The Poor of New York

[2] The piece revolves around the efforts of a middle-class family, newly impoverished by the financial panic of 1857, to survive against a villainous banker.

It was an immediate success and Boucicault went on to present it throughout Europe, changing locations and the title to reflect the locales it was playing.

Captain Fairweather has discovered that his previous bank was about to collapse and removed his money; he believes Bloodgood to be sound.

The Captain returns demanding his money back: His ship's owners have filled him in on the rumors about Bloodgood's finances.

Bloodgood refuses to return the money and in the heated discussion that follows the Captain dies of a heart attack.

All exit except for Livingstone who gives a rousing speech about how the true poor of New York are the newly impoverished middle class.

Puffy and her son Dan enter and help, adding to the food to be provided and offering to act as servants when Mrs. Fairweather insists they join in the meal.

All are setting down to eat when sheriff's officers enter and demand payment of rent and Mrs. Fairweather's note.

Bloodgood offers Paul a position in Rio de Janeiro to foil Badger's threat of informing the heirs of Captain Fairweather and calls for the police.

Mrs. Fairweather enters determined to sell her wedding ring in order to provide food for her children.

Bloodgood threatens him with a revolver but Badger disarms him with the threat of a knife that he knows how to use from the California gold fields (see the cowardly nature of melodramatic villains).

Lucy and Mrs. Fairweather enter, both having failed to gain money either by work, selling the ring, or begging.

Livingstone tells Paul that he will aid the Fairweathers now that he has money, and gets their address, which turns out to be the same building that Badger is lodging in.

Badger fantasizes about the money he will receive from Bloodgood, while Lucy and Mrs. Fairweather separately decide to commit suicide by asphyxiation from the charcoal burner they use to cook their food.

Badger recognizes Paul and reveals to him that he has proof of Bloodgood's robbery, but passes out before he can retrieve the receipt.

Setting: Brooklyn Heights, the garden of a cottage overlooking New York City and its harbor.

They converse about how Lucy is recovering and that Livingstone has set them up in their old home, found work for Paul and restored Puffy's bakery with a government contract.

Badger enters, having nursed Lucy during her illness and now joining the police in a financial crimes unit.

Paul acknowledges Bloodgood's love of his daughter and forgives him, insisting only on reimbursement of his Father's money.

[6] The set is described as a house that is separated into thirds that are joined in a zigzag line, and dropped in succession to create the illusion of the falling roof and wall.

The window frames are made of sheet iron and covered in oakum soaked in alcohol and naphtha, Though these pieces are not fastened to the scene at all and are place a short distance behind it on platforms, it still gives the illusion of the set actually burning.

The Quick Match ables the entire frame and sash of panels to catch fire in a matter of seconds.

It is clear that Boucicault is more concerned with what the audience sees than with what it feels; he aims for eyes, not the heart.

To add to the spectacle, water vapor and steam are used to create the illusion of smoke as Badger emerges holding the paper that will convict the evil banker through the just extinguished fire.

Behind the entire scene was placed a very large endless towel upon which is painted a mass of flames; this is kept in a constant upward motion.

When viewed through an open window of the house, gives the audience a good idea of the raging furnace within.

[7] The play thrilled people, it held them on the edge of their seats with excitement, it drew forth gales of laughter, and it evoked buckets of tears[9] which is what made it wildly successful and popular along with the spectacle.

The sensational sensory spectacle is considered well worth the price of a ticket and keeps the audience coming back for more.

He also shifted the emotional focus to better align with American ideals, "by simplifying the lengthy, tear-stained narration of Les Pauvres de Paris and making the characters more vivid and amusing, the Anglo-Irish dramatist not only found the proper rhythms for a melodrama about fast-paced New York, but he also established what were to be the outstanding virtues of American melodramatic playwriting: speed and precision of tempo, and attention to comic detail.

Although he collaborated with Charles Seymour and journalists, Goodrich and Warden, Boucicault was credited as the sole author until the thirty seventh performance.