Engaged is a three-act farcical comic play by W. S. Gilbert. The plot revolves around a rich young man, his search for a wife, and the attempts – from mercenary motives – by his uncle to encourage his marriage and by his best friend to prevent it. After frantic complications and changes of allegiance, all the main characters end up paired off, more or less to their satisfaction.
The play opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 3 October 1877, the year before Gilbert's first great success with the composer Arthur Sullivan in their comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore. Engaged was well received on the London stage and then in the British provinces, the US, Australia and New Zealand. It was subsequently revived many times and has continued to be produced during the 20th and 21st centuries.
The play has been called "unquestionably the finest and funniest English comedy between Bulwer-Lytton's Money and Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest which it directly inspired", although some critics found it heartless.Wintle, p. 587 Other plays considered by critics to be influenced by Engaged are Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man and Man and Superman. Later playwrights whose works have been seen as drawing on Engaged are Noël Coward and Joe Orton.
Background
By 1877, Gilbert, now forty years old, was established as a dramatist. After his early burlesques of the 1860s he had turned to writing comic opera libretti and non-musical plays, both comic and serious. His musical successes included Ages Ago (music by Frederic Clay, 1869) and Trial by Jury (music by Arthur Sullivan (1875). His serious and comic non-musical plays included Pygmalion and Galatea (1871),"The London Theatres", The Era, 5 May 1872, p. 11 The Wicked World (1873),Ainger, p. 98 Sweethearts (1874)Stedman, pp. 126–127 and several others that played for well over 100 performances – good runs by the standards of the time.Orel, p. 54; and Booth (1991), p. 13
Engaged is written in the "topsy-turvy" satiric style of many of Gilbert's earlier Bab Ballads and his later Savoy Operas."Dramatic and Musical", The New York Times, 24 February 1886, p. 5 A New York Times reviewer called it "human nature ... reversed – giving language to one series of emotions and acting another.""Dramatic and Musical", The New York Times, 18 February 1879, p. 5 Gilbert's previous play had been the drama Dan'l Druce (1876), in which he had sought to portray serious human emotions. It was a moderate success, but for Engaged he returned to his usual absurdist approach, inventing a cast of characters whose motivation is not love but money.Knapp, p. 457; and Cardullo, p. 245 Possibly to underline the contrast, in the new play he cast in the mercenary female lead role Marion Terry, who in Dan'l Druce had played a sentimental part. He also wrote a scene for the new play that appeared to parody one in its predecessor.Knapp, p. 457 A passage from Engaged, a speech by the central character, Cheviot Hill, reflects a Gilbertian notion of marriage:
Once he was in a position to do so, Gilbert directed productions of his own works. In a note to his cast, reproduced in the published text, he set out the manner in which the play should be performed:
First productions Engaged was first presented at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 3 October 1877. It starred George Honey, Kyrle Bellew, Marion Terry, Lucy Buckstone and Julia Stewart.Ainger, p. 134 It ran for about 110 performances, until 1 February 1878, when the company's lease on the theatre expired."Theatres", The Standard, 1 February 1878, p. 1 A provincial tour, led by Honey, with different co-stars, began on 21 February."Advertisements & Notices", The Era, 10 February 1878, p. 1 At the end of the tour the company returned to London and played at the Strand Theatre throughout July and August 1878."The London Theatres", The Era, 7 July 1878, p. 6; and "Strand Theatre", The Standard, 29 August 1878, p. 6
In February 1879 the first American production opened at the Park Theatre, New York, with the comic actor James Lewis as Cheviot and Agnes Booth as Belinda. Productions quickly followed in Philadelphia and Baltimore, earning thousands of dollars in royalties for the author.Ainger, p. 168 Productions in Australia and New Zealand followed in the same year."Theatre Royal: 'Engaged'", The Melbourne Argus, 28 April 1879, p. 6; and "Theatre Royal", New Zealand Herald, 11 July 1879
There were two London revivals in the 1880s: at the Royal Court Theatre opening on 30 November 1881, with H. J. Byron in the lead role, and at the Haymarket from 17 February 1886 starring Herbert Beerbohm Tree.The London Theatres", The Era, 20 February 1886, p. 14
Roles and early London casts The casts for the first production and the two 1880s revivals were: Role Original cast, Haymarket, 1877 First revival, Royal Court, 1881 Second revival, Haymarket, 1886 Cheviot Hill (a young man of property) George Honey Henry J. Byron Herbert Beerbohm Tree Belvawney (his friend) Harold Kyrle (later known as Kyrle Bellew) Kyrle Bellew Maurice Barrymore Mr Symperson Henry Howe Clifford Cooper Mr Mackintosh Angus Macalister (a lowland peasant lad) Fred Dewar W. H. Denny Charles Brookfield Major McGillicuddy Mr Weathersby Gilbert Trent Ulick Winter Belinda Treherne Marion Terry Marion Terry Mrs Beerbohm Tree Minnie (Symperson's daughter) Lucy Buckstone Carlotta Addison Augusta Wilton Mrs Macfarlane Emily Thorne Emily Thorne Mrs E. H. Brooke Maggie Macfarlane (a lowland lassie) Julia Stewart Adela Measor Rose Norrets Parker (Minnie's maid) Julia Roselle L. Meredith Miss Russell Huddart
Source: The Theatre."Engaged", The Theatre, March 1886, pp. 153–154
Synopsis Act I In the garden of a humble but picturesque cottage, near Gretna, on the border between Scotland and England, Angus Macalister is courting Maggie Macfarlane. Angus makes his living by sabotaging railway lines and selling refreshments and accommodation to passengers from the trains thereby derailed. Two of his victims appear: an eloping couple, Belinda Treherne and Belvawney, who are fleeing from Major McGillicuddy, her previous fiancé.
Belvawney's income – £1,000 a year – depends on a single source. His friend Cheviot Hill persistently proposes to every young woman he meets, and Belvawney is paid by Cheviot's father to thwart all such proposals. If he fails, and Cheviot marries (or dies), the £1,000 a year will go instead to Cheviot's uncle, Symperson. By chance, Cheviot and Symperson have been on the same derailed train as Belinda and Belvawney. With a view to securing the £1,000 annual stipend, Symperson suggests his daughter, Minnie, as a suitable bride for Cheviot. Cheviot agrees, but is almost immediately distracted by the allure of Maggie. He bribes Angus to release her, but as he is congratulating himself on winning her he encounters Belinda, to whom he is instantly attracted. She refuses him, and he vows he will marry Minnie Symperson. As his marriage would remove Belvawney's income this does not suit Belinda at all, and she implores Cheviot to remain single.
Major McGillicuddy now appears, having tracked the eloping pair down, intent on shooting Belvawney. Cheviot saves the situation by pushing Belvawney aside and ostentatiously embracing Belinda. Defying the major's pistols, he and Belinda declare that they are now man and wife. Maggie, Belvawney and the major are all distraught.
Act II Three months later, in the drawing room of Symperson's London home, Minnie is preparing for her wedding to Cheviot. Belinda arrives, wearing mourning dress. She explains to her old friend Minnie that she has inadvertently married a complete stranger. She briefly recounts the events at Gretna, and explains that under Scottish law a public declaration of marriage constitutes a legal union. Consequently, though she does not know the name of the man who protected her from the major by declaring himself her husband, and has not seen him since that day, she is legally married to him. She has worn mourning dress ever since, but learning that it is Minnie's wedding day she goes home to change into more suitable clothes.
Cheviot enters, dressed for his wedding. He is briefly distracted by Parker, the maid, before Minnie returns and they discuss their future, strictly frugal, life. Minnie leaves and Belvawney appears, bemoaning his loss of Belinda. He is appalled to find Cheviot on the brink of matrimony, as this will mean the loss of his £1,000 a year stipend. Having been present throughout the events at Gretna, he can attest that Cheviot is already legally married. Cheviot reflects that the cottage has been demolished and the owners have left the country, and so there is nobody to corroborate Belvawney's account. There is, moreover, some doubt whether the events took place on the English or the Scottish side of the border: if the former he is legally a bachelor. He resolves to go ahead with his marriage to Minnie.
Angus and the Macfarlanes appear. They have been hired as servants to Symperson. Maggie becomes hysterical and tells the truth to the Sympersons: Cheviot proposed to her three months ago and then immediately declared himself married to another woman. Minnie and her father are confused and enraged, even though Cheviot hotly denies having wed a woman whose name he does not even know.
Symperson, fearing the loss of his promised stipend, demands an explanation, but Cheviot cannot give him one. Belvawney enters, assuring everyone that he was present when Cheviot and a certain lady declared themselves to be man and wife several months earlier on the border of England and Scotland. Symperson accepts this, telling his daughter to find herself another husband, and Belvawney to find some other source of income. Finally Belinda enters, now dressed prettily for Minnie's wedding. Belinda and Cheviot recognise each other, and rush into a rapturous embrace. Belvawney staggers back, Minnie faints, and Maggie sobs.
Act III Three days later, at Symperson's London house, Belvawney, Belinda and Minnie await Cheviot's return. He has gone to Gretna to try to ascertain the precise location of the events of three months ago. He returns, but has been unable to find out whether the demolished cottage was in Scotland or England.
Symperson enters with two letters. One is from the cottage's owner. Symperson reads that the cottage was "certainly in England". Belinda faints, realising she has lost Cheviot. The other letter is from Belvawney. It says that the Indestructible Bank has stopped payment on Cheviot's shares and they are worthless. When she hears this, Minnie declares her decision to leave Cheviot. Her father is crestfallen. Now he will not get his annual stipend, and he bemoans the shameful materialism of the human race.
Cheviot comes in, even more unhappy than before. None of his three darlings can ever become his wife. He decides to shoot himself, but before he can do so, Belvawney confesses that his letter about the bank was bogus. He then leaves in a cab with Belinda, affectionately entwined. Cheviot vows revenge and swears he will marry anyone. Why not Minnie? Overjoyed, Symperson goes to find his daughter. She shows up, and Cheviot proposes. But when he becomes aware of her mercenary attitude toward his wealth, he renounces her. In desperation, he sends for Maggie Macfarlane. When she arrives, accompanied by her mother and Angus, Cheviot offers marriage to Maggie. She sobs bitterly: she has just filed an action against him for breach of promise. It is already in the hands of her solicitor. Cheviot feels cursed. Mrs Macfarlane even suggests he might marry her, but he draws the line at this, depressed though he is.