"W. HOPKINS." [Footnote: The Prompter,]
The cast of the play, on the first night of representation (May 8, 1777), was as follows:—
Sir Peter Teazle Mr. King.
Sir Oliver Surface Mr. Yates.
Joseph Surface Mr. Palmer.
Charles Mr. Smith.
Crabtree Mr. Parsons.
Sir Benjamin Backbite Mr. Dodd.
Rowley Mr. Aickin.
Moses Mr. Baddeley.
Trip Mr. Lamash.
Snake Mr. Packer.
Careless Mr. Farren.
Sir Harry Bumper Mr. Gawdry.
Lady Teazle Mrs. Abington.
Maria Miss P. Hopkins
Lady Sneerwell Miss Sherry.
Mrs. Candor Miss Pope.
The success of such a play, so acted, could not be doubtful. Long after its first uninterrupted run, it continued to be played regularly two or three times a week; and a comparison of the receipts of the first twelve nights, with those of a later period, will show how little the attraction of the piece had abated by repetition:—
May 8th, 1777. L s. d.
School for Scandal 225 9 0
Ditto 195 6 0
Ditto A. B. (Author's night) 73 10 0 (Expenses)
Ditto 257 4 6
Ditto 243 0 0
Ditto A. B. 73 10 0
Committee 65 6 6
School for Scandal 262 19 6
Ditto 263 13 6
Ditto A. B 73 10 0
Ditto K. (the King) 272 9 6
Ditto 247 15 0
Ditto 255 14 0
The following extracts are taken at hazard from an account of the weekly receipts of the Theatre, for the year 1778, kept with exemplary neatness and care by Mrs. Sheridan herself: [Footnote: It appears from a letter of Holcroft to Mrs. Sheridan, (given in his Memoirs, vol. i. p. 275,) that she was also in the habit of reading for Sheridan the new pieces sent in by dramatic candidates:—"Mrs. Crewe (he says) has spoken to Mr. Sheridan concerning it (the Shepherdess of the Alps), as he informed me last night, desiring me at the same time to send it to you, who, he said, would not only read it yourself, but remind him of it.">[
1778. L s. d.
January 3d. Twelfth Night Queen Mab 139 14 6
5th. Macbeth Queen Mab 212 19 0
6th. Tempest Queen Mab 107 15 6
7th. School for Scandal Comus 292 16 0
8th. School for Fathers Queen Mab 181 10 6
9th. School for Scandal Padlock 281 6 0
March 14th. School for Scandal Deserter 263 18 6 16th. Venice Preserved Belphegor (New) 195 3 6 17th. Hamlet Belphegor 160 19 0 19th. School for Scandal Belphegor 261 10 0
Such, indeed, was the predominant attraction of this comedy during the two years subsequent to its first appearance, that, in the official account of receipts for 1779, we find the following remark subjoined by the Treasurer:—"School for Scandal damped the new pieces." I have traced it by the same unequivocal marks of success through the years 1780 and 1781, and find the nights of its representation always rivalling those on which the King went to the theatre, in the magnitude of their receipts.
The following note from Garrick [Footnote: Murphy tells us that Mr. Garrick attended the rehearsals, and "was never known on any former occasion to be more anxious for a favorite piece. He was proud of the new manager; and in a triumphant manner boasted of the genius to whom he had consigned the conduct of the theatre."—Life of Garrick.] to the author, dated May 12 (four days after the first appearance of the comedy), will be read with interest by all those for whom the great names of the drama have any charm:—