Monday, January 29, 2007

Maude Adams 1872-1953....A great actress...The first Peter Pan

An original playbill from a performance of Peter Pan in 1907Maude Adams in a photo from that program







This is a short introduction to Maude Adams. I will go into much more detail in a later posting.
She was known for her beauty, charm and theatrical gifts.

She was promoted by Charles Frohman who saw the great appeal she had. She toured the country in many plays.She was a major star..and was loved by so many.

She was very popular...Many a man swooned as she performed...

Charles Frohman was killed on the Lusitania in May of 1915...Oddly his last words were from Peter Pan..Basically saying that death is the greatest adventure of life. She retired after his death and never really performed again.

She worked with General Electric for a while in designing better theatrical lighting systems.
Later, she headed the drama department at Stephens College in Missouri from 1937 to 1943, becoming well known as an inspiring teacher in the arts of acting.

She died, aged 80, at her summer home, Caddam Hill, in Tannersville, New York and is interred in the cemetery of Cenacle Convent, Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.

The character of Elise McKenna in Richard Matheson's 1975 novel Bid Time Return and its 1980 film adaptation "Somewhere in Time", in which the character was played by Jane Seymour, was based upon her.



Appearances on Broadway
Lord Chumley - 1888
A Midnight Belle - 1889
Men and Women - 1890
The Masked Ball - 1892
The Butterflies - 1894
The Imprudent Young Couple - 1895
Christopher, Jr. - 1895
Rosemary - 1896
The Little Minister - 1897
L'Aiglon - 1900
Quality Street - 1901
The Pretty Sister of Jose - 1903
The Little Minister - 1904
'Op o' Me Thumb - 1905
Peter Pan – 1905, 1906, 1912, 1915
Quality Street - 1908
The Jesters - 1908
The-Merry-Go-Round - 1908
What Every Woman Knows - 1908
Chantecler - 1911
The Little Minister - 1916
A Kiss for Cinderella - 1916

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