Shenandoah written by Bronson Howard

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The greatest drama in history was produced by Greece about four or
five centuries before Christ, and for a few generations afterward.
Since AEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, Greece has scarcely given us
anything. Aristophanes and Menander are of course remembered, but the
writers who endeavoured to follow in the footsteps of the masters
were of far inferior merit. The Roman Empire existed for nearly two
thousand years without producing any drama of its own worthy of
the name. The Romans were not a dramatic people. The works of the
so-called Latin dramatists, such as those of Plautus and Terence, were
mere imitations of the Greek.

France and England had sudden bursts of greatness followed by general
mediocrity, with occasional great writers whose advent could not
possibly have been predicted by anything in art preceding them. Even
the exception to this in France, in the middle of the nineteenth
century, was apparently a flash of light that disappeared almost as
suddenly as it came. What is the use of posing as a prophet with such
a record of the past? Anyone else is at liberty to do so. I would
as soon act as harlequin. Was there any wise man in England who,
twenty-four hours before that momentous event in April, 1564, could
predict that a baby named William Shakespeare would be born the next
day? To say that an American dramatist is to appear this year or in a
thousand years who will make an epoch is simply ridiculous.

That Ibsen exercised and will exercise great influence on American
dramatists there can be little doubt. His skill was no mere accident.
He was the most finished development of the French school of the
nineteenth century, as well as the most highly artificial individual
dramatist of that school. I call it the strictly logical school
of dramatic construction. I use the word 'artificial' in its more
artistic sense, as opposed to the so-called natural school. His
subjects of course were national, and not French. Whether his
pessimism was national or personal, I have not been able to discover.
It seemed to me that he was a pessimistic man dealing with a nation
inclined to pessimism, but that had nothing to do with the technical
qualities of the man any more than the national peculiarities of
Denmark had to do with Thorvaldsen as a follower of Greek sculpture.

As to the policy of our theatre managers, I confess that they do
follow each other; but it is simply because they think the leader they
happen to be following has discovered a current of temporary popular
taste. The authors have the same interest as the managers, and you
will always find them watching the public taste in the same manner.

Occasionally an individual dramatist, and not always the best from a
technical point of view, will develop such a strong personal bias as
to write on subjects suggested by his own tastes, without any regard
to the current of popular wishes. If he is a strong enough man he will
become a leader of the public in his dramatic tastes. Sometimes in
rare instances he will influence the public so decidedly that he
compels the contemporary school of writers to follow him. This has
been the case in all periods. I need not mention Shakespeare, as
everything said about him is a matter of course.

Take the vile dramatic era of Charles II. Wycherley led the brutes,
but Congreve came up and combatted with his brilliant comedies the
vileness of the Restoration school, and Hallam says of him that he
introduced decency to the stage that afterward drove his own comedies
off it. A little after Congreve, the school, so to speak, for we have
nothing but the school, was so stupid that it brought forth no great
writers, and produced weak, sentimental plays. Then came Goldsmith,
who wrote "She Stoops to Conquer" actually as a protest against the
feeble sentimentality I have referred to. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
was made possible by Goldsmith. We went on after that with a school
of old comedies. When we speak of the "old comedies," I am not talking
about Beaumont and Fletcher, nor Wycherley, nor Vanbrugh, nor even
Congreve, but of the comedy of Goldsmith in the third quarter of the
eighteenth century down to Bulwer Lytton's "Money" and Boucicault's
"London Assurance," bringing us to about 1840. Then there swung a
school of what we call the palmy days of old comedy, and in the '40's
it dwindled to nothing, and England and America waited until the early
'60's. Then came Tom Robertson with his so-called "tea-cup and saucer"
school, which consisted of sententious dialogue, simple situations,
conventional characterizations, and threads of plots, until Pinero and
Jones put a stop to the Robertson fad.

This proves in my judgment that the school always starts by being
shown what the popular taste is, and follows that, until some
individual discovery that the popular taste is changed. The tendency
of the school is always to become academic and fixed in its ideas--it
is the individual who points to the necessary changes. Schools and
these special individuals are interdependent.

As to the present comedies in America: in the first place, it is
impossible as a rule to decide fully what are the tendencies of a
school when one is living in the midst of its activities. There is no
marked tendency now; and as far as I can see it is only the occasional
man who discovers the tendency of the times. Pinero undoubtedly saw
that the public was tired of the "tea-cup and saucer." Probably had he
not thought so, he would have gone on in that school.

Undoubtedly more plays are written to order than are written on the
mere impulse of authors, independently of popular demand. The "order"
play simply represents the popular demand as understood by managers,
and the meeting of that demand in each age produces the great mass
of any nation's drama. So far from lowering the standard of dramatic
writing, it is a necessary impulse in the development of any drama. It
is only when the school goes on blindly without seeing a change in the
popular taste that the occasional man I have spoken of comes on. When
the work of the school is legitimately in line with the public taste,
the merely eccentric dramatist is like _Lord Dundreary's_ bird with a
single feather that goes in a corner and flocks all by itself. He may
be a strong enough man to attract attention to his individuality, and
his plays may be really great in themselves, but his work has
little influence on the development of the art. In fact, there is
no development of the art except in the line of popular taste. The
specially great men mentioned have simply discovered the changes in
the popular taste, and to a certain extent perhaps guided it.[A]

[Footnote A: Originally published in "The Sunday Magazine" (New York)
for October 7, 1906.]

=BOSTON MUSEUM=

1841

FORTY-EIGHTH REGULAR SEASON

MR. R.M. FIELD, MANAGER

=SHENANDOAH=

COMMENCING MONDAY, NOV. 19, 1889.

* * * * *

Evenings at 7:45 and Wednesday and Saturday Afternoon at 2.

* * * * *

FIRST TIME ON ANY STAGE
OF THIS
NEW MILITARY COMEDY

=SHENANDOAH!=

Written Expressly for the Boston Museum by
BRONSON HOWARD, ESQ.

Author of THE HENRIETTA, THE BANKER'S DAUGHTER, YOUNG MRS. WINTHROP,
ONE OF OUR GIRLS, OLD LOVE LETTER, ETC.

WITH ENTIRELY NEW SCENERY BY LA MOSS,
AND THE FOLLOWING CAST:

PEACE

COL. JOHN HAVERILL, Mr. THOS. L. COLEMAN
LIEUT. KERCHIVAL WEST, Mr. JOHN B. MASON [Transcribers note: some unreadable text here]
LIEUT. ROB'T ELLINGHAM, Mr. CHAS. J. BELL
FRANK HAVERILL, Mr. EDGAR L. DAVENPORT
EDW. THORNTON, a Southerner "by choice," Mr. WILLIS GRANGER
MRS. HAVERILL Miss ANNIE M. CLARKE
GERTRUDE ELLINGHAM, a Southern girl, Miss VIOLA ALLEN
MADELINE WEST, a Northern girl, Miss HELEN DAYNE

WAR

MAJ. GEN. FRANCIS BUCKTHORN, Commander of the
Nineteenth Army Corps Mr. C. LESLIE ALLEN
BRIG. GEN. HAVERILL, { Officers } Mr. THOS. L. COLEMAN
COL. KERCHIVAL WEST, { of } Mr. JOHN B. MASON
CAPT. HEARTSEASE, { Sheridan's } Mr. HENRY M. PITT
LIEUT. FRANK BEDLOE, { Cavalry } Mr. EDGAR L. DAVENPORT
SERGEANT BARKET, Mr. GEO. W. WILSON
COL. ROBERT ELLINGHAM, 10th Virginia C.S.A., Mr. CHAS. J. BELL
CAPT. THORNTON, Secret Service, C.S.A., Mr. WILLIS GRANGER
LIEUT. HARDWICK, Surgeon, C.S.A., Mr. GEORGE BLAKE
CORPORAL DUNN, Mr. JAMES NOLAN
CAPT. LOCKWOOD, Signal Officer Mr. HERBERT PATTEE
BENSON, {Cavalrymen } Mr. C.B. ABBE
WILKINS, { } Mr. HENRY MACDONNA
LIEUTENANTS, {Cavalry} MR. H.P. WHITTEMORE
{Infantry} Mr. THOS. FRANCIS
MRS. HAVERILL, Miss ANNIE M. CLARKE
GERTRUDE ELLINGHAM, Miss VIOLA ALLEN
MADELINE WEST, Miss HELEN DAYNE
JENNY BUCKTHORN, U.S.A., Miss MIRIAM O'LEARY
MRS. EDITH HAVERILL, Miss GRACE ATWELL
OLD MARGERY Miss KATE RYAN
JANNETTE Miss HARDING

There will be no intermission between Acts THIRD and FOURTH

[Transcriber's note: Unreadable text.]

ACT FIRST

Charleston Harbor in 1861

After the ball. Residence of the Ellinghams.

The citizens of Charleston knew almost the exact hour at
which the attack on Fort Sumter would begin, and they gathered
in the gray twilight of the morning to view the bombardment
as a spectacle.--NICOLAY, _Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. I._

"I shall open fire in one hour."--BEAUREGARD'S _last message
to_ MAJOR ANDERSON. _Sent at 3:20 A.M., April 12, 1861_.

ACT SECOND

The Ellingham Homestead in Virginia

When the Union Army under Gen. Sheridan and the Confederate Army
under Gen. Early were encamped at Cedar Creek, almost twenty miles
south of Winchester, there was a Confederate signal station on Three Top
Mountain, overlooking both camps; [Transcriber's note: Unreadable] another, near the summit of
North Mountain, on the opposite side of the valley.--_Official Records and
Maps_.

ACTS THIRD and FOURTH

No Intermission between these Acts.

The Shenandoah Valley. Night and Morning. Three Top mountain.

[Transcriber's note: Unreadable text.]

While the two armies lay opposite each other, General Sheridan was called
to Washington. Soon after he left, a startling despatch was taken by our
own Signal Officers from the Confederate Signal Station on Three Top
Mountain.--POND, _Camp. Civ. War, Vol. XI._

On the morning of October 19th, the Union Army was taken completely by
surprise. Thoburn's position was swept in an instant. The men who
escaped capture fled to the river. Gordon burst suddenly upon the left
flank.--POND, _supra._

ACT FIFTH

Washington, 1826. Residence of Gen. Buckthorn.

_From Gen. Grant's Memoirs._

"I feel that we are on the eve of a great era when there is to be great harmony
between the Federal and Confederate."

* * * * *

The Orchestra, under the direction of MR. GEORGE PURDY, will perform
the following selections:--

1. Overture--Le Caid Ambroise Thomas
2. Waltz--Ruby Royal Louis Gregh
3. Selection--War Songs Arr. by George Purdy
Introducing the following selections: Kingdom Coming, When
This Cruel War Is Over, Babylon Is Fallen, [Transcriber's note: Unreadable text], The Vacant
Chair, Tramp, Tramp, Johnny Comes Marching, Who Will Care For
Mother Now? Tenting on the Old Camp Ground, Rally Round the
Flag.
4. [Transcriber's note: Unreadable text]
5. March--[Transcriber's note: Unreadable text]

* * * * *

THANKSGIVING DAY,
EXTRA SHENANDOAH MATINEE

* * * * *

SEATS SECURED TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE DURING
THE [Transcriber's note: Unreadable text] OF SHENANDOAH.

* * * * *

ACTING AND STAGE MANAGER MR. HENRY M. PITT

SHENANDOAH

_A MILITARY COMEDY IN FOUR ACTS_

_By_ BRONSON HOWARD

1897 BY BRONSON HOWARD

ALL RIGHTS INCLUDING THAT OF PERFORMANCE RESERVED

Reprinted from a privately printed edition, by permission of the
Society of American Dramatists and Composers, from a copy furnished
by Samuel French. It is here to be noted that the Society of American
Dramatists and Composers reserves all rights in "Shenandoah."

ORIGINAL CAST OF CHARACTERS

First produced at the Star Theatre, New York City, September 9, 1889.

GENERAL HAVERILL }Officers of{ Wilton Lackaye.
COLONEL KERCHIVAL WEST }Sheridan's { Henry Miller.
CAPTAIN HEARTSEASE }Cavalry { Morton Selton.
LIEUTENANT FRANK BEDLOE } { G.W. Bailey.

MAJOR-GENERAL FRANCIS BUCKTHORN,
Commander of the 19th Army Corps Harry Harwood.

SERGEANT BARKET James O. Barrows.

COLONEL ROBERT ELLINGHAM, 10th Virginia Lucius Henderson.

CAPTAIN THORNTON, Secret Service, C.S.A. John E. Kellard.

LIEUTENANT OF SIGNAL CORPS Harry Thorn.

LIEUTENANT OF INFANTRY Geo. Maxwell.

MRS. CONSTANCE HAVERILL Dorothy Dorr.

GERTRUDE ELLINGHAM Viola Allen.

MADELINE WEST Nanette Comstock.

JENNY BUCKTHORN, U.S.A. Effie Shannon.

MRS. EDITH HAVERILL Alice B. Haines.

HARDWICK (SURGEON) W.L. Dennison.

CAPTAIN LOCKWOOD, U.S. Signal Corps C.C. Brandt.

CORPORAL DUNN W.J. Cummings.

BENSON Wm. Barnes.

OLD MARGERY Mrs. Haslam.

JANNETTE Esther Drew.

COSTUMES

HAVERILL.--Act I. Full Evening Dress.--Acts 2 and 3. Uniform of
Brigadier-General, U.S. Vol., 1864. Active Service, rough and
war-worn.--Act 4. Civil Costume, Prince Albert, &c.

KERCHIVAL WEST.--Act I. Full Evening Dress.--Acts 2 and 3. Uniform
of Colonel of Cavalry, U.S. Vol., 1864 (with cloak in Act 3). Active
Service, rough and war-worn.--Act 4. Travelling.

CAPTAIN HEARTSEASE.--Act 2. Uniform of Captain of Cavalry, 1864;
as neat and precise as is consistent with Active Service.--Act 4.
Afternoon; Civil.

LIEUTENANT FRANK BEDLOE.--Act 2. Lieutenant of Cavalry, 1864; Active
Service. He must have a full beard.--Act 3. Same, disarranged for
wounded man on stretcher.

GENERAL BUCKTHORN.--Acts 2 and 3. Major-General, 1864. Active
Service.--Act 3. Same.--Act 4. Civil. Afternoon.

SERGEANT BARKET.--Acts 2 and 3. Sergeant of Cavalry, U.S. Vol., 1864.
Active Service.--Act 4. Plain undress uniform, sacque or jacket.

ROBERT ELLINGHAM.--Act I. Full Evening Dress.--Act 2. Confederate
Colonel: Infantry, 1864. Active Service.--Act 4. Citizen; afternoon.
Prince Albert (Gray).

EDWARD THORNTON.--Act I. Riding, but not present English Cut.--Act 2.
First, Confederate Captain of Cavalry. Active Service. Second costume,
same, in shirt sleeves and without hat or cap.

HARDWICK.--Uniform of Confederate Surgeon, 1864. Active Service.

CORPORAL DUNN.--Uniform of rank, Cavalry, U.S. Vol., 1864. Active
Service.

BENSON.--Uniform of 2nd Corporal, Cavalry, U.S. Vol., 1864. Active
Service.

LIEUTENANT OF INFANTRY.--Uniform of rank, U.S. Vol., 1864. Active
Service.

MRS. HAVERILL.--Act I. Full evening ball dress.--Act 4. Mourning, but
not too deep.

GERTRUDE ELLINGHAM.--Act I. Riding habit.--Act 2. First costume,
afternoon at home; simple enough for the South during war. Second
costume, picturesque and not conventional dress and hat for
riding.--Act 3. First costume of Act 2, or similar.--Act 4. Neat
travelling costume.

MADELINE WEST.--Act I. Full evening ball dress.--Act 2. Pretty
afternoon costume.--Act 3. Same or walking.--Act 4. Afternoon costume
at home.

JENNY BUCKTHORN.--Act 2. Pretty afternoon costume, with military cut,
trimmings and general air.--Act 3. Same.--Act 4. Afternoon costume at
home.

MRS. EDITH HAVERILL.--Young widow's costume.

OLD MARGERY.--Neat old family servant.

JANNETTE.--Young servant.

FOR PROGRAMME

In ACT I, just before the opening of the war, HAVERILL is a Colonel in
the Regular Army. KERCHIVAL WEST and ROBERT ELLINGHAM are Lieutenants
in his regiment, having been classmates at West Point.

ACT I.

CHARLESTON HARBOUR IN 1861. AFTER THE BALL.

The citizens of Charleston knew almost the exact hour at which the
attack on Fort Sumter would begin, and they gathered in the
gray twilight of the morning to view the bombardment as a
spectacle.--NICOLAY, _Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. I._

"I shall open fire in one hour."--BEAUREGARD'S _last message to_ MAJOR
ANDERSON. _Sent at 3:20 A.M., April 12, 1861_.

ACTS II. AND III.

The Union Army, under General Sheridan, and the Confederate Army,
under General Early, were encamped facing each other about twenty
miles south of Winchester, on Cedar Creek. * * * General Sheridan was
called to Washington. Soon after he left, a startling despatch was
taken by our own Signal Officers from the Confederate Signal Station
on Three Top Mountain.--POND, _Camp. Civ. War, Vol. XI._

On the morning of October 19th, the Union Army was taken completely
by surprise. Thoburn's position was swept in an instant. Gordon burst
suddenly upon the left flank. The men who escaped capture streamed
through the camps along the road to Winchester.--POND, _supra._

Far away in the rear was heard cheer after cheer.--_Three Years in the
Sixth Corps._

ACT IV.

WASHINGTON, 1865. RESIDENCE OF GENERAL BUCKTHORN.

I feel that we are on the eve of a new era, when there is to be great
harmony between the Federal and Confederate.--GEN. GRANT'S _Memoirs._

SHENANDOAH

ACT I.

CHARLESTON HARBOUR IN 1861. "AFTER THE BALL."

SCENE. _A Southern Residence on the shore of Charleston Harbour.
Interior.--Large double doors up centre, open. Large, wide window,
with low sill. Veranda beyond the doors, and extending beyond window.
A wide opening with corridor beyond. Furniture and appointments quaint
and old-fashioned, but an air of brightness and of light; the general
tone of the walls and upholstery that of the old Colonial period in
its more ornamental and decorative phase, as shown in the early days
of Charleston. Old candlesticks and candelabra, with lighted candles
nearly burned down. Beyond the central doors and the window, there
is a lawn with Southern foliage, extending down to the shores of the
harbour; a part of the bay lies in the distance, with low-lying land
beyond. The lights of Charleston are seen over the water along the
shore. Moonlight. The gray twilight of early morning gradually steals
over the scene as the Act progresses._

DISCOVERED, _As the curtain rises_ KERCHIVAL WEST _is sitting in a
chair, his feet extended and his head thrown back, a handkerchief over
his face_. ROBERT ELLINGHAM _strolls in on veranda, beyond window,
smoking. He looks right, starts and moves to window; leans against the
upper side of the window and looks across._

ELLINGHAM. Kerchival!

KERCHIVAL. [_Under handkerchief_.] Eh? H'm!

ELLINGHAM. Can you sleep at a time like this? My own nerves are on
fire.

KERCHIVAL. Fire? Oh--yes--I remember. Any more fire-works, Bob?

ELLINGHAM. A signal rocket from one of the batteries, now and
then. [_Goes up beyond window_. KERCHIVAL _arouses himself, taking
handkerchief from his eyes._

KERCHIVAL. What a preposterous hour to be up. The ball was over an
hour ago, all the guests are gone, and it's nearly four o'clock.
[_Looks at his watch._] Exactly ten minutes of four. [_Takes out a
cigar._.] Our Southern friends assure us that General Beauregard is to
open fire on Fort Sumter this morning. I don't believe it. [_Lighting
cigar and rising, crosses and looks out through window._] There lies
the old fort--solemn and grim as ever, and the flagstaff stands above
it, like a warning finger. If they do fire upon it--[_Shutting his
teeth for a moment and looking down at the cigar in his hand._]--the
echo of that first shot will be heard above their graves, and heaven
knows how many of our own, also; but the flag will still float!--over
the graves of both sides.

[ELLINGHAM _enters up centre and comes down_.]

Are you Southerners all mad, Robert?

ELLINGHAM. Are you Northerners all blind? [KERCHIVAL _sits_.] We
Virginians would prevent a war if we could. But your people in the
North do not believe that one is coming. You do not understand the
determined frenzy of my fellow-Southerners. Look! [_Pointing_.] Do
you see the lights of the city, over the water? The inhabitants of
Charleston are gathering, even now, in the gray, morning twilight, to
witness the long-promised bombardment of Fort Sumter. It is to be a
gala day for them. They have talked and dreamed of nothing else for
weeks. The preparations have become a part of their social life--of
their amusement--their gayeties. This very night at the ball--here--in
the house of my own relatives--what was their talk? What were the
jests they laughed at? Sumter! War! Ladies were betting bonbons that
the United States would not dare to fire a shot in return, and pinning
ribbons on the breasts of their "heroes." There was a signal rocket
from one of the forts, and the young men who were dancing here left
their partners standing on the floor to return to the batteries--as
if it were the night before another Waterloo. The ladies themselves
hurried away to watch the "spectacle" from their own verandas. You
won't see the truth! I tell you, Kerchival, a war between the North
and South is inevitable!

KERCHIVAL. And if it does come, you Virginians will join the rest.

ELLINGHAM. Our State will be the battle-ground, I fear. But every
loyal son of Virginia will follow her flag. It is our religion!

KERCHIVAL. My State is New York. If New York should go against the old
flag, New York might go to the devil. That is my religion.

ELLINGHAM. So differently have we been taught what the word
"patriotism" means!

KERCHIVAL. You and I are officers in the same regiment of the United
States Regular Army, Robert; we were classmates at West Point, and we
have fought side by side on the plains. You saved my scalp once; I'd
have to wear a wig, now, if you hadn't. I say, old boy, are we to be
enemies?

ELLINGHAM. [_Laying his hand over his shoulder._] My dear old comrade,
whatever else comes, our friendship shall be unbroken!

KERCHIVAL. Bob! [_Looking up at him._] I only hope that we shall never
meet in battle!

ELLINGHAM. In battle? [_Stepping down front._] The idea is horrible!

KERCHIVAL. [_Rising and crossing to him._] My dear old comrade, one of
us will be wrong in this great fight, but we shall both be honest in
it. [_Gives hand_, ELLINGHAM _grasps it warmly, then turns away._

ELLINGHAM. Colonel Haverill is watching the forts, also; he has been
as sad to-night as we have. Next to leaving you, my greatest regret is
that I must resign from his regiment.

KERCHIVAL. You are his favourite officer.

ELLINGHAM. Naturally, perhaps; he was my guardian.

_Enter_ HAVERILL. _He walks down, stopping centre._

HAVERILL. Kerchival! I secured the necessary passports? to the North
yesterday afternoon; this one is yours; I brought it down for you
early in the evening. [KERCHIVAL _takes paper. Goes to window._] I
am ordered direct to Washington at once, and shall start with Mrs.
Haverill this forenoon. You will report to Captain Lyon, of the 2d
Regiment, in St. Louis. Robert! I have hoped for peace to the last,
but it is hoping against hope. I feel certain, now, that the fatal
blow will be struck this morning. Our old regiment is already broken
up, and you, also, will now resign, I suppose, like nearly all your
fellow-Southerners in the service.

ELLINGHAM. You know how sorry I am to leave your command, Colonel!

HAVERILL. I served under your father in Mexico; he left me, at his
death, the guardian of you and your sister, Gertrude. Even since you
became of age, I have felt that I stood in his place. But you must be
your sister's only guardian now. Your father fell in battle, fighting
for our common country, but you--

ELLINGHAM. He would have done as I shall do, had he lived. He was a
Virginian!

HAVERILL. I am glad, Robert, that he was never called upon to decide
between two flags. He never knew but one, and we fought under it
together. [_Exit._

ELLINGHAM. Kerchival! Something occurred in this house to-night
which--which I shouldn't mention under ordinary circumstances, but
I--I feel that it may require my further attention, and you, perhaps,
can be of service to me. Mrs. Haverill, the wife of the Colonel--

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