The Matchmaker (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thornton Wilder
- First Published: 1956
- Type of Plot: Comedy
- Time of Work: The 1880’s
- Setting: Yonkers and New York City
- Principal Characters: Horace Vandergelder, Dolly Levi, Cornelius Hackl, Barnaby Tucker, Irene Molloy
- Genres: Drama, Farce, Comedy, Parody
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Love or romance, Nineteenth century, New York City, Marriage, Money, Dating
- Locales: New York, NY, Yonkers, NY
The Play
The Matchmaker tells the story of a rich widower, Horace Vandergelder, who employs the services of a matchmaker, Dolly Levi, to find him a wife. While he is in pursuit of his own happiness, Vandergelder does his best to thwart the happiness of others, including his two overworked clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, and his niece Ermengarde, who wants to marry Ambrose Kemper, a penniless artist. Act 1 takes place in Vandergelder’s living quarters above his general store in Yonkers. In the opening scene, Vandergelder informs Ambrose that he will never be...
[The entire page is 2773 words long]
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