The Harlot's Progress (1733), The Rake's Progress (Ms., ca. 1778-1780)Cibber, Theophilus
General
The Harlot's Progress (1733), The Rake's Progress (Ms., ca. 1778-1780)
Cibber, Theophilus
English drama -- 18th century
[10]: The complete title is "_The Judgment of Paris. A Dramatic
Entertainment In Dancing and Singing, After the Manner of the
Ancient Greeks and Romans. As it is Perform'd at the Theatre-Royal
in Drury Lane_," with words by Congreve, music by Seedo and
"Compos'd by J. Weaver, Dancing-Master." This work had its Drury
Lane debut 6 February 1733, and _The London Stage_ entry for 31
March 1733 reads: "John Banks's _The Albion Queens_ ... Also _The
Harlot's Progress; or, the Triumph of Beauty_" (_LS_, 3, I, 283).
Many actors and actresses doubled (e.g., Mrs. Raftor is one of the
"Graces" in the masque). No doubt the concluding "Masque" of _The
Harlot's Progress_ is Weaver's piece (p. 12).
[11]: Paulson (_HGW_, I, 148) describes these two doctors, "well known
for their quack cures for venereal disease." Dr. Rock's name was
added by Hogarth in a later state of the print.
[12]: Cibber's piece may have opened as early as 12 March 1733 in the
pantomime house at Sadler's Wells, which had been reconstructed from
a seventeenth century Music Room (see _LS_, 3, I, xxxix). Cibber's
_The Harlot's Progress_ had a successful run at Drury Lane in the
spring of 1733, from 31 March until 28 May, when the actor-manager
dispute led to a closing of the playhouse (see _LS_, 3, I, 304). It
played as an afterpiece to such works as _Cato_ and _The Provok'd
Husband_, and on 26 April a playbill announced the "Royal Family
expected to attend" (_LS_, 3, I, 293). Thereafter it had a career at
the fairs, beginning with the Lee-Harper-Petit Booth on Tottenham
Court on 30 August 1733 (_LS_, 3, I, 310), moving on 23 August to
Bartholomew Fair and on 28 September to Mile End Green, where the
harlot's name is listed as "Moll Hackabout" (_LS_, 3, I, 321). On 27
October 1733 it had a command performance at Drury Lane (_LS_, 3, I,
330). It played frequently during that winter and in the spring, on
26 April, the seceding actors returned to Drury Lane to perform in
_The Conscious Lovers_ and _The Harlot's Progress_. The cast list is
the same as that in the text reprinted here (_LS_, 3, I, 390). The
successful run continued through October 1734; after that it was
only played a couple of times before the 1736 season (_LS_, 3, I,
_passim_). Scouten observes: "a remarkable feature" is that this
piece "places a Jewish merchant in a favorable light, treating him
not with sympathy but with respect as a pillar of trade" (_LS_, 3,
I, xcvi).
[13]: "A Letter from Theo. Cibber, Comedian, To John Highmore, Esq."
(London 1733).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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