''Blue Jeans'' is a

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

tic play by

Joseph Arthur Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through ...

that opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1890 to great popularity. The sensation of the play is a scene where the unconscious hero is placed on a board approaching a huge buzz saw in a sawmill, which became one of the most imitated dramatic scenes (eventually to the point of cliche and parody). The play remained popular for decades and was made into a successful silent film in 1917, also named Blue Jeans.Bordman, Gerald Martin & Thomas S. Hischa
The Oxford companion to American theatre
p. 80 (3d ed 2004)Singer, Ben
Melodrama and modernity: early sensational cinema and its contexts
pp. 183-84 (2001)

Background

The play made its debut on October 6, 1890, at the

Fourteenth Street Theatre The Fourteenth Street Theatre was a New York City theatre located at 107 West 14th Street just west of Sixth Avenue.Berg, J.C. (9 January 2011)The Fourteenth Street Theater, ''nycvintageimages.com'' History It was designed by Alexander Sael ...

.Borman, Gerald Martin
American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1869-1914
p.301 (1994)Brown, T. Allston
A history of the New York stage from the first performance in 1732 to 1901, Vol. II
pp. 503-04 (1903) The original New York run of the play ran through March 7, 1891.(5 November 1901)
"Blue Jeans" at Proctor's Fifth Avenue
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' The play enjoyed considerable success around the United States and in revivals in the following decades. It debuted in London in 1898.Adams, William Davenport
A dictionary of the drama
p. 177 (1904) It was rumored that theatre critic Andrew Carpenter Wheeler, known as "Nym Crinkle," was the actual author or co-author of ''Blue Jeans'', as well as Arthur's prior hit ''

The Still Alarm ''The Still Alarm'' is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularit ...

''.Wheeler, Andrew Carpenter (1835-1903)
The Vault at Pfaff's, Retrieved 28 November 2018

1917 film

A silent film version of the play was released in December 1917, and was also quite popular, starring

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

as June and

Robert D. Walker Robert Donald Walker (June 18, 1888 – March 4, 1954) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1953. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles. Selected filmography * ''The Vampire's ...

as Bascom.Dixon, Wheeler W
The transparency of spectacle: meditations on the moving image
p. 149-50 (1998)(31 March 1918)
'Blue Jeans' Is At The Strand
''Youngstown Vindicator''

Plot

Perry Bascom returns home to

Rising Sun, Indiana Rising Sun is a city in Randolph Township and the county seat of Ohio County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. It is also the only incorporated community in the county. The population of Rising Sun was 2,304 at the 2010 census. Hist ...

to make a run for Congress, and marry Sue Eudaly. Sue's ex, Ben Boone, is nonplussed at this turn of events, and successfully runs for office against Bascom. Bascom later sours on Sue, and divorces her to marry June. After various twists, Boone corners June and Bascom at Bascom's sawmill. After knocking Bascom out, Boone places him on a board approaching a huge buzz saw. June, locked in an office, escapes just in time to save Bascom from certain death.Steinmeyer, Jim
Art and Artifice: And Other Essays of Illusion
p. 94-95 (2006)

Broadway cast

The initial Broadway cast (October 1890) included: * Robert C. Hilliard as Perry Bascom * George D. Chaplin as Col. Henry Clay Risener * J.J. Wallace as Jacob Tutewiler * Jacques Kruger as Jim Tutewiler * W.J. Wheeler as Isaac Hankins * Alice Leigh as Cindy Tutewiler * Marian Mourdant Strickland as Samanthe Hinkins * Laura Burt as Nell Tutewiler and Baleena Kicker * Gracie Sherwood as Bascom's child *

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...

as Ben Boone * Ben Deane as Seth Igoe *

Jennie Yeamans Jennie Yeamans (born Eugenia Marguerite Yeamans; 1862 – 28 November 1906) was a child actress and singer popular in the 1870s and 1880s, and later a famous adult singer and actress. She was the younger sister of early silent film character ac ...

as June * Judith Berolde as Sue Eudaly

References

{{reflist 1890 plays American plays adapted into films Plays set in Indiana