About the work
A farce with songs in five acts by Johann Nestroy, drawing on motifs from Charles Dickens’s novel "Martin Chuzzlewit" (1843/44), with music by Michael Hebenstreit; it premiered on 21 May 1848 at the Carltheater, with Nestroy playing the fortune-hunter Edelschein.
Plot
The wealthy, suspicious old Stachlbaum has disowned his grandson Victor for refusing an arranged marriage. While the greedy cousin Edelschein tries to ingratiate himself with the old man to inherit his fortune, Stachlbaum sees through the scheme and in the end leaves his estate to Victor and his beloved Marie.
Cultural significance
The premiere was a failure: critics found the play tedious, and a couplet mocking the Frankfurt National Assembly further angered audiences during the weeks of the 1848 revolution — Nestroy withdrew the play from the repertoire after only three performances.