The Matchmaker
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2008-05-11T06:32:42Z
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{{This|the play|Matchmaker}}
'''''The Matchmaker''''' is a play by [[Thornton Wilder]].
The play has a long and colorful history. [[John Oxenford]]'s 1835 one-act [[farce]] ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extended into a full-length play entitled ''[[Einen Jux will er sich machen]]'' by [[Austria|Austrian]] [[playwright]] [[Johann Nestroy]] in 1842. In 1938, Wilder adapted Nestroy's version into an [[United States|Americanized]] [[comedy]] entitled ''[[The Merchant of Yonkers]]'', which attracted the attention of [[Germany|German]] [[Theatre director|director]] [[Max Reinhardt]], who mounted a [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] production. It was a dismal failure, running for a mere 39 performances.
Fifteen years later, director [[Tyrone Guthrie]] expressed interest in a new production of the play, which Wilder extensively rewrote and rechristened ''The Matchmaker''. The most significant change was the expansion of a previously minor character named Dolly Gallagher Levi, who became the play's centerpiece. A widow who brokers marriages and other transactions in [[Yonkers, New York]] at the turn of the [[20th Century]], she sets her sights on local merchant Horace Vandergelder, who has hired her to find him a wife. After a series of [[slapstick]] situations involving mistaken identities, secret rendezvous behind carefully-placed screens, separated lovers, and a trip to night court, everyone finds themselves paired with a perfect match.
The play was a success at the [[Edinburgh Festival]] in [[Scotland]] and at the [[Theatre Royal Drury Lane]] in [[London]]'s [[West End theatre|West End]] before finally opening on Broadway on [[December 5]] [[1955]] at the [[Royale Theatre]], later transferring to the [[Booth Theatre|Booth]] to complete its run of 486 performances. [[Ruth Gordon]]'s performance in the title role earned her a [[Tony Award]] nomination as Best Actress; Guthrie won as Best Director.
The [[The Matchmaker (film)|1958 film version]], adapted by [[John Michael Hayes]] and directed by [[Joseph Anthony]], starred [[Shirley Booth]], [[Anthony Perkins]], [[Shirley MacLaine]], [[Paul Ford]], and [[Robert Morse]].
In 1964, the play enjoyed yet another incarnation when [[David Merrick]], who had produced the 1955 Broadway production, mounted a hugely successful, [[Tony Award]]-winning musical version entitled ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello, Dolly!]]'', with a score by [[Jerry Herman]] and starring [[Carol Channing]].
Tom Stoppard's farce, On the Razzle (1981) is yet another play based on the same story.
==Characters and original Broadway cast==
*Horace Vandergelder, a Merchant of Yonkers – [[Loring Smith]]
*Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi, a Friend of Vandergelder's Late Wife – [[Ruth Gordon]]
*Irene Molloy, a Milliner – [[Eileen Herlie]]
*Minnie Fay, Mrs. Molloy's Assistant – [[Rosamund Greenwood]]
*Cornelius Hackl, Clerk in Vandergelder's Store – [[Arthur Hill (actor)|Arthur Hill]]
*Barnaby Tucker, Apprentice in Vandergelder's Store – [[Robert Morse]]
*Miss Flora Van Husen, a Friend of Vandergelder's Late Wife – [[Esme Church]]
*Malachi Stack – [[Patrick McAlinney]]
*Ambrose Kemper, Artist – [[Alexander Davion]]
*Gertrude, Vandergelder's Housekeeper – [[Charity Grace]]
*Miss Van Huysen's Cook – [[Christine Thomas]]
*Rudolf, Waiter – [[William Lanteau]]
*Joe Scanlon, a Barber – [[Philip Leeds]]
*August, Waiter – [[John Mulligan]]
==External links==
*[http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=2561 Internet Broadway Database listing]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051913/ Internet Movie Database listing]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matchmaker, The}}
[[Category:1955 plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:American plays]]
[[Category:1958 films]]
[[Category:Comedy films]]
[[Category:Films based on plays]]