Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Woodman, late of Covent Garden, left a Widow with five Children. By Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. To begin at 6:00 p.m. [Public Advertiser, 21 Feb., contained a long letter concerning the small attendance on this occasion: "One of the finest Female Singers this Country has for many years produced is now, through a Series of Misfortunes as unavoidable as unforeseen, in a State of Wretchedness scarcely credible. [Her husband, a schoolteacher, died.] Alas! she had five helpless innocent to drink of the same bitter Cup, to harrow up all the Heartstrings of a Mother, and to tear her Soul unavailingly for that Support, of which she herself was depriv'd by the Death of their Father. [The expenses of the benefit performance exceeded the receipts of the house.] Calamity became heaped upon Calamity, and she is now weeping in a Prison, over her unhappy little ones, for a Sum not exceeding #50." Appeal is made for gifts to relieve her. On 23 May, Mrs Woodman released from prison, gave a Benefit Concert at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, concluding with an Occasional Musical Address to the Town called The Grateful Acknowledgment, written and the music compiled from a most eminent Master by Adam Smith, sung by Mrs Woodman.

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Barry. Mainpiece: A Tragedy altered from Thomson [by Thomas Hull] never perform'd. Part of Pit laid into the Boxes. Servants who are to keep places are desired to be at the stage door by 4 o'clock, and those Ladies and Gentlemen who have taken seats in the Pit are requested to come early to prevent confusion in getting to their places. Epilogue by Sheridan. [This play had been refused a license on 26 March 1739, While Walpole was still Prime Minister, probably because of such speeches as: @Is there a cure on Humankind so fell@So pestilent, to Prince and People,@As the base servile vermin of a court;@Corrupt, Corrupting ministers and favourites?@How oft have such eat up the widow's morsel,@The Peasant's toil, the Merchant's far-sought gain,@And wantoned to the ruin of a nation!-Larpent MS, op. p. 65.@ Also the play equalizes Christianity and Mohammedanism before God, and gives a slight edge to the latter (Act IV, scene ii), suggesting the part politics play in Christian churches. An account of the alterations made for the present performance is given in the Westminster Magazine for March. The review concludes: The Play was got up altogether well, and reputedly acted, and is in its present state what the Ladies call "a very pretty tragedy."

Event Comment: Benefit for Wright, Messink, and Widow Rooker. Receipts: #188 14s. Charges: #74 14s. Pbofits to Messink, Mrs Wright, Mrs Rooker: #114 (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Carlton Jr, Berrisford and Kaygill. Tickets delivered by Burroughs, The Widow Veal, and for King Richard III, will be taken. Receipts: #211 16s. Charges: #84. Profits to beneficiaries: #127 16s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 20 years. [See 11 Nov. 1752.] Characters New Dressed in the Habits of the Times. This play is alter'd by Mr Colman and receiv'd with Some Applause, but it don't seem to hit the present Taste a few hisses at the End (Hopkins Diary). [MacMillan's note from Kemble differs slightly.] Paid salary list #630 1s. 6d.; Widow Hunter #2 2s.; King's glass bill #3 17s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book). [Mainpiece reviewed and contrasted with the original in the Westminster Magazine for Jan.: "Upon the whole we cannot esteem this a striking comedy, even with the assistance it has now received,--the fine manner in which it is got up, and the great expence which the managers have been at in habiting the whole dramatis personae in splendid and characteristic Old English dresses. All the actors except Mr King and Mr Parsons performed but indifferently. Bensley is the worst Old Man we ever saw. He presents the countenace of a sickly old woman; and the uniform goggle of his eye, by which he means to express infirmity and distress is the look of a man in anguish from the colic. Mr Palmer, Mr Brereton, and Mr Davis have a bloated vulgarity about them, which should ever deter the manager from assigning them the parts of cavaliers or men of fashion. Baddeley, as usual, overdid his part, and Mr Yates, as usual, was not very perfect in his."] Receipts: #192 11s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 12 years. [See 26 April 1763.] This Comedy is reviv'd for the Queen to See Mr G. in Sir Anthony Bramble which he perfkrmed inimitably--he wrote and spoke a New Address to the Ladies in the Character of Sr. Anto. which was receiv'd with very great Applause. The Play is long and heavy (Hopkins Diary). [MacMillan's note from Kemble differs slightly.] Paid salary list #624 6s. 6d.; Westminster Charity Subscription #5 5s.; Griffith 3 weeks 15s.; Mrs Greville for cloaths in Irish Widow, #5 9s. Receipts: #273 1s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Tickets deliver'd by Davis, Mrs Heard, Miss Bassan, Stoppelear, Mrs Morris, Mrs Lawr, Widow Warnuck, Rudd, Castephens, Potter, Walters, and Mas. Harrison, also those delivered for The Conscious Lovers will be taken this night

Event Comment: Tickets delivered by the Widow of the late Dall, Sga Tinte, Thompson, Jones and Bates will be taken this Night. Receipts: #283 8s. 6d. (54.5.6; 1.4.6; tickets: 127.18.6)

Event Comment: [Afterpiece in place of The Dutiful Deception, announced on playbill of 13 May.] Tickets delivered by Thompson, Cushing, Jones, Bates, Miss Green, Mrs Sharp and the Widow Emery [Account-Book adds Whittington] will be admitted this Evening. Receipts: #184 19s. (127.7; 1.13; tickets: 55.19)

Event Comment: Benefit for J. Wood, Percey, Cameron & the Widow Robinson. Tickets delivered by Camery and Hodges will be taken. Receipts: #288 13s. (33.3; 1.6; 0.18; tickets: 253.6) [charge: #105)

Event Comment: Calypso [announced on playbill of 21 Apr.] is unavoidably postponed on account of Reinhold's Hoarseness. Tickets delivered by Miss Ambrose, Branson, Thompson, Sga Tinte and the Widow of the late Dr Arne, for Calypso, will be taken this night

Event Comment: By Command of Their Majesties. Every Man in his Humour and The Irish Widow [both announced on playbill of 13 May], which were to have been performed this Evening, for the Benefit of Fawcett and Sga Crespi, are obliged to be deferred till Monday next. Receipts: #216 2s. 6d. (193.7.0; 22.7.6; 0.8.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Colles, the Widow Legg & Miss Kirby. Morning Post, 17 May: Tickets to be had of Miss Kirby, No. 70, Long-acre [others not listed]. Receipts: #225 15s. (37.9.0; 11.11.6; 1.2.6; tickets: 175.120) )charge: #105)

Event Comment: Benefit for Dickinson, pit office-keeper, and Carleton Jun., box lobby door-keeper. [Afterpiece in place of The Irish Widow, announced on playbill of 25 May.] Morning Chronicle, 18 May: Tickets to be had of Dickinson, No. 5, Wild-court, Wild-street, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields [Carleton not listed]. Receipts: #280 3s. 6d. (26.1.0; 6.9.0; 0.18.6; tickets: 246.5.0) (charge: #105)

Event Comment: [Miss Harper was taken ill; The Irish Widow was thereupon substituted and begun, but the audience was clamorous, and insisted on The Son-in-Law. A long delay ensued until the proper acters had been brought back to the theatre and until they were dressed. Mrs Jewell read Miss Harper's part. While trying to find out what the audience wanted, Bannister retorted sharply from the stage to one of the noisiest of the objectors. This action caused several letters to be written to various newspapers debating the right of a "servant of the public" to reprimand a member of the audience even when that member might be in the wrong (Morning Chronicle, 16 Sept., et seq.).] The last Night of the Season

Event Comment: By Command of Their Majesties. [Mainpiece in place of The Widow Of Delphi, announced on playbill of 12 Feb.] Receipts: #262 3s. 6d. (260.7.0; 1.16.6)

Event Comment: Tickets delivered by Dagueville, Simpkinson, the widow of the late Jones, and the Performers in the Orchestra will be admitted. Receipts: #182 15s. (34.15; 1.3; tickets: 146.17)