Widow Bedott

Widow Bedott (1880), a comedy by David Ross Locke. [Haverly's Lyceum Theatre, 56 perf.] Widow Bedott (Neil Burgess) is a small‐town busybody, always willing to chat and meddle while she bakes pies in her kitchen. She also is determined to marry again, and has chosen Elder Shadrack Sniffles (George Stoddart). Before he realizes what is happening, Sniffles is ready to take the widow to the altar, much to the annoyance of Widow Jenkins (Nellie Peck). Supposedly Lincoln's favorite humorist, Locke made this dramatization of his Widow Bedott Papers specifically for Burgess, the era's most famous female impersonator. Although others played the role, none surpassed his interpretation, to which he returned regularly for nearly a decade.