Our American Cousin

This 3 Act play is a classic Victorian farce, filled with stereotyped characters. Originally intended for British audiences, the characters included a boorish American, however, when the play made it over to America, it was recast to include English figures of mockery, like the pompous Lord Dundreary. This figure gave rise to what became known as Dundrearyisms, which came from the character uttering phrases such as birds of a feather gather no moss. Of particular interest is that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was watching this play on April 14, 1865 when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.