Page:Representative American plays.pdf/899

882 -- in which her pity and sympathy finally turned to something deeper. The playwright has avoided the temptation to make "The Boss" a hero; he is a very human person, and the acting of Mr. Holbrook Blinn in the part was masterly. For these reasons the play was selected to represent Mr. Sheldon's work, since Salvation Nell was hardly available as a play for reading and study, and copyright considerations prevented the inclusion of Romance. Romance is so far his greatest play, and the remarkable acting of Miss Doris Keane as Madame Cavallini, the Italian opera singer whose love story is the theme of the drama, illustrated again the great strength of Mr. Sheldon, his ability as a practical playwright. Romance was produced at the Lyric Theatre, London, on September 30, 1915. Miss Keane gave 1128 performances of Romance in London and it has been played in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, British India, Egypt, Christiana, Stockholm, and the Swedish Provinces.

The Garden of Paradise is a dramatization of the story of The Little Mermaid, by Hans Andersen, with the love note dominant. While this is pure romance, it is, of all Mr. Sheldon's work, most distinctly a piece of literature, and he has shown his versatility in turning from the realistic study to the poetic interpretation of fairy life.

The Boss was first produced at the Garrick Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, January 9, 1911. It was played first in New York City at the Astor Theatre, January 30, 1911.

The Nigger (1910), Romance (1914), and The Garden of Paradise (1915) have been published by the Macmillan Company. The Boss is now printed for the first time from the manuscript especially prepared by Mr. Sheldon for this collection. The editor is indebted to the courtesy of the author for permission to print the play. For details concerning the play he has to thank Mr. Sheldon and his agent. Miss Alice Kauser.

For criticism of The Boss, see J. E. Metcalfe, in Life, Vol. 57, pp. 308-9,. February 9, 1911, and The Theatre, Vol. 13, pp. vi-viii, March, 1911.