The White Heather (play) explained

The White Heather
Genre:Melodrama
Premiere:16 September 1897
Place:Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Orig Lang:English

The White Heather is an 1897 melodrama by playwrights Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton. The climactic scene of the play portrays a fight between two underwater divers.

Background

The play debuted at Drury Lane on 16 September 1897, the first produced by new managing director Arthur Collins. Typical of Drury Lane shows of the period, the elaborate production ran for four hours, and included scenes set at the Stock Exchange, Battersea Park, Boulter's Lock, and the Devonshire House Ball of 1897.[1] [2] [3] [4] It had an initial run of 91 performances until 15 December 1897 and returned for 43 more performances from 12 May to 25 June 1898.[5] The Princess's Theatre revived the play in 1899 with Eily Malyon in the cast for 31 performances.[6]

Upon its debut in London, Charles Frohman's London representative William Lestocq immediately acquired the American rights.[7] The play had a successful 184-performance New York run at the Academy of Music from 22 November 1897 to 30 April 1898.[8] [9] [10] [11]

The play had its Broadway debut at the Academy of Music on November 22, 1897. It ran at that theatre for 187 performances; closing on April 30, 1898.[12] The production was directed by Joseph Humphreys and used sets by the painter Ernest Albert.[12]

It was adapted into a silent film of the same name in 1919.

Original London cast

The primary cast included Mrs. John Wood, Henry Neville, Beatrice Lamb, Patti Browne, Kate Rorke, Dawson Milward, and Robert Loraine.[2]

Original New York cast

External links

Notes and References

  1. Liggera, Lanayre D. The Life of Robert Loraine: The Stage, the Sky, and George Bernard Shaw, pp. 19-20 (2013)
  2. (2 October 1897). The New Drama at Old Drury (review), Punch, pp. 155-56
  3. (19 September 1897). Review of London show, New York Tribune, p. 2, col. 1
  4. (27 April 1898). The Secrets of Stage Mechanism, The Sketch, p. 38 (photographs of stage machinery)
  5. Wearing, J.P. The London Stage 1890-1899: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2013), p. 355 (1897 debut production), p. 379 (1898 Drury Lane production), p. 404 (1899 Princess's production)
  6. Nissen, Axel. Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood, p. 122 (2016)
  7. (3 November 1897). A Chat With Mr. W. Lestocq, The Sketch, p. 82 (paywalled at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
  8. https://books.google.com/books?id=9usvAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA188 At Gotham's Playhouses
  9. (23 November 1897). In Melodrama and Farce (review), New York Sun, p. 7, col. 1
  10. Brown, T. Allston. A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 ..., Volume 2, p. 113 (1903)
  11. (30 April 1897). Advertisement, New York Tribune (rightmost column has theatre listings for April 30, 1897 and notes "last day" of the play)
  12. Book: The Best Plays of 1894-1899. 1955. Dodd, Mead & Co.. The White Heather. Garrison P. Sherwood, L. John Chapman. 216.
  13. (23 November 1897). A Fight Under the Sea (review), The New York Times
  14. https://books.google.com/books?id=AP4hAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA293 The Catalogue of the American Play Co., with Original Casts, Volume 2

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