Pygmalion and Galatea (play)

Pygmalion and Galatea
The Kendals in the title roles, 1871
Written by	W. S. Gilbert
Date premiered	December 9, 1871 (1871-12-09)
Place premiered	Haymarket Theatre
Subject	Pygmalion story
Genre	Mythological Comedy

Pygmalion and Galatea, an Original Mythological Comedy is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts based on the Pygmalion story. It opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 9 December 1871 and ran for a very successful 184 performances.^[1] It was revived many times, including an 1883 production in New York starring Mary Anderson as Galatea.^[2]

Pygmalion was Gilbert's greatest success to that date and is said to have earned him £40,000 during his lifetime. Pygmalion and Galatea was so popular that other dramatic Pygmalion adaptations were rushed to the stage. In January 1872, Ganymede and Galatea opened at the Gaiety Theatre. This was a comic version of Franz von Suppé's Die schöne Galathee, coincidentally with Arthur Sullivan's brother, Fred Sullivan, in the cast. In March 1872, William Brough's Pygmalion; or, The Statue Fair was revived, and in May of that year, a visiting French company produced Victor Massé's Galathée.