Our American Cousin
Quick Summary
Our American Cousin is a play written by English dramatist Tom Taylor. While Taylor penned over 100 dramatic works, this 1858 comedy is his most remembered today.1
The play is primarily known in the United States for its tragic association with President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.21
The play also introduced the term "dundrearies" into the English language. This referred to a popular style of long, bushy sideburns worn by a character named Lord Dundreary, fashionable between 1840 and 1870.2
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- Tom Taylor
…the author of the play Our American Cousin (1858) and as a longtime staff member and, from 1874, the editor of the magazine Punch.
Read More…the author of the play Our American Cousin (1858) and as a longtime staff member and, from 1874, the editor of the magazine Punch.
Read More - Tom Taylor
After Taylor’s Our American Cousin opened in London in 1858, theatre manager Laura Keene brought the comedy to the United States for a hugely successful run in New York. On April 14, 1865, U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a performance of it in Washington,…
Read MoreAfter Taylor’s Our American Cousin opened in London in 1858, theatre manager Laura Keene brought the comedy to the United States for a hugely successful run in New York. On April 14, 1865, U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a performance of it in Washington,…
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