Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911:
by
Montrose J. Moses
Produced by David Starner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
Representative Plays by American Dramatists
Edited, with an Introduction to Each Play
By MONTROSE J. MOSES
1856-1911
Illustrated with Portraits, and
Original Playbills
1921
To BRANDER MATTHEWS
Friend of the American Theatre
To whom all Critics of the Theatre are beholden.
Table of Contents
Introduction.
Bibliographies.
Rip Van Winkle: A Legend of the Catskills. A
Comparative Arrangement with the Kerr Version.
By Charles Burke. 1850
Francesca da Rimini. By George Henry Boker. 1855
Love in '76. An Incident of the Revolution. By Oliver Bell Bunce. 1857
Paul Kauvar; or, Anarchy. By Steele Mackaye. 1887
Shenandoah. By Bronson Howard. 1888
In Mizzoura. By Augustus Thomas. 1893
The Moth and the Flame. By Clyde Fitch. 1898
The New York Idea. By Langdon Mitchett. 1906
The Easiest Way. By Eugene Walter. 1909
The Return of Peter Grimm. By David Belasco. 1911
The Authors and Their Plays.
INTRODUCTION
The present volume of "Representative Plays by American Dramatists"
includes many hitherto unpublished manuscripts. These are for the first
time made available in authoritative form to the student of the American
theatre. The Editor has tried consistently to adhere to his original
basis of selection: to offer only those texts not generally in
circulation and not used elsewhere in other anthologies. Exactions of
copyright have sometimes compelled him to depart from this rule. He has
been somewhat embarrassed, editorially, by the ungenerous haste with
which a few others have followed closely in his path, even to the point
of reproducing plays which were known to be scheduled for this
collection. For that reason there have been omitted Mr. William
Gillette's "Secret Service," available to readers in so many forms, and
Mr. Percy Mackaye's "The Scarecrow." No anthology of the present
historical scope, however, can disregard George Henry Boker's "Francesca
da Rimini" or Bronson Howard's "Shenandoah." In the instance of Mr.
Langdon Mitchell's "The New York Idea," it is possible to supersede all
previous issues of this refreshing comedy by offering a text which, as
to stage directions, has been completely revised by the author. Mr.
Mitchell wishes to have this regarded as the correct version, and has
himself prepared the "copy" of same. Because of the easy accessibility
of Dion Boucicault's "The Octoroon; or, Life in Louisiana," it was
thought best to omit this Irish-American playwright, whose jovial
prolixity enriched the American stage of the '60's and '70's. His
"London Assurance" is included in the present Editor's collection of
"Representative British Dramas: Victorian and Modern."
Of more historical significance than Joseph Jefferson's final version of
"Rip Van Winkle," are the two texts upon which Boucicault and Jefferson
based their play. It has been possible to offer the reader a comparative
arrangement of the John Kerr and Charles Burke dramatizations.
In the choice of Steele Mackaye's "Paul Kauvar; or, Anarchy" a period is
illustrated which might be described as transitional. Executors of the
Augustin Daly estate are not ready to allow any of Daly's original plays
or adaptations to be published. The consequence is "Paul Kauvar" must
stand representative of the eighteen-eighty fervour of Lester Wallack,
A.M. Palmer, and Daly, who were in the Mackaye tradition.
Oliver Bunce's "Love in '76" has been selected for the same reason that
one might select Clyde Fitch's Revolutionary or Civil War
pieces--because of its bloodless character; because it is one of the
rare parlour comedies of the period.
Of the new pieces, Fitch's "The Moth and the Flame" has remained
unpublished until now. It exemplifies many of his most sprightly
observational qualities. "The Truth" and "The Girl with the Green Eyes"
are more mature, but are no less Fitchean than this. Mr. David Belasco's
"The Return of Peter Grimm" is as effective in the reading as it was on
the stage under his triumphant management. Mr. Eugene Walter's "The
Easiest Way," at the last moment, was released from publication in the
_Drama League Series of Plays_; it still stands as America's most
cruelly realistic treatment of certain city conditions. In the choice of
Mr. Augustus Thomas's "In Mizzoura"--"The Witching Hour" having so often
been used in dramatic collections--the Editor believes he has
represented this playwright at a time when his dramas were most racy and
native.
This third volume, therefore, brings examples of the present American
stagecraft to date. Had his policy of selection not been exclusive, but
rather inclusive of plays easily accessible to the student, the Editor
might have reached out for Mr. George C. Hazelton's and Mr. Benrimo's
"The Yellow Jacket," Mr. Charles Kenyon's "Kindling," and Mr. A.E.
Thomas's "Her Husband's Wife." He might likewise have included William
Vaughn Moody's "The Great Divide." These are all representative plays by
American dramatists for some future anthologist, when present editions
become rare.
But here are offered plays that will enrich the American dramatic
library because of their rarity, and for that reason others have been
excluded, which are easily procurable in print.
Through the courteous co-operation of Dr. Fred W. Atkinson, Professor
Brander Matthews, officials of the New York Public Library, The Library
Society of Philadelphia, Mr. Robert Gould Shaw, Custodian of the
Dramatic Collection of Harvard College Library, and through the generous
response of the owners of copyrights and manuscripts, the present volume
is made possible. The Editor, through every phase of his work, has had
the unswerving encouragement and assistance of his wife.
MONTROSE J. MOSES.
New Hartford, Conn.
August, 1920.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GENERAL WORKS
A large bibliography of standard works on the American
Theatre was given in Volume I of the present collection. A
very few of the titles have been repeated here, with the additional
inclusion of books which will present the essential spirit of
modern American playwriting. Some of these works mentioned
contain further bibliographies, and these will enable the student
to go as far in the field as desired. There are still unblazed trails for
the research worker, but these trails are becoming fewer and
fewer, as interest in the study of American Drama as a social
and artistic force progresses.
ATKINSON, F.W. American Plays. Private Catalogue. Brooklyn, N.Y.
BAKER, GEORGE PIERCE. Dramatic Technique. Boston: Houghton. 1919.
BURTON, RICHARD. The New American Drama. New York: Crowell. 1913.
CHANDLER, FRANK W. Aspects of Modern Drama. New York: Macmillan.
CHENEY, SHELDON. The Art Theatre. New York: Knopf. 1917.
CHENEY, SHELDON. The New Movement in the Theatre. New York: Kennerley.
1914.
CHENEY, SHELDON. The Out-of-door Theatre. New York: Kennerley. 1918.
CRAWFORD, MARY C. The Romance of the American Theatre. Boston:
Little, Brown. 1913.
DALY, JOSEPH FRANCIS. Life of Augustin Daly. New York: Macmillan.
1917.
DICKINSON, THOMAS H. The Case of the American Drama. Boston: Houghton.
1915.
DICKINSON, THOMAS H. Chief Contemporary Dramatists. Boston: Houghton.
1915.
HAMILTON, CLAYTON. Problems of the Playwright. New York: Holt. 1917.
HAMILTON, CLAYTON. Studies in Stagecraft. New York: Holt. 1914.
HAMILTON, CLAYTON. The Theory of the Theatre. New York: Holt. 1910.
HENDERSON, ARCHIBALD. The Changing Drama. New York: Holt. 1914.
HORNBLOW, ARTHUR. A History of the Theatre in America. 2 vols.
Philadelphia: Lippincott. 1919. (The files of the _Theatre Magazine_
are invaluable as a record of current stage events. Mr. Hornblow has
been the editor of this magazine for many years, from its beginning.)
HUTTON, LAURENCE. Curiosities of the American Stage. New York: Harper.
1891.
IRELAND, JOSEPH N. Records of the New York Stage from 1750-1860. 2
vols. 1866.
KROWS, ARTHUR E. Play Production in America. New York: Holt. 1916.
MACKAY, CONSTANCE D. The Little Theatre in the United States. New York:
Holt. 1917. (See also Thomas H. Dickinson's book on the same subject.)
MACKAYE, PERCY. The Civic Theatre. New York: Kennerley. 1912.
MACKAYE, PERCY. The Playhouse and the Play. New York: Macmillan. 1909.
MODERWELL, HIRAM K. The Theatre of To-day. New York: Lane. 1914.
MOSES, MONTROSE J. The American Dramatist. Boston: Little, Brown. 1917.
MOSES, MONTROSE J. Famous Actor-Families in America. New York:
Crowell. (o.p.)
MOSES, MONTROSE J. The Drama (1860-1918). See The Cambridge History
of American Literature. Volume III, Chapter XVIII. Also comprehensive
bibliography.
NATHAN, GEORGE JEAN. Another Book of the Theatre. New York: Huebsch.
1915.
NATHAN, GEORGE JEAN. The Popular Theatre. New York: Knopf. 1918.
PENCE, JAMES HARRY. The Magazine and the Drama. New York: Dunlap
Society. 1896.
PHELPS, WILLIAM LYON. The Twentieth Century Theatre. New York:
Macmillan. 1918.
POLLOCK, CHANNING. The Footlights Fore and Aft. Boston: Badger. 1911.
QUINN, A.H. Representative American Plays. New York: Century. 1917.
REED, PERLEY I. The Realistic Presentation of American Characters in
Native American Plays Prior to Eighteen Seventy. Ohio State University
Bulletin. Vol. 22, No. 26, May, 1918.
RODEN, ROBERT F. Later American Plays. New York: Dunlap Society. 1900.
ROLLAND, ROMAIN. The People's Theatre. New York: Holt. 1918.
(Giving the principles which are spreading and forming a democratic
conception of the theatre.)
RUHL, ARTHUR. Second Nights. New York: Scribner. 1914.
SHIPMAN, LOUIS E. The True Adventures of a Play. New York: Kennerley.
1914.
INDIVIDUAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES FOR PLAYS
[Transcriber's note: Em-dashes connecting items have been replaced
with new lines for readability.]
RIP VAN WINKLE
Dion Boucicault. "Dramatization of Rip Van Winkle." _Critic_ (New York),
No. 66, vol. 3, pp. 158-59, April 7, 1883.
Brown, T. Allston. "History of the New York Stage," 3 vols. New York:
Dodd, Mead. 1903.
H. C. Bunner. On Jefferson's Rip. See Matthews and Hutton: "Actors and
Actresses in Great Britain and the United States." 5 vols. 1886.
J.B. Clapp and E.F. Edgett. "Plays of the Present." New York: Dunlap
Society, 1902.
George William Curtis. On Jefferson's Rip. _Harper's Magazine_, March,
1871.
L. Clarke Davis. "Among the Comedians." _Atlantic Monthly_, 19:750-61,
June, 1867.
L. Clarke Davis. "At and After the Play." _Lippincott_, July, 1879.
Durang. "History of the Philadelphia Stage." Published in the
Philadelphia _Dispatch.
The Galaxy_, February, 1868. On Hackett's Rip.
_Harper's Magazine_, 67:617. The Legend of Rip Van Winkle.
Laurence Hutton. "Curiosities of the American Stage." New York: Harper,
1891.
Laurence Hutton. "Plays and Players." New York: Hurd & Houghton. 1875.
Joseph Jefferson. "Autobiography." New York: Century. 1890.
Jefferson's version of "Rip." New York: Dodd, Mead. 1895.
Jefferson, Intimate Recollections of (by Eugenie Paul Jefferson). New
York: Dodd, Mead. 1909.
Jefferson's Rip is detailed in the following magazines:
_Ev. Sat_., 10: 152, 162.
_Radical_ (S. Johnson), 6: 133.
_Nation_ (A. G. Sedgwick), 9: 247.
_Atlantic Monthly_ (L. C. Davis), 19: 750.
_Appleton_, 19: 146.
_Scribner_, 1:216, December, 1870.
_Harper_, 42: 614, April, 1871.
_Atlantic Monthly_, 52:695.
"The Original of Rip Van Winkle." _Lon. M_., 5:229.
N. M. Ludlow. "Dramatic Life as I Found It." St. Louis: G. I. Jones &
Co. 1880.
Brander Matthews. On Jefferson's Rip. _Scribner_. July, 1879.
Brander Matthews. "These Many Years." New York: Scribner. 1917.
Henry Morley. Journal of a London Playgoer. September 23, 1886.
Montrose J. Moses. "Famous Actor-Families in America." Chapters and
Bibliographies under Hackett, Jefferson, Boucicault. New York: Crowell.
1906. (o.p.)
H.P. Phelps. "Players of a Century." Albany, 1880.
Sol. F. Smith. "Theatrical Management in the West and South for Thirty
Years." New York: Harper. 1868.
J. B. Thompson, D.D. "The Genesis of the Rip Van Winkle Legend." _Old
Ulster_. Kingston, N.Y. 1914. Vol. 10: 13-26.
Eugene Tompkins and Quincy Kilby. "History of the Boston Theatre."
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1908.
J. Rankin Towse. On Jefferson's Rip. _Century_, January, 1884.
J. Rankin Towse. "Sixty Years of the Theatre." New York: Funk &
Wagnalls. 1916.
J.H. Wainwright. Rip Van Winkle. Libretto. Lacy Acting Edition. Vol. 39.
Walsh (T.). Dion Boucicault The Career of. New York: Dunlap Society,
1915.
F.C. Wemyss. "Twenty-six Years of the Life of an Actor and Manager." New
York: Burgess, Stringer & Co. 1847. On Hackett's Rip.
Francis Wilson. "Joseph Jefferson: Reminiscences of a Fellow Player."
New York: Scribner. 1906.
William Winter. "The Life of David Belasco." 2 vols. New York: Moffat,
Yard & Co. 1918.
William Winter. The Jeffersons. Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co. 1881. (See
also the Macmillan Life of Jefferson, by Winter. 1894.)
William Winter. "Other Days." New York: Moffat, Yard. 1908.
William Winter. "The Wallet of Time." 2 vols. New York: Moffat, Yard.
1913. (Besides the Rip references, see also J.T. Raymond and living's
"Wolfert's Roost.")
GEORGE HENRY BOKER
General references for Boker, see Allibone, Lamb's Biographical
Dictionary, Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, National
Cyclopedia of American Biography, Warner's Library of the World's Best
Literature.
Lawrence Barrett, A Professional Sketch of. By Elwyn A. Barren. Chicago:
Knight & Leonard Co. 1889. (For a review of Barrett's opening in
"Francesca," Philadelphia, see telegraphic report in the New York
_Tribune_, September 15, 1882, p. 15.)
Alfred Bates. Drama. Vol. XX. p. 70.
Biographical Encyclopedia of Pennsylvanians of the Nineteenth Century.
Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Co. 1874. p. 370.
Magazine references to Boker: _Atlantic Monthly_, 65: 427, March, 1890.
_Book Buyer_, 1900, 2147. _Critic_, January 11, 1890; April 12, 1890;
1898, 33: 240. _Harper's Monthly_, 1882, 4: 633. _Harper's Weekly_,
1871, 15: 1173; 1890, 34: 32. _Sewanee Review_ (J.W. Krutch), October,
1917, 25: 457-68.
Biographic du tres honorable Georges H. Boker. Ministre des Etats Unis
Amerique aupres de la Sublime Porte. _L'Orient Illustre Journal
Hebdomadaire_, Constantinople, 22 Aug., 1874.
Reception tendered by the Members of the Union League of Philadelphia to
George H. Boker, Minister of the United States to Turkey, Friday
Evening, December 22, 1871. Philadelphia: 1872.
Cambridge History of American Literature. New York: Putnam. 1917. 1:494.
Bibliography.
Century Association: Bryant Festival. 1865. 19.
J. B. Clapp and E. F. Edgett. "Plays of the Present." New York: Dunlap
Society. 1902.
E. L. Davenport. A Biography, by E. F. Edgett. New York: Dunlap Society.
1901. (A complete bibliography of Davenport is in Moses' "Famous
Actor-Families in America.")
Duyckinck, E. A. and G. L. "Cyclopedia of American Literature."
Philadelphia: William Rutter & Co. 1877. 2 vols. 2:710.
Knickerbocker Gallery. 1855. p. 59.
Charles Godfrey Leland. A Biography. By Elizabeth Robins Pennell. 2
vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Charles Godfrey Leland. Memoirs. 2 vols. London: Heinemann. 1893.
Charles Godfrey Leland. Reminiscences of George H. Boker. _The
American_, 1890, March 1. 19:392-94.
Charles Godfrey Leland. _Sartain's Magazine_, 1851, 8:369-78.
George Parsons Lathrop. George H. Boker. Authors at Home. xxvii.
_Critic_. n.s. vol. 9, April 14, 1888.
Morris. "Makers of Philadelphia." p. 78.
Oberholtzer. "Literary History of Philadelphia." Quinn, A. H. "The
Dramas of George Henry Boker." _Pub. of Modern Language Association of
America_. Vol. 32, no. 2, n.s., Vol. XXV, June, 1917, pp. 233-66.
T. Buchanan Read, A Memoir of. Philadelphia, 1889.
Augustus C. Rogers. "Sketches of Our Representatives Abroad."
Henry Simpson. "Lives of Eminent Philadelphians." Philadelphia: William
Brotherhead. 1859. Charles S. Boker. By Joseph R. Chandler. (With
portrait.) pp. 93-107.
Edmund Clarence Stedman. Life and Letters of. Edited by Laura Stedman
and George M. Gould. New York: Moffat, Yard. 1910. 2 vols.
Edmund Clarence Stedman. "Poets of America." Boston: Houghton. 1892.
Edmund Clarence Stedman. "An American Anthology." Boston: Houghton.
1900.
E. C. Stedman and Ella M. Hutchinson. "A Library of American
Literature." New York: C. L. Webster & Co. 1889. 8:111-18.
Richard Henry Stoddard. "Recollections Personal and Literary." Edited by
Ripley Hitchcock. Introduction by Edmund Clarence Stedman. New York:
Barnes. 1903.
Richard Henry Stoddard. Recollections of George Henry Boker.
_Lippincott_, June, 1890, 45:856-67.
Bayard Taylor, Life and Letters of. Edited by Marie Hansen-Taylor and
Horace E. Scudder. 2 vols. Boston: Houghton. 1885.
W. P. Trent. "William Gilmore Simms." Boston: Houghton. 1892.
William Winter. "The Wallet of Time." 2 vols. New York: Moffat, Yard.
1913.
OLIVER BELL BUNCE
Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography.
Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia. 1890.
T. Allston Brown. "History of the New York Stage." New York: Dodd, Mead.
1903. 3 vols.
Articles about Bunce in the magazines: _Critic_, May 24, 1890; 16:262.
_Literary World_ (Boston), 21:192.
Articles by Bunce:
"The Players." _Appleton's Journal_, April 3, 1869.
"Some of Our Actors." _The Galaxy_. 5:165.
"Ellen Tree." See Editor's Table, _Appleton's Journal_, October, 1880.
For notices of "Love in '76" see the advertisement in the New York
_Tribune_, February 28, 1857, and see also the New York _Herald_, March
2, 1857.
W. P. Eaton. "The American Stage of To-day." Boston: Small, Maynard.
1908. pp. 259-69. "Where is Our Drama of '76?"
Laurence Hutton. "Curiosities of the American Stage." New York: Harper.
1891.
Lamb. Biographical Dictionary of the United States.
STEELE MACKAYE
Percy Mackaye. "Steele Mackaye, Dynamic Artist of the American Theatre."
_The Drama_, November, 1911, pp. 138-61; February, 1912, pp. 153-73.
(Notices of Mackaye's "Paul Kauvar" in the New York _Tribune_ for
December 25, 1887, and other New York papers for the same date. Mr.
Percy Mackaye has in preparation a Life of his father.)
Montrose J. Moses. "The American Dramatist." Boston: Little, Brown.
1917. Chapter VIII.
William Winter. "Life of David Belasco." New York: Moffat, Yard. 1918. 2
vols. Consult indexes.
BRONSON HOWARD
William Archer, "English Dramatists of To-day." London: Sampson Low,
Marston, Searle, & Rivington. 1882. Chapter on Howard.
Johnson Briscoe. "The Pioneer American Dramatist." _Green Book_,
11:749-56. May, 1914.
J. B. Clapp and E. F. Edgett. "Plays of the Present." New York: Dunlap
Society. 1902.
Barrett H. Clark. "The British and American Drama of To-day." New York:
Holt 1915. Howard, with bibliography, pp. 219-27.
Eleanor Eustace. "Drama in War Time." _Green Book Album_. 4:776-85.
James L. Ford. "The Banker's Daughter." _Munsey_, 34:122, 199.
Daniel Frohman and I. Marcosson. Charles Frohman, A Biography. Manager
and Man. New York: Harper. 1916. Chapter VI.
Daniel Frohman. "Memories of a Manager." New York: Doubleday, Page.
1911.
Articles by Bronson Howard: "The American Drama." _Sunday Magazine_,
October 7, 1906, reproduced in this volume.
"The Autobiography of a Play." With an Introduction by Augustus Thomas.
_Dramatic Museum of Columbia University_. New York, 1914. Papers on
Play-making. II. Series I. (This is also reprinted in the Memorial
Volume mentioned below.) "The Literary Value of Mediocrity." (In the
Memorial Volume, see Howard's address: "Trash on the Stage and the Lost
Dramatists of America." p. 115.)
"In Memoriam:" Addresses delivered at the Memorial Meeting, Sunday,
October 18,1908, at the Lyceum Theatre, New York. New York, 1910.
"Dry Ink." _Dramatic Mirror_. Christmas, 1896. 37:939.
"Schools for the Stage." _Century_, 61:28-37.
_Bookman_, 10:195 ("The Work of Bronson Howard").
_Century Magazine_, 3-465 ("The Plays of Bronson Howard").
Hamilton Wright Mabie. "American Plays Old and New." _Outlook_. December
28, 1912. pp. 945-55.
Brander Matthews. Bronson Howard. _North American Review_. 1908,
188:504-13. (This essay is also in "Gateways to Literature.") New York:
Scribner. 1912. pp. 279-96.
Brander Matthews. "These Many Years." New York: Scribner. 1917.
Clara Morris. "Life on the Stage." (See chapter on "Saratoga"), New
York: McClure, Phillips. 1902.
Montrose J. Moses. "The American Dramatist." Boston: Little, Brown.
1917. Chapter V.
(A notice of "Shenandoah" is in the New York _Tribune_, September 10,
1889.)
T. Edgar Pemberton. "Sir Charles Wyndham." London, 1904.
J. Rankin Towse. Bronson Howard. _Book Buyer_, March, 1898. 16:113-17.
William Winter. "The Life of David Belasco." 2 vols. New York: Moffat,
Yard. 1918. Consult Indexes for references to Howard.
AUGUSTUS THOMAS
Barrett H. Clark. "The British and American Drama of To-day." New York:
Holt. 1915. Thomas, with bibliography.
Montrose J. Moses. "The American Dramatist." Boston: Little, Brown.
1917. Chapter IX.
Walter P. Eaton. "At the New Theatre and Others." Boston: Small,
Maynard. 1910. "Mr. Thomas's New Birth." ("The Harvest Moon.") pp.
109-16.
Walter P. Eaton. "Plays and Players." Cincinnati: Stewart & Kidd. 1916.
"As Augustus Thomas Thinks." pp. 25-33.
Walter P. Eaton. "The American Stage of To-day." Boston: Small, Maynard.
1908. "The Witching Hour."
Frederick M. Smith. "Mr. Augustus Thomas and Some of His Works."
_Sewanee Review_. April, 1907. XV:192-98.
William Winter. "The Wallet of Time." 2 vols. New York: Moffat, Yard.
1913. "The Plays of Augustus Thomas." 2:529-57.
Mr. Thomas wrote the introduction to Bronson Howard's "Autobiography of
a Play." See also his Introductions to the edition of his plays issued
by Messrs. Samuel French. A political article, "The Claims of the
Candidates," lauding W. J. Bryan, was written by Mr. Thomas, and
published in the _North American Review_, June, 1908, 187:801-6.
CLYDE FITCH
Archie Bell. "The Clyde Fitch I Knew." New York: Broadway Publishing Co.
1909.
Bibliography of Clyde Fitch. "Modern Drama and Opera." Vol. II. Boston:
The Boston Book Co. 1915. pp. 60-65.
(Notices of "The Moth and the Flame" are in the New York _Times_, April
12, 1898 and April 17, 1898. E. A. Dithmar.)
Martin Birnbaum. Critical Appreciation. _Independent_, 67:123-31.
Barrett H. Clark. "The British and American Drama of To-day." New York:
Holt. 1915. Fitch, with bibliography.
Walter P. Eaton. "At the New Theatre." Boston: Small, Maynard. 1910.
"The Case of Clyde Fitch." pp. 258-83. This was also published in
_Scribner's_, 46:490-97.
Norman Hapgood. "The Stage in America. 1897-1900." New York: The
Macmillan Co. 1901. (References to Fitch, Howard, and Thomas.)
Montrose J. Moses. "The American Dramatist." Boston: Little, Brown.
1917. Chapter X and bibliography.
Clement Scott. "Drama of Yesterday and To-day." New York: The Macmillan
Co. 1899. 2 vols.
L.C. Strang. "Plays and Players of the Last Quarter Century."
For the "Beau Brummell" dispute, both sides, see the biographies of
Richard Mansfield, by Paul Wilstach and William Winter. A Memorial
Edition of "The Plays of Clyde Fitch," edited by Montrose J. Moses and
Virginia Gerson, 4 vols., has been issued by Little, Brown & Co. Boston.
1915.
LANGDON MITCHELL
William Archer. "The New York Idea." London _Tribune_, May 27, 1907.
J. B. Clapp and E. F. Edgett. "Plays of the Present." New York: Dunlap
Society. 1902. (Reference to "Becky Sharp.")
Norman Hapgood. "The Stage in America. 1897-1909." New York: The
Macmillan Co. 1901.
Joyce Kilmer. Langdon Mitchell, interview with. New York _Times_,
February 20, 1916.
William Winter. "The Wallet of Time." New York: Moffat, Yard. 1913. 2
vols. "The Acting of Mrs. Fiske."
EUGENE WALTER
Barrett H. Clark. "The British and American Drama of To-day." New York:
Holt. 1915. With bibliography.
Denig, L. "Vicissitudes of a Playwright." _Theatre_, 21:235, May, 1915.
"The Easiest Way" (Excerpts). _Current Literature_, 51:73-81.
"The Easiest Way." _Dramatist_, 4:379, July, 1913.
Walter P. Eaton. "At the New Theatre and Others." Boston: Small,
Maynard. 1910. pp. 93-98.
Walter P. Eaton. "The American Stage of To-day." ("Paid in Full.")
Boston: Small, Maynard. 1908. pp. 45-57.
Walter P. Eaton. "Plays of Eugene Walter." _American Magazine_,
November, 1910, 71:121-23.
Ada Patterson. Interview with Eugene Walter. _Theatre_, October, 1908.
8:272-76.
Peirce, Francis Lament. "Eugene Walter: An American Dramatic Realist."
_Drama_, February, 1916. Vol. 6.
Eugene Walter. Sketch of. _Green Book Album_, January, 1911, 5:186-87.
William Winter. "The Life of David Belasco." 2 vols. New York: Moffat,
Yard. 1918. References in the Indexes to "The Easiest Way," "Just a
Wife."
William Winter. "The Wallet of Time." 2 vols. New York: Moffat, Yard.
1913. 2:374; 479-88.
For contemporary criticism on Walter consult the Dramatic Index, and the
Indexes of the New York _Tribune_ and _Times_.
DAVID BELASCO
Such articles by Mr. Belasco as "The Business of Theatrical Management,"
Philadelphia _Saturday Evening Post_, June 7, 1919, may be found by
consulting the Dramatic Index. They are more or less amplified
expressions of opinion which were dwelt upon in his extended
Reminiscences, written for _Hearst's Magazine_, beginning March, 1914.
Constant references to Mr. Belasco are to be found in Winter's "Wallet
of Time." But the monumental "Life of David Belasco," 2 vols., by
Winter, will give all the biographical data necessary for the student to
have. It is issued by Moffat, Yard, New York, 1918. Consult likewise
Montrose J. Moses' "The American Dramatist." Chapter VII. Boston:
Little, Brown. 1917. See also Walter P. Eaton's "Plays and Players."
Cincinnati: Stewart & Kidd. 1916. "Warfield in the Spirit World," pp.
17-24. "Belasco and Hypnotism" (Locke's "The Case of Becky"), pp. 59-65.
THE AUTHORS AND THEIR PLAYS
RIP VAN WINKLE
The details are given specifically in the Introduction to the
play, where the different dramatizations are discussed.
GEORGE HENRY BOKER
Born, Philadelphia, Pa., October 6, 1823. Died, Philadelphia, January 2,
1890. Author of the following plays, with their dates of first
production, or when written: "Calaynos" (London: Sadler's Wells Theatre,
May 10, 1849) (Philadelphia: Walnut Street Theatre, January 20, 1850);
"Anne Boleyn" (1850); "The Betrothal" (Philadelphia: Walnut Street
Theatre, September 25, 1850) (New York: Broadway Theatre, November 18,
1850); "All the World a Mask" (Philadelphia: Walnut Street Theatre,
April 21, 1851); "The Podesta's Daughter" (1852); "The Widow's Marriage"
(1852); "Leonor de Guzman" (Philadelphia: Walnut Street Theatre, October
3, 1853) (New York: Broadway Theatre, April 24, 1853); "Francesca da
Rimini" (New York: Broadway Theatre, September 26, 1855); "The Bankrupt"
(MS. 1853); "Koenigsmark" (1857, 1869); "Nydia" (1885); "Glaucus" (1886),
based on Bulwer-Lytton.
OLIVER BELL BUNCE
The details are given specifically in the Introduction to "Love
in '76".
STEELE MACKAYE
Born, Buffalo, New York, June 6, 1842. Died, Timpas, Colorado, on board
train, February 25, 1894. Author of the following plays, with their
dates of first production: "Monaldi" (New York: St. James Theatre,
January 8, 1872), in collaboration with Francis Durivage; "Marriage,"
adapted from the French of Feuillet (New York: St. James Theatre,
February 12, 1872); "A Radical Fool," written in London (1873-1874);
"Arkwright's Wife," in collaboration with Tom Taylor (Leeds, England:
Theatre Royal, July 7, 1873); "Silas Marner," a dramatization of George
Eliot's novel, written in London (1873); "Jealousy," with Charles Reade,
written in London (1873-1874); "Rose Michel," based on a French play, in
its turn based on Victor Hugo (New York: Union Square Theatre, November
23, 1875); "Queen and Woman," in collaboration with J. V. Pritchard
(Brooklyn, N. Y.: Theatre, February 14, 1876); "Twins," in collaboration
with A. C. Wheeler (New York: Wallack's Theatre, April 12, 1876); "Won
at Last" (New York: Wallack's Theatre, December 10, 1877); "Through the
Dark" (New York: Fifth Avenue Theatre, March 10, 1879); "An Iron Will"
(Providence, R. I., Low's Opera House, October 27, 1879); "Hazel Kirke"
(New York: Madison Square Theatre, February 4, 1880); "A Fool's Errand,"
dramatization from a novel by Judge Tourgee (Philadelphia: Arch Street
Theatre, October 26, 1881); "Dakolar," based on Georges Ohnet's "Le
Maitre de Forges" (New York: Lyceum Theatre, April 6, 1885); "In Spite
of All," founded on Sardou (New York: Lyceum Theatre, September 15,
1885); "Rienzi," based on Bulwer-Lytton's novel (Washington: Albaugh's
Opera House, December 13, 1886; New York production, Niblo's Garden, May
2, 1887); "The Drama of Civilization," a pageant (New York: Madison
Square Garden, November 27, 1887); "Anarchy" (Buffalo, N. Y.: Academy of
Music, May 30, 1887); "Paul Kauvar; or, Anarchy" (New York: Standard
Theatre, December 24, 1887); "A Noble Rogue" (Chicago: Opera House, July
3, 1888); "An Arrant Knave" (Chicago: Opera House, September 30, 1889);
"Colonel Tom" (Boston: Tremont Theatre, January 20, 1890); "Money Mad"
(New York: Standard Theatre, April 7, 1890); "Cousin Larry," written in
1891; "The World Finder," a spectatorio (Chicago; Spectatorium, 1893,
World's Fair).
BRONSON HOWARD
Born, Detroit, Michigan, October 7, 1842. Died, Avon-by-the-Sea, New
Jersey, August 4, 1908. Author of the following plays, with their dates
of first production: "Fantine" (Detroit, Mich., 1864); "Saratoga" (New
York: Fifth Avenue Theatre, December 21, 1870); "Diamonds" (New York:
Fifth Avenue Theatre, September 26, 1872); "Moorcroft; or, The Double
Wedding" (New York: Fifth Avenue Theatre, October 17, 1874); "Lilian's
Last Love" (Chicago: Hooley's Theatre, September 4, 1877); "Hurricanes"
(Chicago: Hooley's Theatre, May 27, 1878); "Old Love Letters" (New York:
Park Theatre, August 31, 1878); "The Banker's Daughter," being a
revision of "Lilian's Last Love" (New York: Union Square Theatre,
September 30, 1878); "Wives," being an adaptation from Moliere (New
York: Daly's Theatre, October 18, 1879); "Fun in the Green-room" (New
York: Booth's Theatre, April 10, 1882); "The Young Mrs. Winthrop" (New
York: Madison Square Theatre, October 9, 1882); "One of Our Girls" (New
York: Lyceum Theatre, November 10, 1885); "Met by Chance" (New York:
Lyceum Theatre, January 11, 1887); "The Henrietta" (New York: Union
Square Theatre, September 26, 1887); "Baron Rudolph," first named
"Rudolph von Hallenstein" (New York: Fourteenth Street Theatre, October
25, 1887); "Shenandoah" (New York: Star Theatre, September 9, 1889);
"Aristocracy" (New York: Palmer's Theatre, November 14, 1892); "Peter
Stuyvesant," in collaboration with Brander Matthews (New York: Wallack's
Theatre, October 2, 1899). Plays that have never been acted are: "Knave
& Queen," in collaboration with Sir Charles Young, and "Kate," issued,
1906, in book form by Harper & Brothers.
AUGUSTUS THOMAS
Born, St. Louis, Mo., January 8,1859. Author of the following plays,
with their dates of first production: "Editha's Burglar," with Mrs. F.
H. Burnett (St. Louis: Pope's Theatre, July 1, 1884); "The Burglar"
(Boston: Park Theatre, June, 1888); "A Man of the World" (New York:
Madison Square Theatre, October 30, 1889); "Afterthoughts" (New York:
Madison Square Theatre, November 24, 1890); "Reckless Temple" (New York:
Standard Theatre, October 27, 1890); "Alabama" (New York: Madison Square
Theatre, April 1, 1891); "Colonel Carter of Cartersville," from the
novel by F. Hopkinson Smith (New York: Palmer's Theatre, March 22,1892);
"Holly-Tree Inn" (New York: Union Square Theatre, April 11, 1892); "In
Mizzoura" (Chicago: Hooley's Theatre, August, 1893); "New Blood" (New
York: Palmer's Theatre, September 19, 1894; previously in Chicago); "The
Man Upstairs" (New York: Hoyt's Theatre, April 9, 1895); "The Capitol"
(New York: Standard Theatre, September 9, 1895); "That Overcoat" (1898);
"The Hoosier Doctor" (New York: Fourteenth Street Theatre, April 18,
1898); "The Meddler" (New York: Wallack's Theatre, September 1, 1898);
"Arizona" (Chicago: Grand Opera House, June 12, 1899); "Oliver
Goldsmith" (New York: Fifth Avenue Theatre, March 19, 1900); "On the
Quiet" (New York: Hoyt's Theatre, February 11, 1901); "Colorado" (New
York: Palmer's Theatre, January 12, 1902); "Soldiers of Fortune," from
the novel by Richard Harding Davis (New York: Savoy Theatre, March 17,
1902); "The Earl of Pawtucket" (New York: Madison Square Theatre,
February 5, 1903); "The Other Girl" (New York: Criterion Theatre,
December 23, 1903); "Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots" (New York: Savoy Theatre,
January 11, 1905); "The Education of Mr. Pipp," from pictures by Charles
Dana Gibson, (New York: Liberty Theatre, February 20, 1905); "Delancey"
(New York: Empire Theatre, September 4, 1905); "The Embassy Ball" (New
York: Daly's Theatre, March 5, 1906); "The Ranger" (New York: Wallack's
Theatre, September 2, 1907); "The Witching Hour" (New York: Hackett's
Theatre, November 18, 1907); "The Harvest Moon" (New York: Garrick
Theatre, October 18, 1909); "The Member from Ozark" (Detroit, Mich.,
Opera House, 1910); "As a Man Thinks" (New York: 39th Street Theatre,
March 13, 1911); "The Model" (New York: Harris Theatre, August 31,
1912); "Mere Man" (New York: Harris Theatre, November 25, 1912); "Indian
Summer" (New York: Criterion Theatre, October 27, 1913); "Rio Grande"
(New York: Empire Theatre, April 4, 1916); "The Copperhead" (Hartford,
Conn., January 22, 1918); "Palmy Days" (New York: The Playhouse, October
27, 1919); "Under the Bough," previously called "The Blue Devil" and
"Speak of the Devil" (Boston: Colonial Theatre, May 31, 1920). Other
plays credited to Mr. Thomas are: "A Leaf from the Woods," one act (St.
Louis: Pope's Theatre, 1883); "A New Year's Call," one act (St. Louis:
Pope's Theatre, 1883); "A Night's Frolic" (New York: Herald Square
Theatre, 1888); "A Proper Impropriety," one act (New York: Union Square
Theatre, 1889); "Alone" (St. Louis: Pickwick Theatre, 1881); "Chimmie
Fadden," from the book of E. W. Townsend (New York: Palmer's Theatre,
1881); "Combustion" (St. Louis: Pope's Theatre, 1883); "For Money" (New
York: Star Theatre, 1890); "Love Will Find the Way," written for
amateurs; "The Big Rise" (St. Louis: Pope's Theatre, 1881); "The Dress
Suit," written for amateurs only; "The Jucklins" (on the road, 1896);
"The Music Box," written for amateurs only.
CLYDE FITCH
Born, Elmira, New York, May 2, 1865. Died at Chalons-sur-Marne,
September 4, 1909. Author of the following plays, with their dates of
first production: "Beau Brummell" (New York: Madison Square Theatre, May
17, 1890); "Frederic Lemaitre" (New York: Daly's Theatre, December 1,
1890); "Betty's Finish" (Boston Museum, December 29, 1890); "Pamela's
Prodigy" (London: Royal Court Theatre, October 21, 1891); "A Modern
Match" (New York: Union Square Theatre, March 14, 1892. Later played by
the Kendalsas "Marriage"); "The Masked Ball," from the French of Bisson
(New York: Palmer's Theatre, October 3, 1892); "The Harvest," afterwards
used in "The Moth and the Flame" (Theatre of Arts and Letters, New York:
Fifth Avenue Theatre, January 26, 1893); "April Weather" (Chicago: Opera
House, May 29, 1893); "A Shattered Idol," from the French of Balzac,
"Old Goriot" (St. Paul, Minn.: Globe Theatre, July 31, 1893); "The
Social Swim," adapted from the French of Sardou (New York: Harlem Opera
House, September 22, 1893); "An American Duchess," from the French of
Lavadan (New York: Lyceum Theatre, November 20, 1893); "Mrs. Grundy,
Jun.," from the French, (1894); "Gossip," from the French of Claretie,
in collaboration with Leo Ditrichstein (New York: Palmer's Theatre,
March 11, 1895); "His Grace de Grammont" (Brooklyn: Park Theatre,
September 11, 1895); "Mistress Betty" (New York: Garrick Theatre,
October 15, 1895); "Bohemia," from the French (New York: Empire Theatre,
March 9, 1896); "The Liar," from the French of Bisson (New York: Hoyt's
Theatre, September 2, 1896); "A Superfluous Husband," adapted from the
German, with Leo Ditrichstein (New York: Miner's Fifth Avenue Theatre,
January 4, 1897); "The Moth and the Flame" (New York: Lyceum Theatre,
April 11, 1898); "The Head of the Family," adapted from the German, with
Leo Ditrichstein (New York: Knickerbocker Theatre, December 6, 1898);
"Nathan Hale" (New York: Knickerbocker Theatre, January 2, 1899, having
been given in Chicago the previous January); "Barbara Frietchie" (New
York: Criterion Theatre, October 24, 1899); "The Cowboy and the Lady"
(New York: Knickerbocker Theatre, December 25, 1899); "Sapho," from the
French of Daudet (New York: Wallack's Theatre, February 16, 1900); "The
Climbers" (New York: Bijou Theatre, January 21, 1901); "Lovers' Lane"
(New York: Manhattan Theatre, February 6, 1901); "Captain Jinks of the
Horse Marines" (New York: Garrick Theatre, February 4, 1901); "The Last
of the Dandies" (London, October 24, 1901); "The Way of the World" (New
York: Hammerstein's Victoria, November 4, 1901); "The Girl and the
Judge" (New York: Lyceum Theatre, December 4, 1901); "The Stubbornness
of Geraldine" (New York: Garrick Theatre, November 3, 1902); "The Girl
with the Green Eyes" (New York: Savoy Theatre, December 25, 1902); "The
Bird in the Cage" (New York: Bijou Theatre, January 12, 1903); "Her Own
Way" (New York: Garrick Theatre, September 28, 1903); "Algy" (Chicago:
Garrick Theatre, October 4, 1903); "Major Andre" (New York: Savoy
Theatre, November 11, 1903); "Glad of It" (New York: Savoy Theatre,
December 28, 1903); "The Frisky Mrs. Johnson" (New York: Garrick
Theatre, May 16, 1904); "The Coronet of a Duchess" (New York: Garrick
Theatre, September 21, 1904); "Granny" (New York: Lyceum Theatre,
October 24, 1904); "Cousin Billy," adapted from the French (New York:
Criterion Theatre, January 2, 1905); "The Woman in the Case" (New York:
Herald Square Theatre, January 30, 1905); "Her Great Match" (New York:
Criterion Theatre, September 4, 1905); "Wolfville," a dramatization of a
novel by Alfred Henry Lewis, the play in collaboration with Willis
Steell, (Philadelphia, October 20, 1905); "The Toast of the Town," a
re-writing of "Mistress Betty" (New York: Daly's Theatre, November 27,
1905); "Toddles," from the French (New York: Garrick Theatre, March 16,
1906); "The House of Mirth," a dramatization of Mrs. Edith Wharton's
novel (New York: Savoy Theatre, October 22, 1906); "The Girl Who Has
Everything" (New York: Liberty Theatre, December 4, 1906); "The Truth"
(New York: Criterion Theatre, January 7, 1907; London: Comedy Theatre,
April 6, 1907); "The Straight Road" (New York: Astor Theatre, January 7,
1907); "Her Sister," in collaboration with Cosmo Gordon-Lennox (New
York: Hudson Theatre, December 24, 1907); "Toddles" (New York: Garrick
Theatre, March 16, 1908); "Girls" (New York: Daly's Theatre, March 23,
1908); "The Blue Mouse," adapted from the German (New York: Lyric
Theatre, November 30, 1908); "The Bachelor" (New York: Maxine Elliott
Theatre, March 15, 1909); "A Happy Marriage" (New York: Garrick Theatre,
April 12, 1909); "The City" (New York: Lyric Theatre, December 22,
1909).
LANGDON MITCHELL
Born, Philadelphia, February 17, 1862. The details are given
specifically in the Introduction to the play.
EUGENE WALTER
Born, Cleveland, Ohio, November 27, 1874. Author of the following plays,
with their dates of production: "Sergeant James" (Boston Theatre, 1901;
later called "Boots and Saddles," 1909); "The Undertow" (New York:
Harlem Opera House, April 22, 1907); "Paid in Full" (New York: Astor
Theatre, February 25, 1908); "The Wolf" (New York: Bijou Theatre, April
18, 1908); "The Easiest Way" (New York: Belasco Theatre, January 19,
1908); "Just a Wife" (New York: Belasco Theatre, January 31, 1909); "The
Trail of the Lonesome Pine," being a dramatization of John Fox's novel
(New York: New Amsterdam Theatre, January 29, 1912); "Fine Feathers"
(New York: Astor Theatre, January 7, 1913); "The Knife" (New York: Bijou
Theatre, April 12, 1917); "The Heritage," called also "The Assassin"
(New York: The Playhouse, January 14, 1917); "Nancy Lee" (New York:
Hudson Theatre, April 19, 1918); "The Challenge" (Season of 1919-1920).
DAVID BELASCO
Born, San Francisco, Cal., July 25, 1853. A complete chronology of Mr.
Belasco's plays is to be found in the Winter biography. Here are only
listed those plays written after his arrival in New York. The list does
not include the plays presented by him merely in the capacity as
manager. "May Blossom" (New York: Madison Square Theatre, April 12,
1884); "Valerie," from Sardou (New York: Wallack's Theatre, February 15,
1886); "Baron Rudolph," with Bronson Howard (New York: Fourteenth Street
Theatre, October 24, 1887); "The Wife," with Henry DeMille (New York:
Lyceum Theatre, November I, 1887); "Lord Chumley," with Henry DeMille
(New York: Lyceum Theatre, August 21, 1888); "The Charity Ball," with
Henry DeMille (New York: Lyceum Theatre, November 19, 1889); "Men and
Women," with Henry DeMille (New York: Proctor's 23rd Street Theatre,
October 21, 1890); "Miss Helyett," from the French (New York: Star
Theatre, November 3, 1891); "The Girl I Left Behind Me," with Franklyn
Fyles (New York: Empire Theatre, January 25, 1893); "The Younger Son,"
from the German (New York: Empire Theatre, October 24, 1893); "The Heart
of Maryland" (New York: Herald Square Theatre, October 22, 1895);
"Zaza," from the French of Berton and Simon (New York: Garrick Theatre,
January 8, 1899); "Naughty Anthony" (New York: Herald Square Theatre,
January 8, 1900); "Madame Butterfly," from the novel by John Luther Long
(New York: Herald Square Theatre, March 5, 1900); "Du Barry" (New York:
Criterion Theatre, December 25, 1901); "The Darling of the Gods" (New
York: Belasco Theatre, now the Republic, December 3, 1902); "Sweet Kitty
Bellairs," from a novel by the Edgertons (New York: Belasco Theatre, now
the Republic, December 8, 1903); "Adrea," with John Luther Long (Belasco
Theatre, New York, now the Republic, January 11, 1905); "The Girl of the
Golden West" (New York: Belasco Theatre, now the Republic, November 14,
1905); "The Rose of the Rancho," with Richard Walton Tully (New York:
Belasco Theatre, now the Republic, November 27, 1906); "A Grand Army
Man," in collaboration (New York: Stuyvesant Theatre, now the Belasco,
October 16, 1907); "The Lily," from the French of Wolff and Leroux (New
York: Stuyvesant Theatre, now the Belasco, December 23, 1909); "The
Return of Peter Grimm" (New York: Belasco Theatre, January 2, 1911);
"The Secret," from the French of Henry Bernstein (New York: Belasco
Theatre, December 23, 1913); "Van Der Decken" (Wilmington, Del.: The
Playhouse, December 12, 1915.) This list represents only a small part of
Mr. Belasco's activities.
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