On March 2, 1795, Judith Sargent Murray’s The Medium or Virtue Triumphant debuted on the stage of the Federal Street Theatre as the first play by an American author performed in Boston. Presented anonymously as the work of “A Citizen of the United States,” Murray’s first comedy was not well received by the public. Murray suffered through the hastily rehearsed performance and then had to cope with a potentially damaging review that implied that the author was her husband John Murray, a Universalist minister. Beyond the brouhaha that followed, the play is worthy of study because it conveys Murray’s feminist outlook, especially in the character of Eliza Clairville. Notably, because Eliza wants her marriage to be a union of equals, she refuses to marry the man she loves until she reaches personal financial stability.    

Courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society