FOREIGN DRAMA ON ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STAGE 69 



The year 1882 marks the first appearance as a dramatic author of 

 Ernst von Wildenbruch (1845-). He is one of the most prominent 

 living modern German dramatists, yet to us he is known by only one 

 play, Die Haubenlerche (1891), from which the late Clyde Fitch, a 

 few years ago, adapted The Bird in the Cage for Miss Annie Russell. 

 Though a strong modern play in good standing in Germany, it 

 seems to have made no lasting impression in this country. 



In 1889, an author came to the fore in Germany who has since domi- 

 nated the German stage. This was Herman Sudermann (1857-). 

 The only dramatist who may be said to share his reputation is Gerhart 

 Hauptmann (1862-). These two are the great names at the beginning 

 of the twentieth century. 



Of the dozen plays of Sudermann, four have been given in this coun- 

 try, Heimath (1893) under the title of Magda, John the Baptist 

 (1898), The Fires of St. John (1900) and Es lebe das Leben (1902) 

 under the title of The Joy of Living. Of these plays only Magda 

 seems to have maintained itself in the public interest. Madame 

 Modjeska was the first to produce it, when it was still a novelty in Ger- 

 many. Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Miss Nance O'Neil have since 

 appeared as the heroine. The role has been acted in French by Madame 

 Sarah Bernhardt and in Italian by Madame Eleanora Duse. With 

 this play Sudermann may be said to have achieved international fame. 

 John the Baptist (1898) was produced by Mr. E. H. Sothern and 

 Miss Julia Marlowe. The interest in the play was enhanced by the 

 furore caused about the same time by the production of Richard Strauss's 

 opera Salome. 



The Fires of St. John (1900) was for a time in the repertory of 

 Miss Nance O'Neil. 



The Joy of Living {Es lebe das Leben, 1902) was the chief offering 

 of Mrs. Patrick Campbell on one of her late tours. 



Of the plays of Gerhart Hauptmann, only two interest us from our 

 present point of view, Hannele (1894), produced about fifteen years 

 ago by Madame Modjeska and possibly to be revived soon by Miss 

 Maude Adams, and The Sunken Bell (1896), produced about ten years 

 ago by Mr. E. H. Sothern, and revived later by him in conjunction with 



