Reception
The New York Times, December 13, 1904, wrote:
"Evidence of a popular success were not wanting at the Manhattan Theatre last evening when for the first time was seen a new play by C. M. S. McLellan, hitherto known to New York playgoers as "Hugh Morton," author of several comic opera books, among which the most notable perhaps was that of The Belle of New York which endured a large measure of success, both here and in London. On this occasion Mr. McLellan has made an excursion into a more serious type of drama. But it is only fair to state that such appeal as the play made last night was in large part due to the exceptional brilliant acting of at least five of its chief protagonists. One or two of the minor roles might have been better played, but making due allowance for the usual conditions of nervous exaggeration incident to a first night, it may be said with conviction that the acting of George Arliss, John Mason, Charles Cartwright, William B. Mack and the star herself, provided an ensemble such as is rarely excelled." [7]
The Standard : (Source: The New York Times; May 3, 1905) [8]
"It is a piece far out of the common, and holds out the promise that in Mr. McLellan a new power has arisen."
Daily Chronicle : (Source:The New York Times, May 3, 1905) [9]
"There hitherto were seven wonders of the world. The eighth is added ... that the author of The Belle of New York should be also the author of Leah Kleschna, the strongest piece of sheer stagecraft we have known from any source for years."
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Minnie Maddern Fiske, but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century. She also spearheaded the fight against the Theatrical Syndicate for the sake of artistic freedom. She was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in several Henrik Ibsen plays helped introduced American audiences to the Norwegian playwright.
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Carlotta Nillson was a Swedish-born American actress who appeared in at least ten Broadway productions over the first decade of the twentieth century. She was probably best remembered for her portrayal of Rhys Macchesney in the play The Three of Us.
Charles Morton Stewart McLellan (1865–1916) was a London-based American playwright and composer who often wrote under the pseudonym Hugh Morton. McLellan is probably best remembered for the musical The Belle of New York and drama Leah Kleschna.
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The Moral Sinner is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and written by Willis Goldbeck, Josephine Quirk, and Rita Weiman, based on the 1904 play Leah Kleschna by C. M. S. McLellan. The film stars Dorothy Dalton, James Rennie, Alphonse Ethier, Frederick Lewis, Walter Percival, and Paul McAllister. The film was released on May 19, 1924, by Paramount Pictures.
Leah Kleschna is a lost 1913 American silent film directed by J. Searle Dawley and starring Carlotta Nillson, a Swedish stage actress. It was produced by Daniel Frohman and Adolph Zukor under the banner of his newly formed Famous Players Film Company. The film is based on a 1904 play Leah Kleschna by C. M. S. McLellan that starred Mrs. Fiske on Broadway.
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