The Penny that Beauty Spent

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Penny that Beauty Spent

10 Minute Play, Melodrama  /  1w, 2m

This short play, set in a jeweler's shop in Paris, is part of Thornton Wilder's Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons.

The Penny that Beauty Spent

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    10 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Suggested Use
    • Competition or audition material
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences
The Penny that Beauty Spent

Details

Summary

“...This little heartbreak takes place in a rococo jeweler’s shop in Paris...”

In this mini-melodrama, Gracile, the young prima ballerina, catches the eye of the King. He sends her to his jeweler to choose a lavish gift for herself — a path, we learn, that Gracile is not the first to follow. The dancer wishes to choose a gift for the young husband she adores. Despite his grave illness he carries her everywhere to protect her feet. The jeweler wastes no time laying out the rules, as life changes forever for the young lovers.

This short play is included in the collection Thornton Wilder's Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons.

History
This playlet, published in the Yale Literary Magazine in 1918, may have been inspired in part by James Ensor’s watercolor, ”Ballet Gracile ou la Danse Dans Clariene” (1910).

CLAIRE-LOUISE, "LA GRACILE"

QUINTE

THE JEWELER

  • Time Period 16th Century / Elizabethan
  • Setting A jeweler's shop in Paris.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 10 minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

Videos

  • Thornton Wilder: It's Time youtube thumbnail

    Thornton Wilder: It's Time

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £15 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

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Authors

Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder (1897-1975), born in Madison, Wisconsin, and educated at Yale and Princeton, was an accomplished novelist and playwright whose works explore the connection between the commonplace and the cosmic dimensions of human experience. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, one ...

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