The Girl of the Golden West (play)

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Poster for the 1907 run of The Girl of the Golden West The Girl of the Golden West 1907 poster.jpg
Poster for the 1907 run of The Girl of the Golden West

The Girl of the Golden West is a theatrical play written, produced and directed by David Belasco, set in the California Gold Rush. The four-act melodrama opened at the old Belasco Theatre in New York on November 14, 1905 and ran for 224 performances. Blanche Bates originated the role of The Girl, Robert C. Hilliard played Dick Johnson, and Frank Keenan played Jack Rance. Bates was joined by Charles Millward and Cuyler Hastings for two-week Broadway runs in 1907 and 1908. [1] William Furst composed the play's incidental music. The play toured throughout the US for several years. [2]

Contents

The play has been adapted numerous times, most notably as the 1910 opera La fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini. It was also made into four films, all titled The Girl of the Golden West, in 1915, 1923, 1930 and 1938. [3] In 1911, Belasco wrote a novel based on the play.

Characters

Blanche Bates in the original Broadway production of The Girl of the Golden West (1905) The-Girl-of-the-Golden-West-1905.jpg
Blanche Bates in the original Broadway production of The Girl of the Golden West (1905)
Blanche Bates and Frank Keenan in the original Broadway production of The Girl of the Golden West (1905) The theatre through its stage door (1919) (14578174940).jpg
Blanche Bates and Frank Keenan in the original Broadway production of The Girl of the Golden West (1905)
Blanche Bates in The Girl of the Golden West (1905) Bates-Girl-of-the-Golden-West.jpg
Blanche Bates in The Girl of the Golden West (1905)

Footnotes

  1. Mantle and Sherwood, The Best Plays of 1899-1909, p. 500-501.
  2. Theatrical program folder, NYPLPA
  3. American Film Institute, Feature Films: 1911-1920, p. 328; Feature Films: 1921-1930, p.293; Feature Films: 1931-1940, p. 768.

Bibliography


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