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Wignell, Thomas
Wignell, Thomas (1753–1803), actor and manager. The English‐born performer was brought to America in 1774 by his cousin, the younger Lewis Hallam. However, the outbreak of the Revolution forced him to sail almost immediately for Jamaica, and he did not begin to earn a name for himself until his return in 1785. Wignell soon became a favorite with the Old American Company at the John Street Theatre in such roles as Joseph Surface, Prospero, and Laertes. William Dunlap described him as “a man below ordinary height, with a slight stoop of the shoulders . . . his comedy was luxuriant in humour, but always faithful to his author. He was a comic actor, not a buffoon.” However, much of his importance rests with his work behind the scenes. He is said to have been the man who encouraged Royall Tyler to write The Contrast (and was its first Jonathan). In 1793 Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theatre was built for a company he recruited, and with Alexander Reinagle he ran the theatre until his death. Under his aegis it was the leading playhouse in the city and its ensemble often considered the finest in the country.
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Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Wignell, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Wignell, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-WignellThomas.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Wignell, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-WignellThomas.html |
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Wignell, Thomas
Wignell, Thomas (1753–1803), American actor of English extraction, a cousin of the younger Lewis Hallam, by whom he was persuaded in 1774 to join the American Company, of which he soon became the leading man. In 1787 he was instrumental in arranging the production in New York of the first American comedy, Royall Tyler's The Contrast, and in 1789, in which year George Washington, who much admired him, attended his benefit night, he spoke the prologue to Dunlap's The Father; or, American Shandyism, in which he played the comic doctor. Shortly afterwards he left for England, where he recruited a fine company to play at the newly opened Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Among its members were James Fennell, with whom Wignell had acted in New York, and Mrs Merry, whom he married seven weeks before his death. The company soon achieved an enviable reputation, and on a visit to New York in 1797 was considered superior even to the American Company. Wignell, however, took it back to Philadelphia, where he remained until his death.
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Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Wignell, Thomas." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Wignell, Thomas." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-WignellThomas.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Wignell, Thomas." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-WignellThomas.html |
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