''Polly of the Circus'' was a 1907 Broadway play by Margaret Mayo which starred

Mabel Taliaferro Mabel Taliaferro (born Maybelle Evelyn Taliaferro; May 21, 1887 – January 24, 1979) was an American stage and silent-screen actress, known as "the Sweetheart of American Movies." Early years Taliaferro was born as Maybelle Evelyn Taliaferro i ...

and was produced by Taliaferro's husband,

Frederic Thompson Frederic Williams Thompson (October 31, 1873 – June 6, 1919) was an American architect, engineer, inventor, and showman known for creating amusement rides and one of the first large amusement parks. Biography Frederic Thompson was born i ...

. A circus girl/minister love story known for its drama and its spectacle staging, the cast also included Edith Taliaferro, Herbert Ayling,

Joseph Brennan Joseph Brennan may refer to: Politicians * Joseph Brennan (senator) (died 1950), Irish senator *Joseph Brennan (Clann na Poblachta politician) (1889–1968), Irish TD 1948–1951 *Joseph Brennan (Fianna Fáil politician) (1912–1980), Irish gove ...

, Mattie Ferguson, John Findlay, Guy Nichols, Ida St. Leon and Malcolm Williams.

Plot

Polly, a star bareback rider in a circus, is injured during a performance. The circus leaves town and she is left behind to convalescence at a local minister's house. During her 11-month stay they fall in love but the disapproval of the town folk causes Polly to rejoin the circus. A month later the circus comes back to town and the minister goes to it in search of Polly. This third act of the play recreates an actual circus on stage, complete with animals, during which the lovers reunite. The final star lit tableau scene has the lovers together watching lights of the circus wagons as they disappear over the hills.

Settings

Action takes place in a small mid-western town. ;Act I *Scene 1: The minister's study at night *Scene 2: A bedroom above the study the next morning ;Act II *Rear garden of parsonage eleven months later ;Act II *Scene 1: Behind the scenes at the circus tent. *Scene 2: During the circus *Scene 3: At night in an empty circus lot

Production

Margaret Mayo wrote ''Polly of the Circus'' as a novel and adapted it into three act play (her first) for the stage. It was brought to the stage by amusement entrepreneur and showman

, who previously had been the creator of many world's fair attractions as well as Coney Island's

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

and the

New York Hippodrome The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theater in New York City from 1905 to 1939, located on Sixth Avenue between West 43rd and West 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. It was called the worl ...

. Thompson had married stage actress

the previous year and produced ''Polly of the Circus'' as

star vehicle In the motion picture industry, a star vehicle (or simply vehicle) is a film written or produced for a specific star, regardless of whether the motive is to further their career or simply to profit from their current popularity. It is designed to ...

for her. The sets and elaborate spectacles seen on stage were designed by Thompson and built at his Luna Park workshops.

In performance

The play opened in New York on December 23, 1907, at the

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnership ...

at 242 West 42nd Street and was a success, running for 160 performances until May 1908. After that it went on the road and was duplicated into several productions. During its run "Polly" was not only played by Mabel Taliaferro, but also by her sister Edith Taliaferro, and by

Fay Wallace A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

.Evening Star, Washington, D.C., December 13, 1908, page 27

Film adaptations

In 1917 silent film version of ''Polly of the Circus'' was produced by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

starring

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

and

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

starred in a 1932 version of ''Polly of the Circus'' directed by

Alfred Santell Alfred Allen Santell (1895–1981), was an American film director and film producer. Santell directed over 60 films, beginning in 1917, most of which were two-reel comedy short subjects for Hal Roach and other productions companies. Taking up f ...

for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

References

External links

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 598: – ''Polly of the Circus''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polly of the Circus 1907 plays American plays Broadway plays American plays adapted into films