''Everyman'' is a modern play produced by

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

and directed by

Ben Greet Sir Philip Barling Greet (24 September 1857 – 17 May 1936), known professionally as Ben Greet, was a Shakespearean actor, director, impresario and actor-manager. Early life The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Ba ...

that is based on the medieval

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

of the same name. The modern play was first performed in 1901 on tour in Britain. It opened in the United States in 1902 on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, where it ran for 75 performances, followed by tours over the next several years that included four Broadway revivals.

Performances

Original London opening

The original play was written by Dutch Monk Peter van Diest (Petrus Dorlandus) about 1470 and tells the story of

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

, who being commanded by God to begin his journey to the grave looks for companions to accompany him. Everyman then approaches a series of allegorical characters - such as Fellowship, Kindred and Knowledge - but finds that only the character representing "Good Deeds" stays with him until the end of his journey. There is no record of a modern production of this play until July 1901 when the Elizabethan Stage Society of

William Poel William Poel (1852-1934) was an English actor, theatrical manager and dramatist best known for his presentations of Shakespeare. Life and career A son of William Pole, he grew up among Pre-raphaelite painters and reportedly sat for William Holm ...

gave three Saturday productions in an outdoor courtyard at the

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

(a former monastery) in London. Poel's production was distinctive in that the actors wore costumes based on designs from Flemish tapestries.

Broadway and West Coast productions

''Everyman'' attracted the notice of British actor

, who took over most of the production and direction responsibilities, and scheduled performances throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. Greet's productions differed from past performances in that he cast women in the title role, rather than the traditional male lead. The play was so successful that plans were soon made for a North American tour to be produced by American theater manager

, and directed by Greet. Everyman opened on

with

Edith Wynne Matthison Edith Wynne Matthison (November 23, 1875 – September 23, 1955) was an Anglo-American stage actress who also appeared in two silent films. Biography She was born on November 23, 1875, in England, the daughter of Kate Wynne Matthison and Henry ...

in the title role on 12 October 1902 in Mendelssohn Hall, continuing on 3 November 1902 at Hoyt's Theatre, then on 17 November 1902 at the New York Theatre, and finally on 30 March 1903 at the

Garden Theatre The Garden Theatre was a major theatre on Madison Avenue and 27th Street in New York City, New York. The theatre opened on September 27, 1890, and closed in 1925. Part of the second Madison Square Garden complex, the theatre presented Broadway ...

. Everyman closed its Broadway run in May 1903 after 75 performances. - 1902-1903, 1907, 1913 and 1918 productions; , 1910 production The first North American tour was so successful that Frohman and Greet for their second tour the next season staged both east coast and west coast productions of Everyman that also included several performances of Shakespeare tragedies and comedies. Matthison continued in the lead female roles for the east coast performances, whereas

Constance Crawley Constance Crawley (30 March 1870 – 17 March 1919) was an English actress best known for leading roles in Shakespeare tragedies. She gained notice on the American stage at the start of the 20th century, and later starred in and wrote several si ...

, who had previously been Matthison's understudy, took the lead female roles in the west. Crawley then returned in the lead female roles in 1904 for the third North American tour, with Sybil Thorndike as her understudy.

Revivals Revival most often refers to: * Resuscitation of a person *Language revival of an extinct language * Revival (sports team) of a defunct team *Revival (television) of a former television series *Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously p ...

of the Broadway production took place on 4 March 1907 at the

with Sybil Thorndike, and on 10 January 1910 at the Garden Theatre with Thorndike once again. For the 10 March 1913 revival at the Children's Theatre (24 performances), Matthison returned to the lead role, and the final revival on 18 January 1918 at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

(2 performances) featured Matthison in her final performances of the role she had created on Broadway over a decade before.

Film adaptations

The ''Everyman'' play was first brought to the cinema in 1913 using the

Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, E ...

two-color process that projected black-and-white film through red and green filters to produce an early form of color movie.

Linda Arvidson Linda Arvidson (born Linda Arvidson Johnson, July 12, 1884 – July 26, 1949; sometimes credited as Linda Griffith) was an American stage and film actress who became one of America's early motion picture stars while working at Biograph Studios i ...

, a well-known actress who was recently separated from her movie producer husband

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

, was cast in the title role, as she at the time was the leading lady for Kinemacolor studios. Unfortunately, Kinemacolor's parent company in Britain collapsed right after release of the movie, and Arvidson's estranged husband bought out the California operations of Kinemacolor, which included rights to their United States film releases. Griffith's acquisition of the ''Everyman'' film meant that distribution was a low priority, and despite the Broadway success of the play, the casting of a high-profile actress, and the novelty of color, the film made little impact. Subsequently, Crawley-Maude Features, which was owned by former ''Everyman'' leading lady Constance Crawley and her manager

Arthur Maude Arthur John Maude (23 July 1880 – 9 January 1950) was an English actor, screenwriter, and film director. Biography Maude was born Arthur John Maud on 23 July 1880 in Pontefract, West Riding, Yorkshire, to William Robert Maud (1849–1919) and ...

, produced in 1914 their own film adaptation of ''Everyman'', which did little better than the Kinemacolor version. - 1914 film version.

Notes and references

External links

* * {{IBDB title, 5632, Everyman 1902 plays Broadway plays Everyman Off-Broadway plays