Who's Who on
Collectors' Post
|
Biography
Maude Adams (1872-1953), the daughter of an actor, spent her early years in provincial theatres, sometimes appearing on plays when she was carried onstage in her mother’s arms. At the age of five, she starred in a San Francisco theatre as Little Schneider in Fritz, Our German Cousin. At the age of 16, she made her New York debut at the Star Theatre in The Paymaster. Impressed by her performance. E. H. Sothern cast her as Jessie Dean in Lord Chumley. The powerful producer, Charles Frohman, then took control of her career. He requested David Belasco and Henry C. de Mille to specially write the part of Dora Prescott for he in their new 1890 play Men and Women that Frohman was producing. He then paired her with John Drew in a series of plays beginning with The Masked Ball and ending with Rosemary in 1896.
Frohman had for some time been trying to persuade J. M. Barrie to dramatize his novel The Little Minister. Having seen Maude Adams in Rosemary, Barrie agreed. He had found his eternally youthful Lady Babbie. The play opened at the Empire Theatre in 1897 with Maude Adams playing her first adult starring role. Her performance received critical acclaim and established her as a box-office favourite. She played other parts, but it was her interpretation of roles in Barrie plays that made her one of the most beloved of American actores. She was the original American Phoebe in Barrie’s Quality Street (1901). On November 6, 1905, she first played the title part in his Peter Pan, the role for which she is most remembered. She also played Maggie in Barrie’s What Every Woman Knows (1908), and Miss Thing in his A Kiss for Cinderella (1916).
The previous year, her mentor and friend, Charles Frohman had died. They had worked together for some 25 tears. After his death, her relations with his production company soured, and in 1918, at the height of her fame, she announced her unexpected retirement. She was never again to appear on a New York stage.
Graceful, generous, and modest, she shunned the limelight. In the 1920s, she was lighting consultant for General Electric. In the 1931-2 season, she played on tour Portia in The Merchant of Venice. From 1937 to 1950, she taught theatre at Stephen’s College, Missouri.
| Items for Sale on Collectors' Post |
| Click for details |
| 012355 |
Theatre: Programs (USA) - pre 1940 | Plays & Players (Philadelphia) inc. Maude Adams |
|
