The Exhibition Drama: Comprising Drama, Comedy, and Farce, Together with Dramatic and Musical Entertainments

In Short

This 1875 collection gathers eight distinct performance pieces created specifically for amateur theatrical groups, school exhibitions, and civic organizations. Ranging from full-length domestic civil war dramas and high-minded musical allegories to schoolroom farces and a faithful holiday adaptation of Charles Dickens, the book provides accessible scripts designed to be staged with simple props and small budgets. Its enduring appeal lies in its authentic snapshot of Reconstruction-era popular entertainment, reflecting nineteenth-century American values surrounding patriotism, women's social roles, education, and moral self-improvement through community theater.

The Story

The volume opens with the featured multi-act drama, Enlisted for the War; or, The Home-Guard. In a small Northern town, Robert Trueworth enlists as a private in the Union Army, leaving behind his mother, sister Mattie, and beloved Gaylie Gifford. Before departing, Robert's family farm is sold at auction to satisfy a debt. Gaylie's guardian, the self-serving Wilder Rowell, buys the land for himself rather than protecting the family's interests, secretly harboring designs on both Gaylie and her wealth. Rowell acquires an officer's commission and abuses his authority over Robert during the conflict, while his greedy accomplice, Hosea Jenks, intercepts love letters between Robert and Gaylie for four long years. Despite Rowell's persistent suit, Gaylie remains fiercely loyal, appointing herself a "home-guard" against his manipulations. Through the brave intervention of Hosea’s son, Hiram, the conspiracy is unraveled, Hosea is forced to confess, and the missing letters are exposed. Robert returns from the front as a decorated colonel, reuniting with Gaylie to reclaim his home and banish the disgraced Rowell.

Subsequent plays shift to comedic and allegorical themes. The Champion of Her Sex explores contemporary debates on female suffrage and social roles. When Mrs. Duplex commits herself to the women's reform movement, her daughter Florence stages an elaborate mock rebellion with the household staff—arming servants with guns and pea-jackets—to demonstrate the absurdities of extreme social upheaval, ultimately convincing her mother to balance public ambition with home life.

The collection then moves into grand pageantry with allegorical works such as The Visions of Freedom and The Tournament of Idylcourt. In these pieces, figures like Rubina, Gloria, Majesta, and Poesie speak in verse, competing for symbolic crowns while weighing the destructive force of war against the noble virtues of art, nature, and civic harmony.

Holiday cheer closes the volume. The Merry Christmas of the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe features Santa Claus transforming a impoverished shoe-dwelling family's holiday with a miraculous glowing Christmas tree. Finally, a complete dramatization of A Christmas Carol follows Ebenezer Scrooge from his cold-hearted misanthropy through the spectral visitations of Jacob Marley and the three ghosts, ending in his joy-filled redemption as he raises Bob Cratchit's salary and embraces his fellow man.

How It Unfolds

A war hero bids farewell Robert Trueworth enlists in the Union army as a humble private, leaving his mother and sister without a home after auctioneer Hosea Jenks forecloses on their farm. Gaylie Gifford discovers her guardian, Wilder Rowell, bought the property for himself and vows to guard Robert's interests against Rowell's selfish schemes.

Treachery in the camp and home Two years into the war, Rowell resigns his military command to press his suit with Gaylie, using Hosea to intercept Robert's letters. Hiram Jenks uncovers his father's mail theft, forces Hosea to repent, and exposes Rowell's fraud, clearing the path for Robert's triumphant return as an officer.

Satirizing the modern household In The Champion of Her Sex, Mrs. Duplex returns from a reform meeting fired up about women's rights, only to find her daughters and maidservants taking her rhetoric literally. The household erupts in chaotic posturing with guns and mock military attire, coaxing Mrs. Duplex into accepting a sensible middle ground.

Allegories of duty and nature The musical entertainments gather symbolic figures on stage to debate human destiny. War and peace contend for supremacy before allegorical queens, while personified mountain peaks, oceans, and poetic muses demonstrate how moral character rises above raw ambition.

Dickensian redemption on stage In the closing adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley's ghost warns Ebenezer Scrooge to change his miserly ways. After experiencing visions of past, present, and future Christmases, Scrooge wakes transformed, doubling Bob Cratchit's wages and joining his nephew's family in celebration.

The People

• Robert Trueworth seeks to serve his country honorably in battle while protecting his displaced mother and sister. His loyalty is tested by distance and intercepted letters, but he earns promotion through merit and wins back his estate.
• Gaylie Gifford wants to protect her loved ones from exploitation. Obstacle-bound by a deceitful guardian, her sharp wit and fierce devotion keep Rowell at bay until Robert returns.
• Wilder Rowell seeks wealth, status, and Gaylie's hand. Standing in his way is his own lack of integrity; his abuse of military command and illegal mail tampering ultimately cause his complete social ruin.
• Hosea Jenks wants quick financial gain at any cost, but his timid nature leaves him vulnerable to Rowell's threats until his son forces him to confront his crimes.
• Hiram Jenks seeks to rise above his father's questionable reputation. He overcomes being dismissed as a simpleton by secretly investigating the missing mail and saving his father from prison.
• Mrs. Duplex wants to assert women's equality in public life, but her zeal blinds her to household management until her daughter's theatrical intervention restores balance.
• Ebenezer Scrooge wants only to accumulate wealth and avoid human connection, blocked by his own hardened cynicism until ghostly visits illuminate his spiritual isolation and spark his generosity.

In Its Own Voice

When an auctioneer's son accidentally strikes his father with a sign, the old man's pomposity collapses into accidental wordplay:

"Oh, murder! you clumsy chap, you've broke my head."

Standing against her guardian's attempt to isolate her soldier-lover, a determined heroine claims her own active role in the war effort:

"Against all treachery and deceit, against the wily arts you may contrive to shame my hero, I am the Home-Guard, the firm friend, enlisted for the war."

Facing his former partner's specter in the dim light of his quarters, a miser desperately tries to rationalize what he sees:

"There's more of gravy than grave about you, whatever you are."

What It's Really About

Beneath its variety of forms, the collection explores how small communities preserve moral integrity during times of rapid social and political upheaval. The plays examine the conflict between selfish greed and civic responsibility, whether manifested in wartime profiteering or cold-hearted commercialism. Through its domestic comedies and school pageants, the book asks what duties citizens owe to their families, their country, and their neighbors. It also wrestles with shifting nineteenth-century gender expectations, ultimately arguing that genuine honor, honest labor, and active compassion form the true foundation of both home life and public democracy.

Why Read It Today

This volume will delight social historians, directors of historical theater, and readers interested in nineteenth-century popular culture. Reading these scripts feels like stepping into a bustling 1870s community hall, complete with footlights, painted canvas backdrops, and enthusiastic local performers. The collection offers an authentic look at the theatrical forms that entertained everyday Americans during the Reconstruction era.

Modern readers should be prepared for period conventions that can occasionally feel distant or clumsy. The dialogue relies heavily on regional phonetic dialects, stereotypical servant caricatures, and melodramatic plotting where villains scheme openly and virtue is instantly rewarded. The verse allegories carry a high-minded, elevated tone that requires patience.

Yet, the collection retains a genuine charm. Its underlying humor, energetic stage action, and heartfelt commitment to wholesome recreation make it a fascinating primary source. It reveals how nineteenth-century communities used the stage not just for escape, but to process national trauma, celebrate holidays, and teach moral values to the next generation.

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