TH E U E ADV E N T U O F A PL AY BY LO U IS EVAN SH I PMAN New York 85 L ondon MITCHELL KENNERLEY 19 1 4 C O P Y R IG HT 1 9 1 4 BY MITCHEL L K EN N ER L EY TO MY FRI E D H E RY MI ER N N LL , BU T F OR WH OM TH E SU PRE ME ADVE N TU RE S OF TH E PL AY WOU LD N EVER H AVE COME ILLUSTRATIONS ’ Henry Miller as Major D Arcy Frontispi ece P AGE Costume plate by Henry Ogden Costume plate by Henry Ogden Henry Miller and Miss Florence Rock ’ ” well in D Arcy o f the Guards Costume plate i b Mac uo d . y Percy q , R I ’ Sir George Alexander as Major D Arcy 124 Programme of London prod uction 13 1 Sir George Alexander and Miss Evelyn ’ “ ’ ” D Alloy in D Arcy o f the Guards 134 Costume plate 140 M i . b ac uo d . y Percy q , R I BO! ffi t a o f e O ce s tement r ceipts , for a ’ p erformance o f D Arcy o f the ” Y . G . 146 uards at the Savoy Theatre , N BO! Office statement o f receipts fo r a ’ performance of D Arcy o f the ” G s at St . James Theat re uard the ‘fi , L ondon 151 ’ D Arcy o f the Guards in stock 18 0 ’ ” D Arcy of the Guards in the movies 182 ‘ h LETTER FROM PR FE SOR E R E P BAKER O S G O G . My dear S hipman S ome t ime a o be re m re ou read g , fo y fi , y “ t o a g roup of my s tuden t s The True Ad ven tur s o a P la The in t erest and e f y. leasu re ar used in ur audience all o p o yo , f t hem embr la wri ht s have made me yo p y g , w s h t e t h manuscri t n rin t ere i o se e p i p . W we at t he begin ning of t he nineteen t h cen t ur t hat t ime sub- titles inst ead t he y, of , of t wen tiet h cen t ur ur b k mi ht well y, yo oo g “ be gi ven t he sub-tit le A L esson in P a ” t nc N earl ev r un dramatist ie e . y e y yo g s eems t o believe t hat when his play is fin ished he has merel t o resen t his manu , y p scrip t t o s ome play-placer or manag er t o have it s Obvious merit immediat ely recog nized H e is er ectl sure t hat i these . p f y f merits are so rec nized he has but t o wait og , 9 10 AD VENTURE S OF A PLAY n calmness the sur r duc i n his la i e p o t o of p y. This lit tle b k wid sho w him what atience oo p , t act ada t abilit and ersist en ce are need , p y, p ed in t he waiting g ame which all except t he most fort unat e of young dramatist s must la H r r it h curi usl air . e e ou i ct u e w p y y p , o y f sens e ers ective t ward ur own w rk of p p o yo o , a few of t he infinit e number of mischan ces an d complications which may s t an d bet ween a manus cri t leasin t o act rs and man p , p g o a s an t s l m duct on I t ma er d i u ti at e r i . g , p o y be discoura in but it will in t he en d be g g , helpful for many of your readers t o realize t hat t here were t hree years bet ween t he fin ishiny of your manus cript and it s firs t pro ducti n in t his coun r and t welve ears o t y, y between t he writing of t he play and it s first r du cti n in L ond n t hou h at t he ut set p o o o , g o “ ” ’ o t he Adven tures D A rc seemed likel f , y y t o be seen in L ondon earlier t han in N ew Y rk o . Y et even while you discourag e you eu c ra To a when on e he ars so h u e. d muc o g y , us t or un ust about has t and ill- cons id j j , y e red r ducti ns la s it is a leas ure p o o of p y , p ’ AD N P 113 VE TURE S OF A LAY, t o read you r words of appreciation for t he “ ’ ” n D Ar H r M l r p roductio of cy by en y i le an d S ir Geor e Alexander I ndeed t h u h g . , o g I t hin k t he vici ssit udes of your play may g o as far as anything can t oward det erring a un dramatist r m urt her writin I yo g f o f g , suspect t his result will be en tirely offset by t he eviden ce in your correspondence of help fulness and ki ndly in t erest on t he part of n earl all wh re h m n cr t A t er y o ad t e a us ip . f all it mus t have been leas ant t o be t he , p c c r n ur l i e o e of yo p ay. L ike a d dramatist t oo ou are t h r g oo , , y o u hl u t at w d a I am t old o d e . N a s o g y p o y , , at t he end a la we sh uld have s et tled of p y, o n th n I ns t d w sh uld h v int ed o i g . ea e o a e p a “ a ct ure or ut a ues t n Y ur Adven pi p q io . o ” ’ “ ” t ures like S t ockt on s L ad or t he Ti er , y g , leave me wit h a uer in t his case one which q y , involves t he whole ques tion of t he relation of a dramatist t o his audience in t he t reat ment his mat er al hat w uld have of i . W o happened t o t he play if P amela had n ot sho t ’ r D A rcy at t he end of A ct I I ! I wond e . 12 AD VENTURES OF A PLAY S o in t hese ew a es ou disc ura e us , f p g , y o g , enc ura e us and set us w nderin Y ou o g , o g . r il t h dram t s a e st l e a i t I see . urs yo , A P . B KER THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF A PLAY CHAPTER I HE ancient annals Of the theatre , copi o us - and never ending, are filled with the records o f the vicissitudinous adventures o f . To plays the uninitiate , perhaps , these chronicles may seem , somewhat , to strain for their effect : the Obduracy and u nint elli gence o f the old-time manager to be too strongly accented ; the sudden success of the “ despised stop -g ap thrust on at a mo ’ t oo ment s notice, to be dazzling ; but I doubt not that it would be possible to paral in in lel, every generation Of the theatre, cident s quite as remarkable o f the persis ni tent , and ofttimes dishearte ng struggle, o f what the event proved to be successful l i h p ays , against the barriers beh nd w ich the 13 14 ADVENTURE S OF A PLAY powers Of the theatre have seemed in all times to have intrenched themselves , as well Of u as n mberless others , whose way to suc cess has been the primrose way . The comedies of Goldsmith knocked at no more willing gates than those of Tom or o f d W i Robertson, Cly e Fitch ; h le the golden path o f success opened out as easily for Oscar Wilde as it did for Sheridan or i O Bulwer Lytton . The iron c tragedy of T ’ “ H o n bin s death long before his play, The ” eymoon , was drawn from its musty cubby l c hole and successfu ly produ ed, is somewhat analogous to the fate Of Sir Charles Young “ ” and his Jim the Penman . That managers n ot i and actors are nfallible, and that good — — is plays and some bad ones are, as true today as ever it was .