Wilder, in fact, had to wait only a few months after Merchant closed on Broadway for a reassuring omen of what lay ahead: the play was published in April 1939 and soon after, schools, colleges, and community groups began performing it around the country. This pattern of “constant demand” (a phrase in Wilder’s business correspondence), augmented by serious feelers for translation and film rights to the play even before the end of World War II, made it clear to Wilder’s managers that the question of a revival was never whether, but when. Wilder’s prediction of Merchant’s return to Broadway was off by seven years; in 1955, indeed, a very “nifty” revival did occur.

Ruth Gordon (1896–1986), whom Wilder deeply admired as an actress and adored as a human being, was responsible for the rebirth of The Merchant of Yonkers as The Matchmaker. With the determination of a “resolute lioness,” as Wilder put it in his journal, Gordon began agitating for the project in early 1951 supported by her husband, playwright Garson Kanin and director Tyrone Guthrie. Wilder had originally written the part of Dolly Levi with Gordon in mind for the role, but she had turned it down, apparently not wishing to be directed by Reinhardt. Gordon’s postwar plans for the play were canny: revive the work in London’s West End, far from Broadway and any lingering memories of the earlier, ill-fated production. In addition, Gordon was well known on the London stage dating back to her 1936 triumph with Michael Redgrave in the Old Vic production of The Country Wife. (Gordon, who played Mrs. Pinchwife, was the first American actress to perform in that sacred space.) Gordon’s wish was a happy command for Wilder. To clear the way for the new production, anticipated as early as the fall of 1952, he had his agents withdraw, until further notice, all new performance rights for the bubbling Merchant as of February 22, 1952. By May of that year, Tyrone Guthrie, who directed Gordon in The Country Wife, had signed on with enormous enthusiasm as its director. Inevitable delays occurred but by the fall of 1953, Ruth Gordon’s faith in Merchant was rewarded by the decision of the Edinburgh Festival (in its sixth year) to host the premiere in the summer of 1954, and of London’s esteemed Tennent Productions, Ltd. to back it. Wilder’s farce sailed into 1954 on a sea of high and happy hopes. By January 1954, The Merchant of Yonkers also had a new name. At first a change was thought unnecessary but it appears that the issue was forced by lingering poor reviews from a 1952 North End London production that had just escaped the play’s embargo. In addition, Wilder was making a number of changes in the script. On November 28, 1953, he wrote from Key West, Florida, to Gordon and Kanin:

Dear Sweetnesses:

For a Title: How about

THE MATCHMAKER. There’s a title role for Ruthie. And a great help in Act II where the audience will see more clearly why she’s telling lies for and about Cornelius.