The Garden of Allah (play)

The Garden of Allah is a play written by Robert Hichens and Mary Anderson.[1] It was based on Hichens 1904 novel of the same name. It consists of four acts and an epilogue, with a medium-sized speaking cast and slow pacing.[2] The play is concerned with the romance between a wealthy young Englishwoman and a half-Russian, half-English man of mysterious background. The settings are various locales in French Algeria and French Tunis around 1900, particularly the oasis town of Beni-Mora, a fictional name for Biskra. The title stems from an Arabic saying that the desert is the Garden of Allah.

The Garden of Allah
Photo from Act II showing the garden of Count Anteoni as he welcomes the Sand Diviner
Photo from Act II
Written byRobert Hichens and Mary Anderson
Directed byHugh Ford
Date premieredOctober 21, 1911 (1911-10-21)
Place premieredCentury Theatre,
New York City
Original languageEnglish
SubjectConflict between spiritual conscience and romantic feelings
GenreDrama
SettingFrench Algeria and French Tunis around 1900

The play was a commercial success,[3] famed for its spectacle, with large numbers of authentic Algerian people, live animals, and complex set designs and effects.[4] However, it was not a dramatic success; several reviewers expressed surprise that a book with so much dramatic potential was winnowed down to a few disjointed scenes.[4][2][5] Despite the lack of drama, over 375,000 people saw it during the Broadway run (Oct 1911-May 1912), more than any single play to that date.[6]

Characters

Leads

  • Domini Enfilden — Wealthy Englishwoman, a devout Catholic, thirty-two years old and never married.
  • Boris Androvsky — Son of a Russian father and English mother, entered Trappist monastery at age 17, but ran away after twenty years devotion.
  • Count Anteoni — Italian nobleman, who owns the garden in Beni-Mora.

Supporting

  • Father Roubier — Parish priest of Beni-Mora, sympathetic to Domini but wary of Boris.
  • Captain De Trevignac — French officer, guest of Count Anteoni.
  • Batouch — Arab poet, who acts as Domini's guide and general factotum throughout the play.
  • Hadj — Batouch's cousin, also a guide, hired by Boris.
  • Suzanne — Domini's maid, played for comedy.
  • The Sand Diviner — An Arab seer, who foresees Domini's future in the sands he wears in a bag around his waist.

Featured

  • Ouardi — An Arab servant of Domini.
  • Sheik — The Arab camel rider in the first scene of the play who answers the call to prayer.
  • Mueddin — The muezzin whose call to prayer the Sheik answers in the first scene.
  • Garcon — Waiter at the Hôtel du Désert
  • Larbi — Gardner to Count Anteoni, who spends most of his time playing a love melody on a flute.
  • Irena — Ouled Naïl dancer in Beni-Mora.
  • Selima — Ouled Naïl dancer in Beni-Mora.
  • Tamouda — Ouled Naïl dancer in Beni-Mora.

Synopsis

Several of the play's nine scenes had no spoken lines as such, but were moving tableaux of life in the desert and the oasis town of Beni-Mora. The play was never published; sources for the synopsis are newspaper reviews.[4][2][5][7][8][9][10]

Act Scene Setting Action
I 1 "The Spirit of the Desert" A tableau of desert scenery, sand dunes lying under a rising morning sun. A caravan of camels, donkeys, goats, men, women, and children cross a little rise, then exit. They are followed by the Sheik on a camel. The Mueddin gives the call to prayer; the camel kneels down, the Sheik dismounts and crouches to pray.
2 The veranda of the Hôtel du Désert Some Zouaves from the garrison are squabbling in the background, while Domini and Suzanne discuss the rudeness of the stranger at the train station. Domini meets Count Anteoni, who extends an invitation to his garden. Boris appears, and apologizes for his earlier rudeness at the train station. Batouch and Hadj compete for the custom of Domini and Boris.
3 The exterior of the dance hall A tableau of a street scene filled with walk-on parts representing a broad panolpy of ethnic groups, occupations, and entertainers.
4 The interior of the dance hall The dancers tempt Boris; the husband of one dancer stabs a spectator, causing a panic, during which Boris rescues Domini.
II 1 The garden of Count Anteoni[fn 1] Domini meets Count Anteoni and Captain De Trevignac. Father Roubier is also there, when the Sand Deviner reads the sands for Domini. Both the Father and the Count evidence dislike for Boris. Later, hearing Larbi's love melody, Boris is moved to declare his love for Domini and they are engaged to one another.
III 1 Sandstorm at night in the desert The couple, now married, are sheltering in their tent. As the storm dies, Boris leaves Domini to hunt gazelle. Count Anteoni and Father Roubier arrive seeking shelter from Domini. Boris returns; Father Roubier takes his leave, with Domini going out with him to say farewell. The Count discovers Boris is Father Antoine, a runaway Trappist monk. Boris draws a revolver and threatens to shoot the Count, but puts it away when Domini returns to the tent. She senses the tense situation between the two men. The Count then also takes his leave.
2 Outside the tent in the desert Boris makes a long confession speech to Domini, revealing his past and why he fled from the monastery. He concludes with his love for her, but she understands that he is still a monk inside.
IV 1 El-Largani Monastery Domini says farewell to Boris, who re-enters the monastery to complete his vows.
Epilogue 1 The garden of Count Anteoni Another tableau, some five years later, where Domini sits quietly listening to Larbi's melody while her son Boris plays nearby.

Original production

Background

Four months after the original novel's publication in October 1904,[11] newspapers reported the stage rights for both the US and UK had been secured by David Belasco.[12] However, the reports were premature; Hichens was initially opposed to seeing this work on the stage.[13] By June 1910 he had reconsidered and was reportedly working on a dramatization.[13] This was done with "an anonymous collaborator" and finished by January 1911.[14]

The collaborator was the long-retired actress Mary Anderson, who convinced Hichens to allow George C. Tyler to buy the dramatic rights for Liebler & Company.[fn 2][15] Liebler & Company leased the New Theater building on Central Park West in March 1911, in order to stage large-scale productions, the first of which would be The Garden of Allah.[16] The lease agreement included a provision for renaming the theater, as the owners wanted to reuse the "New Theater" name.[16] Tyler selected "Century Theatre" as the new name.[17]

Tyler, with stage director Hugh Ford and set designer Edward A. Morange, met Hichens in Biskra, Algeria during April 1911.[18] They visited the real locales that inspired Hichens, collected material for use in the production,[17] and recruited inhabitants of the area as performers.[19] Liebler & Company stage craftsmen began modifications to the Century theater for handling large productions, which included a massive revolving stage on which two different settings could be placed.[20]

Tryouts and revisions

There were no out-of-town tryouts, as the production was too complex for easy transportation and required a very large stage area. Instead, the producer Tyler mounted six dress rehearsals/previews at the Century Theatre prior to the premiere.[3] The only documented revision to the production was the decision to raise the curtain earlier, at 8:00 pm, since with set changes the play took over four hours to perform.[21] Within a few weeks after the premiere, the stage crew was able to reduce set change times by forty minutes.[22] The only music heard during the play came from the Arab performers on stage.[23]

Cast

The complete cast for the play numbered 255, of which 55 were of Arabic or Berber ethnic origin.[24] Many of the remainder were colonial French. They provided atmosphere and handled the menagerie of animals: camels, horses, goats, and donkeys, which were housed in the large basement of the Century Theatre.[24] The named characters below were the only credited performers.

Cast during the original Broadway run
Role Actor Dates Notes
Domini Enfilden Mary Mannering Oct 21, 1911 - Mar 16, 1912 Supposedly left the play at the request of her husband.[fn 3][9][25]
Minna Gale Mar 18, 1912 - May 18, 1912 [26]
Boris Androvsky Lewis Waller Oct 21, 1911 - Mar 02, 1912 Waller left the role to produce and star in revival of Monsieur Beaucaire.[9]
Lee Baker Mar 04, 1912 - Apr 15, 1912 The producers gave Baker no publicity when he took over the role.[27]
Ian Maclaren Apr 16, 1912 - Apr 20, 1912 Maclaren replaced Baker for five days due to latter's illness.[27]
Lee Baker Apr 22, 1912 - May 18, 1912 [27]
Count Anteoni Eben Plympton Oct 21, 1911 - Jan 22, 1912 Plympton left the play due to illness.[9][28]
Edward Mawson Jan 23, 1912 - May 18, 1912 [28]
Father Roubier Arthur Lewis Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 Though he praised Lewis, The New York Times critic said the role was only "incidental".[10]
Captain De Trevignac Edwin Brandt Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 Though he played a French officer, Brandt was from Germany.[9][29]
Suzanne Mrs. Alexander Salvini Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 She was Maud Dixon, widow of Italian-American actor Alexander Salvini (1861-1896).[9][30]
Batouch José Ruben Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 The French-born Ruben was playing his first English-language role.[9]
Hadj Roy Merrill Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]
The Sand Deviner Charles Hayne Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]
Ouardi Franklyn Hurleigh Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]
Larbi Dikyan Seropyan Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 The flute-playing Seropyan was actually from Turkey.[9][29]
Sheik Keill Ayobb Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]
Mueddin Salum Ayobb Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]
Garcon Alphonse Fabre Oct 21, 1911 - Dec 22, 1911 Fabre left the play to return to France; his replacement is unknown.[9][31]
Unknown Dec 23, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [31]
Irena Faddma Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 The character was Kabyle in the book, but Faddma was an Arab from Biskra.[9][29]
Tamouda Asmasa Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]
Selima Forcin Oct 21, 1911 - May 18, 1912 [9]

Premiere

The public premiere of the production occurred at the Century Theatre with a Saturday matinee on October 21, 1911.[9] Every seat was filled, many with socially prominent people, and speculators were openly selling their tickets despite a recent New York law prohibiting re-sales.[9] Hundreds of people waited outside in the rain, hoping to get tickets.[10] The performance ran from shortly after 2pm to well after 6pm.[9] There were long waits for scene changes, with the curtains remaining down,[10] and quite a few people left early. The crowd was disappointed that neither author appeared on stage to take a bow (both Hitchens and Anderson were backstage) but were gratified that Lewis Waller spoke in their place.[7]

When the first act desert tableau had successfully finished, producer Tyler went backstage and handed out $1000 cash to the crew chiefs for divving up among the carpenters, electricians, and propertymen, an unprecedented act in the theatre.[3]

Reception

Reviewers were almost unanimous in labelling The Garden of Allah as a picture play or spectacle rather than a true drama.[8][5] They were full of praise for the settings, effects, and direction of the tableaux scenes, and the much heralded sandstorm in Act III.[5] There was also consensus in regarding Lewis Waller as having played the Boris Androvsky role moderately well, while expressing some disappointment with Mary Mannering as Domini Enfilden.[7][4][8][5] Some critics mentioned Ebon Plympton forgetting his lines as Count Anteoni.[8][10] Opinions on the other performers varied, with only the young unknown José Ruben drawing praise from multiple critics as the poetic guide Batouch.[10][9][8][7]

Closing

The Broadway run ended on May 18, 1912, by which date the show had been seen by 375,000 people paying over $500,000.[6]

National tour

Transporting the production required the lease of a special train.[32] When it left Lehigh Station in Jersey City on August 23, 1912, it carried a message in electric lights along the length of the rail cars, spelling out "'The Garden of Allah' Special".[33]

Because the play required a very large stage, only six cities were deemed to have suitable venues. These were the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, the Cincinnati Music Hall, the Hippodrome Theater (Cleveland, Ohio), the Nixon Theater in Pittsburgh, the original Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, and the Boston Theatre.[34] However, as the tour wound down from March thru May 1913, the stage crew was able to adjust to some smaller venues.

The Liebler Company's tour kicked off in Chicago on August 31, 1912, at the Auditorium. For the tour, a new scene was inserted between scenes 1 and 2 of Act I; it showed the road from the El-Largani monastery, with Boris Androvsky as Father Antoine speaking to his brother, Dr. Peter Androvsky (this was a new character).[35] Certain credited parts from the original run (the Sheik, Mueddin, Garcon) were now uncredited.[36] There was no specific announcement of these changes; they simply popped up in reviews of the tour and the program guide.

Cast
Cast during the tour from August 31, 1912, to May 10, 1913
Role Actor Dates Notes
Domini Enfilden Dorothy Donnelly Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Boris Androvsky Lawson Butt Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Count Anteoni Arthur Forrest Aug 31, 1912 - Jan 11, 1913 Forrest decided to retire after the tour played Philadelphia.[36]
Charles A. Stevenson Jan 13, 1912 - May 10, 1913 This was likely the Irish-born actor (1851-1929).[37]
Dr. Peter Androvsky Sheridan Block Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 New character added for the tour, present only in one scene.[36]
Father Roubier Frank Kingdon Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Captain De Trevignac Edwin Brandt Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 Brandt was one of the few actors from the original run on the tour.[36]
Suzanne Florence Johns Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Batouch José Ruben Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 Ruben had also played this role during the original run.[36]
Hadj Harry C. Ford Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
The Sand Deviner J. D. Walsh Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Ouardi Franklyn Hurleigh Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 Hurleigh was also a holdover from the original tour.[29]
Larbi Dikyan Seropyan Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 Seropyan, the only Turk in the cast, had also been in the Broadway run.[29]
Irena Faddma Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Tamouda Asmasa Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]
Selima Forcin Aug 31, 1912 - May 10, 1913 [36]

Adaptions

Stage

A revival of the Hichens and Anderson stage treatment was performed at the Manhattan Opera House during February–March 1918.[38] This followed the touring company storyline, rather than the original Broadway version. It lasted for only 24 performances.

There was another, more successful revival of the Hichens and Anderson treatment, produced by Arthur Collins at the Drury Lane theatre in London, opening June 24, 1920.[39] This followed the original Broadway version rather than the touring company story, in that there was no scene at the El-Largani Monastery nor character of Dr. Androvsky in Act I.[39] But it also excised the epilogue and the opening tableux scene of Act I, launching directly into the Hôtel du Désert veranda scene.[39] It starred Godfrey Tearle, Madge Titheradge, and Basil Gill, with Arthur Lewis reprising his role from the Broadway run.

Film

Though several American films were made of The Garden of Allah, they all drew on the novel as the basis for their screenplays.

Notes
  1. The inspiration for this was an actual garden in Biskra, owned by a Frenchman, Count Landon.
  2. Founded in 1897, this was a syndicate of anonymous backers headed by T. A. Liebler, with Tyler as the managing producer. By 1911, it was one of the top theatrical production companies in the US.
  3. She was being sued by the Shubert organization for having broken her 1908 three-year contract with them.

References
  1. "Mary Anderson Has Another Play Idea". The New York Times. New York, New York. October 25, 1911. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Dale, Alan (October 22, 1911). "Garden of Allah Wonderful Picture Says Alan Dale". Buffalo Courier. Buffalo, New York. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ""Garden of Allah" A Great Success". Quad City Times. Davenport, Iowa. October 26, 1911. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Darnton, Charles (October 23, 1911). "The New Plays". The Evening World. New York, New York. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "The Garden of Allah". Brooklyn Life. Brooklyn, New York. October 28, 1911. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Plays and Players". The Buffalo Commercial. Buffalo, New York. May 18, 1912. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ""Garden of Allah" Is Staged". The Sun. New York, New York. October 22, 1911. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ""The Garden of Allah"". Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. October 25, 1911. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Lewis Waller Scores in "The Garden of Allah"". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. October 22, 1911. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Garden of Allah' Is a Picture Play". The New York Times. New York, New York. October 22, 1911. p. 15 – via NYTimes.com.
  11. "Books Received". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. October 13, 1904. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Plays and Players". The Buffalo Commercial. Buffalo, New York. February 25, 1905. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Writing in Italy for US". The New York Times. New York, New York. June 12, 1910. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Books and Authors". The New York Times. New York, New York. January 14, 1911. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Mary Anderson Writes a Play". The Sun. New York, New York. March 27, 1911. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Theater Topics". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. March 20, 1911. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Theater Topics". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 12, 1911. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "News of Plays and Players". The Sun. New York, New York. March 29, 1911. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Return from Desert". The New York Times. New York, New York. June 13, 1911. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Amusement Notes". The Standard Union. Brooklyn, New York. July 17, 1911. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Early Curtain on "Garden of Allah"". The New York Times. New York, New York. October 23, 1911. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Plays and Players". The Buffalo Commercial. Buffalo, New York. November 4, 1911. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. "Theaters Frame "One Man" Music". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. August 14, 1912. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "7 Cars for Company in 'Garden of Allah'". The Inter Ocean. Chicago, Illinois. August 18, 1912. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. "Husband Uses the Recall and Stage Loses Mary Mannering". The Buffalo Courier. Buffalo, New York. March 19, 1912. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Minna Gale in "The Garden of Allah"". The New York Times. New York, New York. March 18, 1912. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. "Theatrical Notes". The New York Times. New York, New York. April 18, 1912. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. "Plympton, Ill, Leaves 'Garden of Allah'". The New York Times. New York, New York. January 24, 1912. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ""Garden of Allah" Has Cosmopolitan Company". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November 24, 1912. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. "Plays and Players". The Saint Paul Globe. St. Paul, Minnesota. March 8, 1896. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. "Theatrical Notes". The New York Times. New York, New York. December 23, 1911. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. "News of the Theaters". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. August 18, 1912. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. "Manhattan Attractions". The Brooklyn Citizen. Brooklyn, New York. August 21, 1912. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. "Music and the Drama". The Inter Ocean. Chicago, Illinois. August 8, 1912. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. "The Garden of Allah a Spectacular Stage Drama". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. October 29, 1912. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. "Garden of Allah at the Forrest". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 10, 1912. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. "Robert Hichens' Desert". Boston Evening Transcript. Boston, Massachusetts. January 14, 1913. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ""Sick-a-bed" at Gaiety Theatre". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. February 24, 1918. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. "Drury Lane Theatre". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. June 25, 1920. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
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