Ben Jonson's The Alchemist
by Jeffrey Hatcher

Off-Broadway

Ben Jonson's The Alchemist Book Cover — Ben Jonson's The Alchemist Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins 17th Century Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes Comedy

Synopsis

London. 1610. It’s plague time again.

When a wealthy gentleman flees to the country, his trusted servant opens his house to a pair of con artists and sets up a den of criminal capitalism.

Claiming alchemical powers, the quick-witted trio fleece an onslaught of greedy sheep with their virtuosic ability to improvise amidst increasingly frantic comings and goings.

It’s comic gold with dupes, double-dupes, duels, disguises and a lucky flea named Lewis.

Press Reviews

"Shenanigans and slapstick ensue, spiced with an abundance of saucy double, and sometimes single entendres.” – The New York Times“A crackling new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher."
— TheaterMania

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Subtle the alchemist (a charlatan)	—	—	the alchemist (a charlatan)
Dol Common their colleague (a bawd)	—	—	their colleague (a bawd)
Dapper a lawyer’s clerk (an ass)	—	—	a lawyer’s clerk (an ass)
Abel Drugger a tobacconist (a creature)	—	—	a tobacconist (a creature)
Sir Epicure Mammon a knight (a dreamer)	—	—	a knight (a dreamer)
Ananias a Deacon (a religious maniac)	—	—	a Deacon (a religious maniac)
Kastril an angry boy (a bumpkin)	—	—	an angry boy (a bumpkin)
Surly a gamester (a sceptic)	—	—	a gamester (a sceptic)
Dame Pliant a widow (an innocent)	—	—	a widow (an innocent)
Face the butler (a rogue)	—	—	the butler (a rogue)