Good question!
The play you are referring to is Stolen Kisses. An entirely original comedy-drama in three actsby Paul Merritt.
Paul Merritt was a prolific playwright in the late 1800s, popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Although well received by the theater-going public, critics despaired of him.
“Mr. Meritt [sic] has no culture, and nourishes a hearty contempt for those who have.”1
Merritt’s plots relied heavily on contrivance and outlandish coincidences, while featuring unrealistic, one-dimensional characters, but they were adventurous and lighthearted, with lots of romance, action, and fun. So well known was this style of his, when W. S. Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) opined that any play written with enough sensational or spectacular scenes would “succeed in spite of itself” and “nothing could wreck such a piece but carefully written dialogue and strict attention to probability,” everyone knew he was throwing shade at Merritt.2
Stolen Kisseswas true to Merritt’s style, a romantic comedy both outlandish and contrived, but at least one critic admitted “there is much that is interesting, pretty, and sympathetic in the story….”3
Another critic wrote Stolen Kisses “displays some good intentions on the part of its author, but is singularly ill constructed and in the main ill written.” 4
My favorite quote, however, is from William Archer, writing about Merritt’s work in general: “I confess to a certain tenderness towards this style of work, because it is frankly bad and unpretentiously amusing.”5
This sentiment reminds me of my soft spot for the works of Robert Lippert and Ed Wood, both of whom feature prominently on MST3k and Rifftrax. (Victorians! They’re just like us!)
So it was this style of entertainment which the W.H. Lingard Theatre Company brought to Tombstone in March 1882.
Tombstone was part of the touring circuit for many theater and entertainment companies, as the town rivaled San Francisco for wealth at the time.
Doc Holliday and Wyatt and Morgan Earp attended the one-night-only performance of Stolen Kisses on March 18. Afterward, Morgan went to Campbell & Hatch’s saloon to play pool.
In the middle of that game, Morgan was assassinated.
So that is why I have linked Stolen Kisses and murder in my book trailer for Up Jumped The Devil.
IYKYK. And now you know.
- Archer, William. English Dramatists of To-Day. London. 1882. p 231. ↩︎
- Ibid. p 228. ↩︎
- The Athenaeum. no 2593 July 7, 1877. London. p 27. ↩︎
- The Saturday Review. no 1132 vol 44 July 7, 1877. London. p 18. ↩︎
- Archer. Op Cit. p 231. ↩︎
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