pot of gold” took the play from place to place, changing the name as it went. The Poor of Liverpool then became The Poor of Manchester, The Streets of Islington, The Streets of London and finally, The Streets of Dublin.
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Copyright (c) 1999 Rosane Beyer
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