A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Lord Pengo

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  4w, 7m

"This is an art-gallery comedy, quietly humorous and subtly ironic...A civilized play." - New York Daily News

"Has urbanity and grace...Much that deserves admiration." - New York Post

"His gift for turning a graceful phrase and writing lines that sparkle with urbane wit is manifest in Lord Pengo. " - The New York Times

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 7m
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior

Details

Summary
Charles Boyer gave his most masterful performance in this story of a fantastically great art dealer in the 1930's. As Lord Pengo he gulled many an uncultured millionaire, but at the same time he performed an inestimable service in bringing to America some of the greatest art treasures of all time, and even in getting one client to establish a national gallery in Washington. "No matter what you pay for a priceless picture." he would say; "you are getting it cheap." The multi-millionaires, dime-store heirs, and nouveaux riches of America stream through his collection of Rembrandts, Van Dycks, and Giorgiones, betraying in the face of art the facts of their heart, such as when the industrial monopolist, who fancies himself a modern-day Renaissance patron of the arts, slyly slips onto the throne of Lorenzo the Magnificent. To achieve such eminence, however, Lord Pengo has had to make art his principal passion, even at the expense of his family. For this his son roundly berates him. At the last curtain. Lord Pengo is near death, and both his secretary and the audience, near tears.
Keywords
  • Time Period 1930s
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"This is an art-gallery comedy, quietly humorous and subtly ironic...A civilized play." - New York Daily News

"Has urbanity and grace...Much that deserves admiration." -New York Post

"His gift for turning a graceful phrase and writing lines that sparkle with urbane wit is manifest in Lord Pengo. " - The New York Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

S.N. Behrman

S.N. Behrman (1893-1973) was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1893, the son of Lithuanian immigrants. As a boy, he worked as an usher in a theatre in Worcester, and at fifteen, he ran away to New York City. After high school, he attempted a career as an actor but later ret ...

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