City Madam

by Philip Massinger

Philip Massinger's play reworks Shakespeare's Measure for Measure as a city comedy to attack the vices of hypocrisy, greed, self-indulgence and social pretension that destroy communality. As the citizen Sir John Frugal and his daughters' spurned suitors return disguised as Amerindians, Massinger contrasts their feigned godlessness with the failure of Christian charity in 1630s London.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1658

About the author

Philip Massinger (born 1583) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.

Reviews

[Jordan St. Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

When merchants, misers, misanthropes, mistresses, prostitutes, and thugs meet together in one play to make each other sufficiently miserable, what happens? In 'The City Madam', Massinger, using the maximum bawdiness he could (for the time period), weaves together a play full of characters that all hate each other and depend on each other, sometimes unknowingly. In the 17th Century London of abundant street crime and poverty, who could have expected satanic sacrifices and jibes at Americans?
A rather funny play and although it is rarely performed, you can almost hear the characters bickering in your head.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be the most enjoyable of the plays I’ve read by Massinger. Written in the 1600’s, the comedy lampoons English society, replete with its greed and pretense. The story follows Sir John Frugal and the suitors of his daughters. My favorite lines are:

Sir Maurice: What’s bred in the bone, Admits no hope of cure.

Luke: You are learned Europeans, and we worse Than ignorant Americans.


See my other reviews here!

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of his best comedies, I felt, if perhaps a touch outdated for the 1630s. It would definitely work on stage, even at nearly fur centuries old.

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A City-based comedy, but more 'real' than most of the genre. The wife and daughters of a wealthy merchant have delusions of grandeur, while his profligate brother is begging for help while advocating generosity to all creditors, so he slips away, leaving all control to his brother, then returns in disguise (as you do) to see what happens - predictable mayhem. Everything is ultimately resolved except for the fate of the brother who has turned out to be a real bad 'un and goes off in a huff. Some funny elements, though a representation of people disguised as American Indians from the Virginia Colony would raise eyebrows very high these days.

Read as part of the REP online readathon of the King's Men repertoire in the chilly Covid summer of 2021.

[Tex Tourais · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adaptation of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure (one of my fav's).