She Stoops to Conquer

The setup is delicious: a young woman discovers that the man she loves goes tongue-tied around ladies of quality but turns charming and witty around servants. So she does what any sensible heroine in a Goldsmith comedy would do she pretends to be a barmaid. What follows is a night of spectacular misunderstandings, as the respectable Hardcastle household is mistaken for a rustic inn, proper gentlemen behave like boors, and everyone seems determined to misunderstand everyone else. Tony Lumpkin, the spoiled stepson with more wit than wisdom, adds to the chaos by pursuing his own schemes. Goldsmith's brilliance lies in his refusal to let his characters off easy: the comedy emerges from their own vanities and blind spots, not from clever contrivances. By the time the truth emerges and everyone ends up with their proper partners, you've been laughing for three acts and you don't want to stop.