Mr. Wilkinson's Widows is a farce-comedy in Three Acts by William Gillette from the Alexandre Bisson play Feu Toupinel. The play opened under the management of Charles Frohman on Monday, March 30, 1891 at Proctor's Theatre and continued until the end of the season with the final curtain falling on June 13. Mr. Wilkinson's Widows returned some ten weeks later with the coming of the new season and remained open until October 3, 1891.A History of the New York Stage, Allston Brown - 1903 Volume 3 - Page 512 (Google Books)The Dramatic Year Book for 1891-Charles Smith Cheltnam -1892 Page 346 (Google Books)
Synopsis The plot of Mr. Wilkinson's Widows, revolves around Mrs. Percival Perrin and Mrs. Henry F. Dickerson, both widowed seven years earlier, now remarried and living under the same roof. Each is unaware that their late husbands were in fact the same man, Mr. Wilkinson. The introduction into the story of a former admirer of Mrs. Dickerson, Major Mallory, sets off a chain of events that disrupts the domestic bliss of both women and eventually unravels the late Mr. Wilkinson’s secret.The Dramatic Year Book for 1891-Charles Smith Cheltnam -1892 Page 346 (Google Books)
Revue Los Angeles Herald, February 5, 1892
"Why is it that American play-writers still have to go to Germany or France for themes of their work? Mr. Gillette has made a delightful comedy out of Mr. Wilkinson's Widows, but all he did to the original play was to cut out the risqué lines. There was an entire absence of any American tone or color, or of originality about the comedy, delightful as it was. It is to be hoped that Mr. Gillette will not become a mere adapter."Los Angeles Herald, February 5, 1892 col. 1, pg. 7
New York Cast Benjamin Duckworth: J. W. Thompson Susanna McAuliff: Maud White Henry F. Dickerson: Fred Bond Mrs. Henry F. Dickerson: Henrietta Crosman/ Esther Lyons (June 1–13) Percival Perrin: Joseph Holland Mrs. Percival Perrin: Louise Thorndyke Bouciacault E. E. Pembroke: Thomas Wise Maj. P. Ferguson Mallory: Thomas Burns Mary: Annie Wood Julia: Lillian Leach August Replacements Mrs. Percival Perrin: Georgiana Drew Mrs. Henry F. Dickerson: Emily Bancker E. E. Pembroke: Harry Allen Susanna McAulff: Mattie Ferguson
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