Lady of Lyons

Although the author of this play is now famous for writing the most cliché opening line in literature – “It was a dark and stormy night…” (from his 1830 novel, "Paul Clifford" ), this melodrama by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton was at one time one of the most popular dramas of its day. This story of romance and deception thrilled Victorian audiences. In the 1840’s, the show served as a starring vehicle for the great William Macready and the incomparable Helene Faucit. The plot of “Lady of Lyons’” centers around the proud and beautiful Pauline Deschapelles. She finds herself tricked into a marriage with Claude Melnotte, son of a gardener, by her former suitor, the Marquis Beauséant. - Summary by Kelly S. Taylor

Cast List


BEAUSEANT Wayne Cooke

GLAVIS Greg Giordano

COLONEL DAMAS Mike Manolakes

MONSIEUR DESCHAPPELLES Alan Mapstone

GASPAR Tchaikovsky

CLAUDE MELNOTTE A. D. Latheron

FIRST OFFICER Tchaikovsky

SECOND OFFICER Wayne Cooke

THIRD OFFICER Andrew Gaunce

LANDLORD ToddHW

Servant Jenn Broda

MADAME DESCHAPPELLES Wendy Katz Hiller

PAULINE Matea Bracic

THE WIDOW MELNOTTE Annie Mars

JANET Sonia