Shore Acres (play)

Shore Acres
Poster
Poster for an 1898 production
Written byJames A. Herne
Date premieredMay 23, 1892 (1892-05-23)
Place premieredMcVicker's Theater, Chicago
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingA lighthouse in Maine

Shore Acres is four-act a play written by James A. Herne. The play debuted at McVicker's Theater in Chicago on May 23, 1892, initially under the title Shore Acres Subdivision.[1] Later in the Chicago run, it was retitled Uncle Nat. In February 1893, the play opened as Shore Acres at the Boston Museum, where it ran for several months. Following the play's success in Boston, Henry C. Miner staged it on Broadway, where it opened at the Fifth Avenue Theatre on October 30, 1893.[2]

Cast and characters

The characters and opening night cast from the Broadway production are given below:[3]

Opening night cast
Character Broadway cast
Nathan'l Berry (Uncle Nat) James A. Herne
Martin Berry Charles G. Craig
Joel Gates George W. Wilson
Josiah Blake Franklin Garland
Sam Warren David M. Murray
Captain Ben Hutchins Phineas Leach
Dr. Leonard James Barrows
Squire Andrews Alden Bass
Tim Hayes Carl Fey
Young Nat Berry Charles B. Hamlin
Ann Berry Grace Gayler Clark
Helen Berry Katharine Grey
Perley Lizzle Corner
Mandy Gates Florence Richards

Reception

The New York Times gave a positive review to the Broadway production, calling it "more than worth seeing".[3] Critic Alan Dale gave it a positive review in The Evening World.[4] The New-York Tribune reviewer disliked Herne's use of theatrical realism, saying the play was dull and filled with an "interminable mass of insipidities and platitudes".[5] The reviewer for The Sun thought parts of the play were boring, but overall it was "an excellent work".[6]

Adaptations

The play was adapted into a silent film, also titled Shore Acres, in 1914. A second film adaptation, again titled Shore Acres, was released in 1920.

References

  1. ^ "Amusements: McVicker's". The Daily Inter Ocean. May 24, 1892. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Herne, Julie A. (1928). "Biographical Note". Shore Acres and Other Plays. New York: Samuel French. pp. xxiv–xxv.
  3. ^ a b "Shore Acres Pleases Them". The New York Times. October 31, 1893. p. 2.
  4. ^ Dale, Alan (November 1, 1893). "Shore Acres". The Evening World. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "The Drama: Shore Acres". New-York Tribune. October 31, 1893. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Last Night's New Plays". The Sun. October 31, 1893. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Shore Acres" at the Bayles-Yeager Online Archives of the Performing Arts