Introduction In this eleventh book in my Maude Adams series I am including not only the original play, but even the original souvenir program, along with reviews of the play, a few related articles about the play, and a few ads. Any comments I add will be set off by [ ]. From what I've read this seems to have been one of her most successful plays, the critic's reviews being overwhelmingly positive. All items in this book are taken from original source materials before 1923. This is the cast listing I was able to find. It probably varied from time to time, though, since some of the actors might have to miss a perfomance. This particular cast list relates to the performance given in Toledo on October 11, 1901.
Valentine Brown....Sydney Brough Reviews of the Play The following does not include every single review that I found, but constitutes a good representation of the various reviews. They were overwhelmingly positive, even including the ones not specifically listed here. I only found one review which was quite negative about both the play itself and Miss Adams' acting. New York Times, Jan. 14, 1900. In her portrayal of this elfin heroine of Barrie the most striking artistic trait is her absolute simplicity of utterance. She speaks every work of her share of the text as if it was the expression of a thought which has just arisen to the surface of her mind. This ought not to be an uncommon trait on the stage, but it is really so rare in its most perfect state. New York Times, Oct. 12, 1901. MAUDE ADAMS'S NEW PLAY. 'Quality Street' Scores a Great Success at Toledo, Ohio. Maude Adams scored a great success here to-night when 'Quality Street' was received by a critical audience most enthusiastically. Miss Adams was called again and again before the curtain. The entier house was sold out long before the performance began. The play is cast in Napoleonic times. two sisters, Phoebe Throessel (Miss Adam) and Susan Throessel, live in 'Quality Street,' in a little English town. Phoebe falls in love with a young doctor named Brown who does not return her affection. He goes away to the war and poverty overtakes the sisters. Nine years later he returns to find the two much aged. He treats them coldly. Phoebe becomes desperate and one evening, in an old wedding gown, goes to a ball and dances like the girl of old, but passes as Miss Libby, a niece of the sisters. Dr. now Capt. Brown falls in love with her, but soon discovers the deception. it all ends well, and the couple are married. New York Sun, Nov. 11, 1901. It is an exquisite bit played with infinite grace and a pathos which there was no gainsaying. In all her career Miss Adams has never touched so deep a note.
Evening Post, Nov. 12, 1901. The house was crowded to the doors by a notably fine audience, and upon her first entrance she received a welcome of the warmest description. The applause was renewed at every opportunity, and was especially vehement and prolonged at the end of each act, compelling her to come many times before the curtain to make her acknowledgments. Tribune, Nov. 12, 1901: Miss Adams as Phoebe Throssell is one more her seemingly ingenuous self, no longer burdened with the strain of emotions that she does not feel and cannot express, but an innocent and lovely girl, artless, buoyant, piquant, brisk, sometimes demure, sometimes mischievous, now pensive in repose, now tantalizing in pretty coquetry, now impulsive with pouting resentment, now sweetly wayward and pert, and now arch and reckless in the perversity of a rebellious heart. The World Nov. 12, 1901: Miss Adams' acting is altogether refreshing and delightful. It is the personification of girlish grace abounding in a thousand artless little touches which no one knows as well as she how to give to heroines of the stage. There is hardly a touch of passion in it, but it ripples with pretty sentiment and whimsical humor. The little picture of hopeless disappointment, which she gives at the parting of the first act is inimitable. The New York Times, Nov. 12, 1901. 'Quality Street' Applauded. Mr. Barrie's Story of Love in the Days of Napoleon Delights a Large and Brilliant Audience. Miss Maude Adams appeared last night at the Knickerbocker Theater in a new four-act play by J. M. Barrie, entitled 'Quality Street.' It is no news to those acquainted with the movement of theatrical incidents in this city that Miss Adams has a large following of devoted admirers who are sure to like her, no matter whether she essays to be sweet and womanly in some tender role suited to her methods, or to be tragic as Shakespeare's Juliet. That she deserves the favor of the public is generally conceded. She has worked hard in a profession which is not an easy one, though misguided young women from the country do come to the city every Fall to be Mr. Frohman's leading ladies and wonder why they cannot be. Long training in the technique of the stage, in its routine, its traditions, and its well-tried devices has been the lot of Miss Adams, and she is to-day equipped with a large and flexible range of expression,which is bounded only by her physical powers. This is indeed a strongly marked limitation, and when the actress undertakes to overstep it she meets with disaster. In 'Quality Street' there is not a moment when Miss Adams is required to undertake anything that does not lie within the scope of her powers. The result is delightful to the audiences, and last night it was welcomed with hearty applause. There was the note of real enthusiasm in the sounds of approbation with which the house rang at the close of the second act, while at the end of the third, the youthful-looking actress was recalled again and again till finally the force of habit was too strong for some demonstrative persons in the rear of the auditorium, and they cried for a speech. The spectacle of a woman making a speech before the curtain is always one with fills an old theatergoer with dismay, but Miss Adams has sufficient tact to make her speech as informal as possible. She appeared on the stage, with the curtain raised, and said: 'I cannot thank you ; you are too good to me.' It was enough, and it stilled the wild desires of the seekers for extemporaneous oratory from people whose business it is to declaim other people's lines. The story of 'Quality Street' is simple, not ingenious, and by no means shop-worn. In the first act we are made acquainted with a circle of society in a small English town in the early days of the Napoleonic wars. Two maiden sisters, Susan and Phoebe Throssell, are introduced to us. One of them is much younger than the other, and this younger one is enamored of a fine young gentleman who, she thinks, is on the verge of a proposal to her. He is coming that very day, and she confides to her sister that he must be coming to make the formal offer. At the same time we learn that these two sweet sisters have invested their capital at the advice of this gentleman and lost their income. But the younger sister comforts the older with the assurance that the gentleman is rich and will take care of her. But when the man comes, his mission is only to announce that he has enlisted and is about to go off to the wars. And off he goes, leaving the poor girl crushed. He stays away nine years. In that time the two sisters support themselves by starting a school in their little home, and they soon show us in the second act that they are ill-fitted for this heart-breaking occupation. The younger one in a fit of rebellion against the putting aside of her youth and all that goes wit hit attires herself as she was wont to do in her younger days and appears to be as young as she used to be. In this guise the returned Brown, not a Captain, sees her, and she in her confusion declares that she is the daughter of a brother or, in a word, her own niece. The returned brown seeing the wondrous resemblance to his former sweetheart, becomes temporarily infatuated with Miss Libby, as she calls herself, and takes her to a ball. The delights of the ball are too much for Phoebe, yearning for her lost youth, and she keeps up the impersonation of Miss Libby, going again and again to dances and having all the officers at her feet. But at home she continues to be Miss Phoebe and to receive Capt. brown. Result, the Captain discovers that he has always loved Phoebe, and does not care for Miss Libby. At one of the balls he tells all this to the pretended Miss Libby, who literally goes out of her head with joy at the news. It was in this simulation of irrational joy at the close of the third act that Miss Adams had her greatest point of success with last night's audience, and it certainly was a most exuberant and touching piece of acting. In the final act of the comedy Brown learns the truth, and helps Phoebe and Susan to get rid of “Libby,' who, because of the watchfulness of gossipy neighbors, has threatened to become a fixture in the house. The last act of the play seems unnecessarily long. It might possible be shortened with benefit to the general effect. There was no doubt of the pleasures of the audience in the performance. There were plenty of opportunities for laughter, and of these the auditors took every advantage. And there were many pretty moments of gentle pathos, and to these was paid the tribute of sympathy and warm applause. Of Miss Adams' personal success perhaps enough has already been said. Those who are familiar with her abilities and her style of acting will readily perceive where-in she found in the role of Phoebe abundant scope for the exercise of her art. She acted with much abandon and with a fine simulation of sincerity. Dramatic Mirror, Nov. 16, 1901: By the magnetism and a charm that is so richly hers, she made Phoebe Throssell one of her most winsome portrayals. No great demand was made upon her art. She had but to be herself, as the stage has always known her, girlish, natural, buoyant, and sincere, and all these she was. She made a fetching picture in the garb of long ago, and though she has not another Lady Babbie to play, one could not but rejoice to see her in her element again. The Critic, Dec. 1901.[As Libby] she exhibits all that effervescent spirit of archness, gayety, and coquettishness, all the sparkling variety of girlish mood, that have so often delighted her admirers. The chances for acting of the higher sort are few, but she marks the contrast between the worn and saddened woman and the volatile girl, intoxicated with her new freedom, with considerable still, the demureness of the one being an admirable foil to the buoyant, mischievous animation of the other. The Bookman, February 1902: Miss Adams does some lovely acting, so good, indeed, that it much increased my belief that in auspicious circumstances she might take an artistic position that would be proof against the years. New York Times, Jan. 7, 1908: MAUDE ADAMS GROWS UP; Drops Role of 'Peter Pan' for the Revival of 'Quality Street'. Maude Adams grew up last night at the Empire Theater. In other words, having given her final performance of 'Peter Pan,' Miss Adams inaugurated the revival of Barrie's delightful play, 'Quality Street,' which will be given for seven performances. Mr. Barrie's name appeared on the programme last night as 'the author of 'Peter Pan.' Though he may be remembered the longer for the novelty and fantasy of the later production, the big audience at the Empire last night showed keen appreciation of the older piece, with Maude Adams as Phoebe. As I noted previously, the vast majority of the reviews were quite positive. One wasn't, though, and thats that following one: Life, Nov. 21, 1901: The Result of Misguided Ambition. How attractive Maude Adams was as the school girl in 'A Midnight Bell' when she first gained the attention and liking of New York audiences. How well she realized the anticipations and prophecies of her then admirers when she gave them the girlish witcheries of Lady Babbie. And how far-under bad advice- she strayed from her real destiny when she was persuaded to attempt Juliet and Reichstadt. It was not to be expected that Maude Adams should always play only girlish parts. But her limitations were well defined and the requirements of the heavy work she has been compelled to work beyond what Nature equipped her for has been a wrecking strain on her physical powers. She was essentially dainty, not heroic, and her daintiness has suffered in the attempt to be something she was never intended to be. Her voice has become raucous and her manner strenuous. The witchery, tenderness and pathos which were at her fingers' tips have lost their fineness. It is a though the worker in fine metals had been put to blacksmithing, whereby his muscles grew big and strong at the cost of his delivery of touch, the final result being the spoiling of an artisan without making a very good mechanic. These thoughts are suggested by Maude Adam's attempt to return to her earlier manner in the part of Miss Phoebe Throssell in Mr. J. M. Barrie's 'Quality Street.' The play is pretty in tone, but colorless and inhuman so far as its probabilities go. Human nature, even in English villages and in the time of Napoleon, was not so different from what it is and has been in other places and before and since the early years of the nineteenth century. The two sisters as drawn by Mr. Barrie are true enough depictions in a few ways, but his men are the most unmanlike creatures possible to imagine. The Phoebe assigned to Maude Adams is only faintly a real woman, and in attempting to make Mr. Barrie's grotesqueries real the actress has not only her own difficulties to overcome but is sadly handicapped by the author. He may have meant to create another Babbie, but instead has made an impossibility. In attempting to achieve the impossible Maude Adams has ample chance to show that the archness and playfulness which endeared Babbie to so many audiences have lost their fine edge. 'Quality Street' is not an especially interesting play. Maude Adams gains no new laurels from her appearance in it. Her Curtain Call Speech This is form the New York Times of November 12, 1901.
The spectacle of a woman making a speech before the curtain is always one which fills an old theatre-goer with dismay, but Miss Adams had sufficient tact to make her speech as informal as possible. She appeared on the stage, with the curtain raised, and said, 'I cannot thank you; you are too good to me.' It was enough, and it stilled the wild desires of the seekers for extemporaneous oratory from people whose business declaim other people's lines. [I can't quite figure out the first part of the first sentence. Was their something wrong with women making a curtain call speech? Is this possibly a bit of sexism in the critic's review? What she said is very similar to the other references I have seen of her making 'speeches' during the curtain calls. She never, ever, seemed to talk very long at all, almost always saying just a few words or, at most, a couple of sentences. This was probably part of her overall avoidance of people outside the profession as is noted in Chapter 3 of my first book in this series. She would have driven today's tabloid writers nuts trying to find something negative to write about her.] Maude Adam's Rehearsals This article is from the September 12, 1901 issue of the New York Times. Charles Frohman Will Personally Direct Her Two New Plays and Her Tour Miss Maude Adams returns to the city today from the mountains and will meet the members of her company on the stage of the Knickerbocker Theater. Rehearsals of her new plays begin at once. Miss Adams will appear this season in 'Quality Street,' a comedy by J.M. Barrie, and in 'As You Like it.' In the latter production she will play the part of Rosalind for the first time. Charles Frohman will direct all of the rehearsals and travel with the company until Miss Adams appears in this city at the Knickerbocker theater on Nov. 11. Miss Adams' season opens in Toledo on Oct. 11. She is booked to appear in Detroit the week of Oct. 14, and in Baltimore the week of Oct. 21. Her company will number sixty persons. [I think this short article gives a person an idea of just how many people were involved in an actual play. Quality Street was not a play full of large numbers of parts, but still there were around sixty people involved in its production. By the way, I do make some slight changes in some of the spelling in the articles. For example, in some I will see Adams's, with two s's, and at other times Adams', with just the one s. I go with the latter, more modern form of writing.] An Interesting Story [The following rather cute story is from the New York Times of April 13, 1902.] When Maude Adams played Quality Street in Scranton, Penn. , just before the production of the piece in New York, a modestly attired gentleman who occupied an end seat well back near the door was approached by an usher, who handed him a telegram during one of the daintiest scenes of the play, while Phoebe of the Ringlets and her sister were discussing their trouble. the gentleman got up as quietly as he could and left the theater, but not without arousing the ire of a lady who at just behind him. The lady scowled her displeasure and, fanning herself vigorously, said to her escort in an irritated undertone: 'I wish people would stay away altogether from performances they cannot appreciate. That man probably never saw a decent play before in all his life. I could almost cry to think he is so heartless as to have no appreciation of that beautiful scene.' Her escort, who had been posted by the usher on the way in, smiled and said: 'I wouldn't feel so badly about it if I were you.' 'And why not, pray?' 'Because that's Miss Adams' manager, Charles Frohman of New York.' The President of the United States Attends The Play The Washington Times, March 9, 1902: With Mrs. Roosevelt and Box Party witnesses Quality Street. President and Mrs. Roosevelt and a party which included the Secretary of War and Mrs. Root (?) and Mrs. Lodge, Miss Carow, Miss Ethel and Mister Kersall (?) Roosevelt, occupied two lower boxes at the National Theater last night. The theater was crowded with a representative Washington audience to witness the last performance of Quality Street by Miss Maude Adams and her company. Official and social circles were out in force. At the close of the play the President personally complimented Miss Adams upon her performance. [This refers to President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, not Franklin D. Roosevelt, of course. Teddy Roosevelt, by the way, was involved in trying to deal with anti-Japanese sentiment in California in the years before WWII. This related to a ruling of the San Francisco school board that all persons of Asian origin were to be segregated from white students and put into their own school. This caused an international uproar, with Teddy Roosevelt telling San Francisco that this segregation would not be allowed.] Ads for the Play The following are a couple of very typical ads for the play from newspapers of the time. Individual theaters would have their own small programs, and this is a typical example. Note the ad for the souvenir book which, at the time, cost only a quarter. The Official Souvenir Book I was lucky enough to be able to obtain a copy of the Quality Street souvenir book. Such items seem to have been very well done. This one, at least, had been put together with string, and consisted of a lot of pictures of Maude Adams in the play. Pictures ranged from moderate-sized ones all the way up to full-page photographs of her. Where can you find something like this? I would suggest ebay; I have found quite a few Maude Adams items there. Also Abe books online, and Albris books online. Still, it's rather rare when I see this particular book up for sale. Note; the actually booklet is a crème color. In order for it to show up fairly well on the Kindle, I scanned the booklet using the black-and-white setting instead of the color setting.
The Cast
Reviews of the Play
Her Curtain Call speech
Her rehearsals
An Interesting Story
The President of the United States Attends The Play
Ads for the Play
A Small Program Book
The Official Souvenir Booklet
The Actual Book of the Play
Introduction
Ensign Blades...William Lewers
Major Link Water...R. Peyton Carter
Lieutanent Spicer...George Erving
Major Bubb... Frederick Spencer
A Recruiting Sergeant...Joseph Francoeur
Master Arthur Wellesley Tomson... Fred Santley
Miss Susan Throssell...Helen Lowell
Miss Phoebe Throssell...Maude Adams
Miss Willoughby...Ida Waterman
Miss Fanny Willoughby...Sarah Converse
Miss Henrietta Turnbull...Sara Perry
Patty...Marion Abbott
