page_title: Foggerty's Fairy
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Foggerty's Fairy / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of W. S. Gilbert from the collection of the New York Public Library Digital Gallery
context_page_description: Foggerty's Fairy, subtitled "An Entirely Original Fairy Farce", is a three-act farce by W.S. Gilbert based loosely on Gilbert's short story, "The Story of a Twelfth Cake", which was published in the Christmas Number of The Graphic in 1874, and elements of other Gilbert plays. The story concerns a man who, with the help of a fairy, changes a small event in his past to try to save his engagement to the girl he loves. This leads to profound changes in his present, and he finds that matters are even worse than before.
  Foggerty's Fairy opened at the Criterion Theatre in London on 15 December 1881. Charles Wyndham, the manager of the Criterion, starred as the lead character, Frederick Foggerty. Despite Wyndham's star power, interest in the play's bold and original premise and reviews that were at least partly positive, the play was not a success. It closed on 6 January 1882 after about 25 performances. Disappointed, Gilbert turned back to writing comic operas with Arthur Sullivan.
caption: W.S. Gilbert in about 1878
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