Our American Cousin: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "<nowiki>{{work}}</nowiki><!-- NOTE: This page is about the play, not what happened during a particular performance of the play. That event is already mentioned on the Trivia subpage; there's no reason to repeat it here. --> '''''Our American Cousin''''' is a three-act farce, first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre in New York City in 1858. --- see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_American_Cousin --- The play is in the Public Domain, and a copy of the 1869 ve...")
 
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<nowiki>{{work}}</nowiki><!-- NOTE: This page is about the play, not what happened during a particular performance of the play. That event is already mentioned on the Trivia subpage; there's no reason to repeat it here. -->
{{work}}<!-- NOTE: This page is about the play, not what happened during a particular performance of the play. That event is already mentioned on the Trivia and YMMV subpages; there's no reason to repeat it here. -->


[[File:The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson (1890) (14595310477).jpg|thumb|300px|Joseph Jefferson as Asa Trenchard, the titular American Cousin, in the original cast.]]
'''''Our American Cousin''''' is a three-act [[farce]], first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre in [[New York City]] in 1858.
'''''Our American Cousin''''' is a three-act [[farce]], first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre in [[New York City]] in 1858.


Florence Trenchard wants to marry an Army lieutenant, who is beneath her station. Worse, her brother Ned returns from a visit to rural Vermont to reveal that their great-uncle Mark has disinherited them and left Trenchard Manor to their American cousin Asa Trenchard, who has arrived to take residence in the manor. Worse still, the agent of the estate claims that Mark Trenchard owes his a large sum of money. And their house guests, the Mountchessingtons, take an interest in the "savage" from Vermont - or, at least, an interest in his money - and young Augusta Mountchessington is encouraged to gain Asa's interest. Asa, however, is more interested in a dairy maid named Mary Meredith, who happens to be a poor cousin to the Trenchards. There's also Lord Dundreary and Georgina Mountchessington to worry about. Who gets Mark Trenchard's inheritance?
--- see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_American_Cousin ---


The play is in the Public Domain, and a copy of the 1869 version can be [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3158 downloaded from Project Gutenberg].
The play is in the Public Domain, and a copy of the 1869 version can be [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3158 downloaded from Project Gutenberg].


[[Our American Cousin (opera)|The 2008 opera of the same name]] recounts the events of the play's most famous performance, from the viewpoint of the cast.
[[Our American Cousin (opera)|The 2008 opera of the same name]] recounts the events of the play's most famous performance, from the viewpoint of the cast. If you're looking for the unrelated 1985 movie, see ''[[My American Cousin]]''.

If you're looking for the unrelated 1985 movie, see ''[[My American Cousin]]''.


{{tropelist}}
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* [[Malaproper]]: Lord Dundreary, to the point that malapropisms were popularly called Dundrearyisms while the play was popular.
* [[Malaproper]]: Lord Dundreary, to the point that malapropisms were popularly called Dundrearyisms while the play was popular.
* [[Perfectly Cromulent Word]]: "sockdologizing", which (judging by reported [[Audience Reactions]]) was the funniest word in the play when it was performed during the 1860s. Alas, the context of its use doesn't provide any context for its meaning, other than that is isn't complimentary.
* [[Perfectly Cromulent Word]]: "sockdologizing", which (judging by reported [[Audience Reactions]]) was the funniest word in the play when it was performed during the 1860s. Alas, the context of its use doesn't provide any context for its meaning, other than that is isn't complimentary.
* [[Values Dissonance]]: According to [https://fords.org/why-fords-doesnt-produce-our-american-cousin/ Ford's Theatre] in 2021, "its class-based humor poking fun at country bumpkins and British aristocracy simply doesn’t land nor carry the attention of modern audiences."
* [[Values Dissonance]]: According to [https://fords.org/why-fords-doesnt-produce-our-american-cousin/ David McKenzie] in 2021, "its class-based humor poking fun at country bumpkins and British aristocracy simply doesn’t land nor carry the attention of modern audiences."


{{Needs More Tropes}}
{{Needs More Tropes}}


<nowiki>{{reflist}}
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Theatrical Productions]]
[[Category:Theatrical Productions]]
[[Category:Theatre of the 19th century]]
[[Category:Theatre of the 19th century]]
[[Category:Farce]]</nowiki>
[[Category:Farce]]
[[Category:Pages Original to All The Tropes]]

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'''Trivia subpage'''

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* Edward Askew Sothern was reluctant to take the role of Lord Dundreary in the original cast, because he felt that the part was too small. When he mentioned this to Joseph Jefferson (who had already been cast in the titular role), Jefferson is said<ref>By Bernard Havard in his book ''Walnut Street Theatre''</ref> to have replied with, "There are no small parts, only small actors." This was three decades before Konstantin Stanislavski popularized the phrase while directing at the Moscow Art Theatre.
* [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated while watching a performance of this play on Good Friday, April 14, 1865.

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Latest revision as of 19:50, 24 May 2023


Joseph Jefferson as Asa Trenchard, the titular American Cousin, in the original cast.

Our American Cousin is a three-act farce, first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre in New York City in 1858.

Florence Trenchard wants to marry an Army lieutenant, who is beneath her station. Worse, her brother Ned returns from a visit to rural Vermont to reveal that their great-uncle Mark has disinherited them and left Trenchard Manor to their American cousin Asa Trenchard, who has arrived to take residence in the manor. Worse still, the agent of the estate claims that Mark Trenchard owes his a large sum of money. And their house guests, the Mountchessingtons, take an interest in the "savage" from Vermont - or, at least, an interest in his money - and young Augusta Mountchessington is encouraged to gain Asa's interest. Asa, however, is more interested in a dairy maid named Mary Meredith, who happens to be a poor cousin to the Trenchards. There's also Lord Dundreary and Georgina Mountchessington to worry about. Who gets Mark Trenchard's inheritance?

The play is in the Public Domain, and a copy of the 1869 version can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg.

The 2008 opera of the same name recounts the events of the play's most famous performance, from the viewpoint of the cast. If you're looking for the unrelated 1985 movie, see My American Cousin.

Tropes used in Our American Cousin include:
  • Fish Out of Water: Vermont native Asa Trenchard tries to fit in at Trenchard Manor, which is very British.
  • Malaproper: Lord Dundreary, to the point that malapropisms were popularly called Dundrearyisms while the play was popular.
  • Perfectly Cromulent Word: "sockdologizing", which (judging by reported Audience Reactions) was the funniest word in the play when it was performed during the 1860s. Alas, the context of its use doesn't provide any context for its meaning, other than that is isn't complimentary.
  • Values Dissonance: According to David McKenzie in 2021, "its class-based humor poking fun at country bumpkins and British aristocracy simply doesn’t land nor carry the attention of modern audiences."
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