Our Boys is a comedy in three acts written by Henry James Byron, first performed in London on 16 January 1875 at the Vaudeville Theatre. Until it was surpassed by the run of Charley's Aunt in the 1890s, it was the world's longest-running play, up to that time, with 1,362 performances until April 1879.[1] Theatre owner David James (1839–93) was Perkyn in the production. The production also toured extensively.[2] The play contains the famous line, "Life’s too short for chess."[3]
Scene from Our BoysCover of script, c. 1880
The piece played in New York in 1875, at the New Fifth Avenue Theatre,[4] and in 1907 at the Lyric Theatre.[5] It also played in Philadelphia.[6]Arthur Williams appeared in a 1914 London revival of the piece.
Clarissa Champneys (Sir Geoffrey's sister, an elderly spinster) – Sophie Larkin
Belinda (a lodging-house slave) – Cicely Richards
Synopsis
Sir Geoffrey Champneys is very proud of his son, Talbot, an uninspired and weak youth. Mr. Middlewick, a retired butterman, also thinks highly of his son, Charles, an enthusiastic and lively young fellow. They are delighted to welcome their 'boys' home after a three-years' sojourn on the Continent. The Baronet — proud and poor — has determined that his son should marry Violet Melrose, an heiress; but that young lady and Charles Middlewick have already met at Vienna and decided differently (although she was, at first, unhappy with his lowly station). Meanwhile, Talbot is in love with her poor cousin, the free-and-easy Mary. Old Middlewick has taken a great dislike to Violet, whom he considers 'stuck-up,' and he desires his son to wed Mary. Needless to say, Sir Geoffrey is also displeased, and the fathers disown their sons. The latter retire in disgrace to a miserable London rooming house, where they try to earn an independence by writing.
The fathers, after a few months, become so profoundly miserable without their boys that they follow them and find out from Belinda, the 'slavey,' that the sons are at the point of starving. Miss Champneys also arrives with a chicken and other delicacies, and Violet and Mary come to discover if their lovers are still faithful. After a few more misunderstandings, the boys are forgiven and taken back into favour. Miss Champneys has designs on the butterman's hand and heart. Sir Geoffrey gives a speech of understanding.
Notes
^Booth, Michael R. Review of plays by H. J. Byron including Our Boys in The Modern Language Review, Vol. 82, No. 3, pp. 716-17 (July 1987; Modern Humanities Research Association)
^Pascoe, Charles Eyre. Our actors and actresses. The dramatic list, pp. 47, 61, 78, 133, 209, 244, 285, 289, and 371
Davis, Jim (ed.) Plays by H.J. Byron: The Babes in the Wood; the Lancashire Lass; Our Boys; the Gaiety Gulliver (Cambridge, 1984).
Information about a lawsuit over the rights to produce the play in New York
Information about productions at the Vaudeville Theatre[dead link]
August 21, 2023
boys, this, article, about, 1875, play, other, uses, disambiguation, comedy, three, acts, written, henry, james, byron, first, performed, london, january, 1875, vaudeville, theatre, until, surpassed, charley, aunt, 1890s, world, longest, running, play, that, t. This article is about Our Boys the 1875 play For other uses see Our Boys disambiguation Our Boys is a comedy in three acts written by Henry James Byron first performed in London on 16 January 1875 at the Vaudeville Theatre Until it was surpassed by the run of Charley s Aunt in the 1890s it was the world s longest running play up to that time with 1 362 performances until April 1879 1 Theatre owner David James 1839 93 was Perkyn in the production The production also toured extensively 2 The play contains the famous line Life s too short for chess 3 Scene from Our BoysCover of script c 1880The piece played in New York in 1875 at the New Fifth Avenue Theatre 4 and in 1907 at the Lyric Theatre 5 It also played in Philadelphia 6 Arthur Williams appeared in a 1914 London revival of the piece Contents 1 Roles 2 Synopsis 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksRoles EditSir Geoffrey Champneys a county magnate William Farren Jr Talbot Champneys his son a washed out youth Thomas Thorne Perkyn Middlewick a retired butterman David James Charles Middlewick his aristocratic looking son Charles Warner Poddles Middlewick s butler W Lestocq Kempster Sir Geoffrey s servant Mr Howard Violet Melrose an heiress Kate Bishop Mary Melrose her poor cousin Amy Roselle Clarissa Champneys Sir Geoffrey s sister an elderly spinster Sophie Larkin Belinda a lodging house slave Cicely RichardsSynopsis EditSir Geoffrey Champneys is very proud of his son Talbot an uninspired and weak youth Mr Middlewick a retired butterman also thinks highly of his son Charles an enthusiastic and lively young fellow They are delighted to welcome their boys home after a three years sojourn on the Continent The Baronet proud and poor has determined that his son should marry Violet Melrose an heiress but that young lady and Charles Middlewick have already met at Vienna and decided differently although she was at first unhappy with his lowly station Meanwhile Talbot is in love with her poor cousin the free and easy Mary Old Middlewick has taken a great dislike to Violet whom he considers stuck up and he desires his son to wed Mary Needless to say Sir Geoffrey is also displeased and the fathers disown their sons The latter retire in disgrace to a miserable London rooming house where they try to earn an independence by writing The fathers after a few months become so profoundly miserable without their boys that they follow them and find out from Belinda the slavey that the sons are at the point of starving Miss Champneys also arrives with a chicken and other delicacies and Violet and Mary come to discover if their lovers are still faithful After a few more misunderstandings the boys are forgiven and taken back into favour Miss Champneys has designs on the butterman s hand and heart Sir Geoffrey gives a speech of understanding Notes Edit Booth Michael R Review of plays by H J Byron including Our Boys in The Modern Language Review Vol 82 No 3 pp 716 17 July 1987 Modern Humanities Research Association Pascoe Charles Eyre Our actors and actresses The dramatic list pp 47 61 78 133 209 244 285 289 and 371 Image of page from the script with the quote IBDB listing for the 1875 Broadway production IBDB listing for the 1907 Broadway production Philadelphia production mentionedReferences EditJames M E What shall we act 1882 pp 80 81External links EditList of longest running plays in London Davis Jim ed Plays by H J Byron The Babes in the Wood the Lancashire Lass Our Boys the Gaiety Gulliver Cambridge 1984 Information about a lawsuit over the rights to produce the play in New York Information about productions at the Vaudeville Theatre dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Our Boys amp oldid 1146610590, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
