London Assurance

London Assurance (1841). The only enduring British comedy of the first half of the 19th century, this earliest Dion Boucicault success tells of a lordly Belgravia fop, Sir Harcourt Courtly, whose wooing of a Gloucestershire heiress is thwarted by none other than his own son. Romping in and out of the amorous adventures is a determined horsewoman, Lady Gay Spanker. The American premiere occurred at the Park Theatre in 1841 with a cast that included Henry Placide as Courtly and Charlotte Cushman as Spanker. The premiere was a landmark in the annals of the American theatre. First of all, it followed the innovation employed in its original London production by Mme. Vestris of using a box set, so that audiences appeared to be watching the action from the fourth wall of a real house. Equally important was the comedy's stand of three uninterrupted weeks, the first “long run” in American history. The play was regularly revived by J. W. and Lester Wallack in productions in which John Gilbert invariably played Harcourt Courtly and in which such actresses as Fanny Davenport and Rose Coghlan portrayed Spanker. Laura Keene's horsewoman was also admired, as was Ada Rehan's in Augustin Daly's 1896 revival. Thereafter the play was brought back with increasing infrequency and with little success. Even a superb Royal Shakespeare Company production, imported in 1974, attracted few American playgoers. Yet there was praise for the Roundabout Theatre's 1997 revival featuring Brian Bedford as Harcourt.