Overview
Synopsis
Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy merchant in nineteenth-century Yonkers, NY, has a plan. He has been a widower for long enough and now he wants to find a wife. He recruits the help of local matchmaker, Mrs. Dolly Levi, but she has plans of her own. Meanwhile, Vandergelder’s niece Ermengarde desperately wants to marry her artist lover, but Vandergelder refuses to allow it. Furthermore, his clerks have run off to New York City on a mission ‘to kiss a girl’! There they find Irene Molloy and Minnie Fay, who are looking for excitement of their own. Hilarity and confusion ensues as everyone tries to secure their love lives and marry as they choose. Despite believing himself to be in charge, Vandergelder finds himself engaged to the astute Dolly Levi herself, who is determined to share his wealth for the greater good. Thornton Wilder’s madcap farce famously became the basis for the golden-age musical Hello Dolly!
Show Information
- Book
- Thornton Wilder
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- The Merchant of Yonkers (Thornton Wilder; 1938)
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 4
- First Produced
- 1954
- Genres
- Comedy, Farce
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- Yonkers, New York City, 1880s
- Cast Size
- large
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Mature Adult, Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen, Elderly Characters, Large Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A type of comedy that uses exaggeration, often with clowning and ridiculous behaviors, in order to entertain.
A period of rapid economic growth in America during the last thirty years of the nineteenth century.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher