''Seven Days'' is a three-act

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

written in 1909 by

Avery Hopwood James Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 – July 1, 1928) was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920. Early life Hopwood was born to James and Jule Pendergast Hopwood on May 28, 1882 ...

and

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

. It is a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

based on Rinehart's 1908

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

of the same name, which had been expanded into a bestselling 1909 novel titled ''When a Man Marries''. Producers Lincoln Wagenhals and Collin Kemper asked Rinehart to adapt the novella for the stage. Since she had not written a play before, she agreed to work with

, a young playwright with just one produced play, to create the script. Wagenhals and Kemper staged the play at the Astor Theatre 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 premiered on November 10, 1909. The production was a hit that played for 397 performances. The play's success led Hopwood to a highly successful career as an author of comedies and enabled Wagenhals and Kemper to retire. Rinehart and Hopwood would later collaborate on two other hit plays, '' Spanish Love'' and '' The Bat,'' both also produced by Wagenhals and Kemper, who came out of retirement. In 1925 the play was adapted into a silent film of the same name starring

Lillian Rich Lillian Rose Rich Woodland, more commonly known as Lillian Rich (1 January 1900 – 5 January 1954) was an English-born actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1940. Biography Rich was born in Herne ...

and

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

References

External links

* 1909 plays Broadway plays Comedy plays 1900s debut plays Plays by Avery Hopwood Works by Mary Roberts Rinehart Plays based on novels {{1900s-play-stub