The Poor of New York

by Dion Boucicault
directed by Ann Garner

Nov 17, 2025

The Proscenium @ the Drake
302 S Hicks St, Philadelphia

Banker Bloodgood commits financial crimes for the love of his daughter, but when his clerk Badger catches him in the act, he’s in for a lifetime of blackmail. Meanwhile, his victims, the Fairweathers, have been reduced to a state of poverty they can no longer hide. Their lives collide and secrets burst forth as a fire (fully staged in Boucicault’s time) rips through the city.

A wildly popular play in 1857 from one of our most theatrical playwrights.

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Director: Ann Garner
Stage Directions: Sarah Bastian

CAST

Alida Bloodgood - Cassie Alexander
Mrs Fairweather - Jessica DalCanton
Paul Fairweather - Tyler Elliot
Mark Livingstone - Gabriel Elmore
Mr. Puffy - J Hernandez
Dan Puffy - Frank Jimenez

Capt Fairweather / Policeman - Ethan Jovanovic
Badger - Eli Lynn
Mrs. Puffy - Megan McDermott
Bloodgood - Tamil Periasamy
Edwards / Porter - V Sterling
Lucy Fairweather - Sarah Stryker

"Dion Boucicault was a consummate theatre maker. Wildly successful in London, he became equally so in America, The Poor of New York being one reason why. An Irishman with an English upbringing and a French last name, at a time when those distinctions seemed greater than they might today, became an immigrant to the United States and contributed to our collective vision of American mores. In this play immigrants are heroes, fancy manners are eschewed, money is less valuable than decency, and redemption is possible. Looking at it from our weary moment nearly 250 years in, the play might feel woefully unrealistic, but it was fittingly optimistic for a nation that was just 70 years old and still determining its national character. The play still matters because the stories we tell about ourselves matter.

One other thing about Boucicault: he was an unapologetic showman. He knew what the people wanted, and he gave it to them. Crime! Romance! Action! (still the top three genres of entertainment.) Snappy dialogue. Characters that looked like people they knew. And in the case of this play, a fire onstage with a real fire truck. That kind of theatrical ambition makes my heart soar. I hope it does the same for you."

- Ann Garner