Rip van Winkle

Rip van Winkle (1866), a play by Dion Boucicault (and Joseph Jefferson, uncredited). [Olympic Theatre, 35 perf.] Rip Van Winkle (Jefferson) is a dissolute, ne'er‐do‐well, with no illusions about his worthlessness. His guilty unhappiness is not assuaged by his scold of a wife, Gretchen (Mrs. Saunders), who finally drives him from his home. With his dog, Schneider, he retreats to a cove in the Kaatskill Mountains. There, beset by demons, he drinks himself into a stupor. When he wakes years later, he returns home, but no one recognizes him. Gretchen thinks him a beggar, gives him a penny, and takes pity on him. Not until his daughter Meenie (Marie Le Brun) realizes who he is do matters change. Rip promises to stay sober and Gretchen to be a good wife. Jefferson had played in earlier dramatizations of the story, but while in London he had Boucicault write him a new version, which he first offered there in 1865. The initial American reception was lukewarm, but Jefferson quickly made changes in Boucicault's text and polished his own performance. The play served as his vehicle for years and remained one of the most popular American stage pieces for the rest of the century.