| Quality Street | |
|---|---|
 Illustration ofSeymour Hicks as Valentine Brown | |
| Written by | J. M. Barrie |
| Characters | See below |
| Date premiered | November 11, 1901 (1901-11-11) |
| Place premiered | Knickerbocker Theatre |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | Napoleonic times |
Quality Street is a comedy in four acts byJ. M. Barrie, written before his more famous workPeter Pan. The story is about two sisters who start a school "for genteel children".
The originalBroadway production opened in 1901 and ran for 64 performances. The show was then produced in London, where it was a hit, running for 459 performances. It was frequently revived until World War II.
The play is set inNapoleonic times.
There is heightened anticipation as the local gossips of the town discuss the developing relationship between Miss Phoebe Throssel and Valentine Brown. Phoebe then confesses to her sister, Susan, that Brown intends to drop by later that day, and both are certain he means to propose. When he finally does appear, it is not to ask for Phoebe's hand in marriage but to announce his intention to join the fight in Europe against Napoleon. This leaves the girls devastated.
Ten years after the departure of Brown, we find the girls have set up a school in order to pay the rent. Phoebe has not accepted any other suitor and has allowed herself to become an "Old Maid" and school mistress. Phoebe, however, longs for her youth, and the return of Captain Brown only deepens her melancholy. "I am tired of being lady-like," she declares. With some encouragement from her maid, Patty, she creates the fictional character of Miss Livvy, a more energetic, flirtatious and naughty version of her younger self, and begins to tease Captain Brown who, captivated by her, persuades her and Susan to accompany him to the ball.
At the ball, and Phoebe is still playing the part of Miss Livvy. In this guise, she has captured the eyes of many of the young men and the scorn of ladies. However, Phoebe is now annoyed that Brown seems to prefer this unsubstantial 'young' flirt that she has created to her true personality and qualities. Her actions cause events to come to a head as her act is almost brought to light by the local gossiping girls Fanny Willoughby and Henrietta Turnbull. In a final confrontation with Captain Brown, we discover that he has found his love for Miss Phoebe and not for Miss Livvy, as he insists that "I have discovered for myself that the schoolmistress in her old maid's cap is the noblest Miss Phoebe of them all."
Miss Livvy still hangs heavy over the sisters: having been created, she is now difficult to dispose of. The local gossips watch for any sign of Miss Livvy and frequently visit the sisters' home. Brown comes to ask for Phoebe’s hand and is turned down without explanation. As a result, he becomes aware of the disguise and the sisters' plight and sets out to right all wrongs, even his own.
The play opened on October 11, 1901, at the Valentine Theatre in Toledo, Ohio, and arrived in New York to play at theKnickerbocker Theatre on November 11, 1901, produced byCharles Frohman and starringMaude Adams, running for a modestly successful 64 performances.[1] It then opened at theVaudeville Theatre in London on 17 September 1902 and ran for a very successful 459 performances, starringEllaline Terriss,Seymour Hicks (Terriss's husband) andMarion Terry, making it one of the first American productions to score a bigger triumph in London than in New York.[2]
The piece enjoyed numerous revivals and tours until World War II.[2] These included a 1913 revival at London'sDuke of York's Theatre.[3] A brief revival played in 1908 at theEmpire Theatre in New York, starring Adams, and other revivals followed in America, at least into the 1920s.[4]
In 2010, London'sFinborough Theatre mounted the first professional production of the piece in London in over six decades.[2][5] In 2020,Northern Broadsides performed the play at theViaduct Theatre inHalifax, directed byLaurie Sansom, with the addition of commentary from present-day employees at theQuality Street chocolates factory.[6] It toured toThe Lowry,Salford;The Dukes,Lancaster;[7] and theTheatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds,[8] before closing due to thecoronavirus pandemic.[9]
The play was adapted twice for film;the first, in 1927 starredMarion Davies, andthe second, in 1937, starredKatharine Hepburn. A musical theatre adaptation,Dear Miss Phoebe, written byChristopher Hassall andHarry Parr Davies, premiered in 1950.[10]
The play's name was taken for abrand of chocolates and caramels. Characters from the play were used in the company's advertising and on packaging.[11]
When Hicks and Terriss moved to a new home, The Old Forge atMerstham,Surrey, their cul-de-sac was renamed "Quality Street".[12]
Quality Street public domain audiobook atLibriVox