Charlie's Aunt

Insights A Study Guide to the Utah Shakespeare Festival

Charlie’s Aunt The articles in this study guide are not meant to mirror or interpret any productions at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. They are meant, instead, to be an educational jumping-off point to understanding and enjoying the plays (in any production at any theatre) a bit more thoroughly. Therefore the stories of the plays and the interpretative articles (and even characters, at times) may differ dramatically from what is ultimately produced on the Festival’s stages. The Study Guide is published by the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 351 West Center Street; Cedar City, UT 84720. Bruce C. Lee, communications director and editor; Phil Hermansen, art director. Copyright © 2011, Utah Shakespeare Festival. Please feel free to download and print The Study Guide, as long as you do not remove any identifying mark of the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

For more information about Festival education programs: Utah Shakespeare Festival 351 West Center Street Cedar City, Utah 84720 435-586-7880 www.bard.org.

Cover photo: Brian Vaughn in Charlie’s Aunt, 1997. Contents Charlie’sInformation on Aunt the Play Synopsis 4

Scholarly Articles on the Play An Enduring Comedy 10

Utah Shakespeare Festival 3 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880 Synopsis: Charlie’s Aunt Jack Chesney and Charley Wykeham, two undergraduates at Oxford University, are in love--Jack with Kitty Verdun, ward of Stephen Spettigue the Oxford solicitor, and Charley with Amy Spettigue, the solicitor’s niece. However, neither knows quite how to express his love and his (hopeful) plans for the future to his girl—until Jack comes up with a plan: It just so happens that Charley’s aunt, a wealthy widow from Brazil (“where the nuts come from”) is visiting that very day. So, why not have a luncheon for the girls and Charley’s aunt? Surely during the afternoon each boy could sneak a few moments alone with his girl to express his sentiments. Charley has reservations, but finally consents (partly because he knows old Spettigue is out of town for the day); and the invitations are sent to the girls via Brassett, Jack’s college scout. Then, to top off the plans, the two students decide to invite Lord Fancourt Babberley (“Babbs”) to entertain the aunt, while they entertain their girls. Babbs, however, is not entirely keen on the idea but sympathizes with his two friends because he, too, is in love (“I’m always wanting to be alone, and hear the birds sing”). He met his girlfriend on a cruise and has since lost track of her—but hopes to some- day find her and rekindle the romance. Then one more is added to the luncheon when Jack’s father, Colonel Sir Francis Chesney arrives and announces his finances are in disarray and he and Jack will have to lower their style of living. In an effort to alleviate the situation, Jack invites him to the luncheon to woo Charley’s aunt and hopefully marry into her millions. But all plans go awry when the aunt, Donna Lucia d’ Alvadorez, telegraphs that she won’t be arriv- ing for a few more days. Without the aunt as chaperone, Charley and Jack quickly realize the girls won’t come to lunch. The answer presents itself, however, when Babbs enters wearing women’s cloth- ing he is trying on for a theatrical review. Jack immediately seizes him and calls him Charley’s aunt, the girls arrive at the door and are let in, and Babbs, not at all used to this new role, is suddenly forced to masquerade as the doting aunt from Brazil. All three boys, especially Babbs, are uncomfortable; but things, of course, only get worse with the arrival of Jack’s father and then (unexpectedly) of Spettigue. Both men are charmed by “Donna Lucia” and begin to vie for the rich aunt’s hand as Babbs leads them both on a wild chase. Then, the high jinx kick into high gear when the real Aunt Donna Lucia appears, recognizes what is going on, and plays along by taking a different name. Adding the last wrinkle to this hilarious plot is her traveling compan- ion: Ela, Babbs’s long-lost love. Comic confusion reigns supreme, but all is finally sorted out in the end when, Babbs, still posing as the aunt, tricks Spettigue into agreeing to the marriage of Kitty, to Jack; the real aunt marries Jack’s father; Charley gets Amy; and Babbs regains the girl he loves.

4 Utah Shakespeare Festival 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880 Charley’s Aunt: An Enduring Comedy By Robert Brewer From Midsummer Magazine, 1997 Why is Brandon Thomas’s Charley’s Aunt considered to be one of the most enduring comedies of all time? What is unique about this play? John Simon, theatre critic, once noted that a play only becomes a “classic” having survived the test of time. He never clarified the number of years a play has to remain in the active repertoire to achieve this status; but, certainly, this world class farce, first produced in London in 1892, has moved millions to laughter ever since its première 105 years ago. Brandon Thomas was a British gentleman who, rather as a lark, whipped out this little farce, whose frothy substance, as the passing decades have shown, turns out to have been con- fected of spun theatrical gold. Aside from this incredible success, Thomas’s other plays sit in theater dustbins. Included are such titles as The Gold Craze (1889), The Lancashire Sailor (1891), and The Swordsman’s Daughter (1895). To keep you curious about seeing the play this summer, I will not divulge the plot at this time, except to say that it does concern two college men (Jack and Charley) who, in order to get the girl, dress another man as a spinster aunt who thereby can act as chaperon while the boys get the girls. Of course, complications come into the play and what seems a simple, if somewhat devious, ploy to get the girls to their rooms (Oxford, no less) soon falls apart. And the story goes on from there. But since Charley’s Aunt is produced somewhere almost every day, if you do not know that story by now, I wonder where you’ve been for the past century! Aside from its own success, this “war-horse” has spawned itself into other mediums, includ- ing a musical version, Where’s Charley? With a book by the brilliant George Abbott and music and lyrics by Frank Loeeser (Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business), it featured Ray Bolger singing “Once in Love with Amy.” The musical later became a film version. It was also made into a silent movie (1925), and later a talkie with Jack Benny (1941). Louis Nye and Jose Ferrar have also played the lead role, as well as Darryl Hickman and most recently Raul Julia in a revival of the musical. Charley’s Aunt also spawned a television show with Art Carney (1957) and countless stage productions. One can begin to appreciate this play even more in terms of the time it was written. During this period in England, probably the most successful writing was less on the stage than in the world of operetta. W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were at the peaks of their careers. And somehow, I feel that Thomas was in the audience at the Savoy Theater seeing The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and H.M.S. Pinafore. Indeed, by examining these works, we might get a good idea where Thomas is coming from. Like his comedy, these musical pieces all involve a strong romantic core. In each story, the man has to climb hurdles to get the girl. And he must succeed in the end. After all, this isn’t a Puccini opera. Formula, you say? Yes, of course. The “boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl” theory is nothing new to the theatre. In fact, this concept dominated the British theatre at the time. And certainly it dominated the thoughts of Thomas. Leave the serious drama to Ibsen; Thomas was interested in something that neither pressures the brain nor pierces the skin. And in so doing he, rather miraculously, wrote just one play that may outlive us all. But the play’s influence goes beyond the obvious adaptations. Indeed, Charley isn’t the first man to masquerade as a woman to get what he wants. A closer look at recent cinema provides other highlights. The recent success of Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire is a classic example of brilliant formula writing based on the Thomas scenario. And what of Dustin Hoffman in

Utah Shakespeare Festival 5 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880 Tootsie? Like Charley, he is forced into gender swapping to get the girl. Most recently, the theatre has only on occasion seen strong farce. The success of Neil Simon’s Rumors or, even better, Michael Fryan’s Noises Off! are good examples of farce in our contemporary theatre. Musical theatre has used the genre well with shows such as Little Me, also by Simon, Bye Bye Birdie, and the brilliant A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Most recently, Broadway had a huge success in the Tony Award-winning farce Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig. In this play our hero, in order to get the girl, does not don a dress, but rather black make up to sing Otello. So, it seems that Brandon Thomas lives on in the theatre of today. Charley’s Aunt is not an easy play to perform. As most farces, it is built on a one-joke premise. Farce is a particularly treacherous genre because it depends on excesses, and excesses can often be too excessive. Like any play, it must be grounded in truth, not allowing the audience to consider the implausibility of the situation. Through that process, style is hopefully, eventually achieved wherein the play sits like the “foam off the beer.” Achieving that proper mix is the challenge of both director and artists. I’m not certain if I’ve really answered why this play has been such an incredible success. Perhaps being one of the first of its kind has something to do with it. And what it is about may offer a clue. Man, as long as I can remember, has been willing to go to great lengths to find his love. Perhaps, in the end, it is that simple. Perhaps, by accident, Thomas has stumbled on a uni- versal truth that we all are vulnerable to Cupid’s arrow. And once the arrow hits its mark, we will all go to great lengths to find that euphoria. Charley’s Aunt is also a good example of skillful writing of action. Thomas knew his genre and lays his story down like a master. Although he is hardly a master of wit, he structures the plot complications into a house of cards. His characters are distinctive, appropriately inane, touching, and, in the end, very winning. The play is an irresistible lark.

6 Utah Shakespeare Festival 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880 Utah Shakespeare Festival 7 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880