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Is He Dead?

Is He Dead?
Written by Mark Twain
Characters

(In order of appearance) Agamemnon Buckner ("Chicago")
Hans von Bismarck ("Dutchy")
Papa Leroux
Marie Leroux
Cecile Leroux
Jean-François Millet
Bastien André
Madame Bathilde
Madame Caron
Phelim O'Shaughnessy
Basil Thorpe
Claude Rivière
Charlie

The King of France
Date premiered 9 December 2007
Original language English
Genre Comedy, Satire
Setting Paris and Barbizon, 1846

(In order of appearance) Agamemnon Buckner ("Chicago")
Hans von Bismarck ("Dutchy")
Papa Leroux
Marie Leroux
Cecile Leroux
Jean-François Millet
Bastien André
Madame Bathilde
Madame Caron
Phelim O'Shaughnessy
Basil Thorpe
Claude Rivière
Charlie

Is He Dead? is a play by Mark Twain. Written by Twain in 1898, It was first published in print in 2003, after Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin read the manuscript in the archives of the Mark Twain Papers at the University of California at Berkeley. The play was long known to scholars but never attracted much attention until Fishkin arranged to have it published in book form. She later played a primary role in getting the play produced on Broadway. Contemporary American Playwright, David Ives adapted the play for the modern stage before its inaugural performance in 2007.Is He Dead? is now published and licensed for theatrical use by Playscripts, Inc.

The play focuses on a fictional version of the great French painter Jean-François Millet as an impoverished artist in Barbizon, France who, with the help of his colleagues, stages his death in order to increase the value of his paintings, and afterwards dresses as a woman to keep his secret safe. Combining elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire, the comedy relies on such devices as cross-dressing, mistaken identities, and romantic deceptions to tell its story, which raises questions about fame, greed, and the value of art.

The play takes place in Paris, 1846. Jean-François Millet is a gifted painter, but has trouble selling his paintings. Because of this, he and his three friends/pupils Agamemnon "Chicago" Buckner, Hans "Dutchy" von Bismarck, and Phelim O'Shaughnessy are in debt to the evil picture dealer Bastien Andre. Also in debt to Andre is Papa Leroux, father of Millet's girlfriend Marie and Cecile, who has a love-hate relationship with Chicago. Andre arrives at Millet's apartment to collect both debts. Millet points out that their contract states that Andre can take Millet's paintings for 100 francs each to pay off the debt, but Andre (who is also in love with Marie and wants to ruin Millet) refuses on the grounds that he is free to take the paintings as he likes. Andre proceeds to remind Leroux that his payment is due tomorrow, unless Marie agrees to marry him. When Leroux refuses to force his daughter to marry Andre, Andre angrily leaves. Soon after, Millet's land ladies Mdme. Bathilde and Mdme. Caron arrive and Millet pays them in rent in paintings (they do not mind because they love his work). The two take the Leroux family for dinner while Millet and his friends try to sell his paintings at an auction. Only one person arrives, a ditzy man named Thorpe, who, despite liking Millet's paintings, refuses to buy any because Millet is not dead. When he leaves, Dutchy bemoans that when the world has a master, he is not recognized and rich until long after he's dead. This gives Chicago an idea: Millet can fake his death which will result in the demand and prices for his paintings increasing, thereby giving the group enough money to pay off Andre. In order to prevent Millet from being caught, they'll disguise him as his fictional twin sister "Daisy Tillou", a widow. Millet is against this plan, but the other three proceed with it.


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Wikipedia

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