Mrs. Bumpstead‐Leigh

Mrs. Bumpstead‐Leigh (1911), a comedy by Harry James Smith. [Lyceum Theatre, 64 perf.] Mrs. Bumpstead‐Leigh ( Mrs. Fiske) returns from a long sojourn in England to continue her triumphant social rise. What many of her fawning friends do not know is that she is an impostor, none other than Della Sales of Missionary Loop, Indiana, and the daughter of a man who made his fortune selling quack medicines. She travels with her mother, who is now called Mrs. de Salle ( Florine Arnold), and her sister, Viola ( Kathlene MacDonell), for whom she is determined to make a proper match. Her world is threatened by the appearance of bumptious Peter Swallow ( Henry E. Dixey), who had been her suitor years before. But Mrs. Bumpstead‐Leigh had not come all this way for nothing. She convinces Peter he is mistaken and finds the right man for Viola. This delightfully contrived farce, produced by her husband Harrison Grey Fiske, was one of the versatile Mrs. Fiske's biggest successes.