The Coolidge examiner., 1933-08-18
UzcIo Whz ana Lite k1z

The first dramatiZation OF the book was made
by George L. Aiken while the story was running
serially In the National Era On September Q
1852, Aiken's play had its premiere In the Mu-
scum at Troy, n. Y, and from that time dates
the immense popularity OF Uncle Toms Cab
in" AS matter OF fact this was not the first
stage production of the show, but 1t was the
first successful one.
A certain Charles w. Taylor had also drama
tized the book and in August, 1852. a month be-
fore the Troy production, he presented a play
running only an hour, one item on the eve
ming bill at Purdy's National theater In New
York City But-fatal error he left both Topsy
and Little Eva out Of his story so his play was
a failure. being withdrawn after a run of only
II nights.
The Troy production was largely family az
fair. The manager OF the Troy museum, George
c. Howard, played both Uncle Tom" and "St
Clare" His wife played both "Topsy" and
Chloe" Mrs Howard's brother. Charles Fox
played both "Phineas Fletcher and "Gumptlon
Cute" and Mrs. Fox played "Ophelia." George
L. Aiken, the dramatist and cousin of Howard
doubled as SHELBY" and George Harris" and
his brother Frank Aiken. played Marks" And
finally the part OF Little Eva was played By
Cordelia Howard, the four year-old daughter OF
the Howards who thus had the distinction often
claimed by others of being "the first Little Eva
She played that role for eight years, then at
the age of twelve she left the stage never to re-
turn. In the year which marks definitely the
decline of the Tom shows. she was still living at
the age of nearly eighty. recluse who refused to
see anyone or to talk OF her career as "the first
Little Eva"
The Howards' production of the play with
just seven people carrying the eleven roles, was
an instantaneous success 1t not only carried the
country by storm but it crossed the Atlantic
In 1853 curious English version of it, filed with
WAL calculate" and similar supposed Yankee
sms was produced at the Theater Royal in
Manchester England. Arthur Ruhl writing in
the New York Herald Tribune, about the cur
rent revival reviews its early history as follows
la Case de rOncle Tom 'Onke Toms
Huette' La Cabana del Tio Tomas'-the thing
swept like prairie fire into every language in
the western world. 1t ran down into Africa it.
self. was devoured by the Armenans and other
Near Fasteners, and little Slavs in a Russia
which still had its serfs, wept over 'Hata Djada
Toma or something that sounded more or less
like that. Letters from everybody of conse
quence-from Macaulay, Di.kens. Charles Kings
ley. statesmen and political leaders the great
George Sand, German pundits, even the mockin2
Heine was stirred"
And Otis Skinner. who plays Uncle Tom" ir
the revival. a role which he first played in 1875
III SlOSh NOhp"HJ ob IAc 'iiduCiluid huoeuul
writing in the New York Times recently. con
tributes this bit of history
"In August. 1873 Jarrett & Palmer. an enter
prising firm of New York managers, made small
fortune by taking the play overseas to England
Switzerland Germany, Austria and Holland. II
the company were Marie Bates who is still -
membered as playing long and prominently witr
David Warfield in The Auctioneer.' and Harry
Hawk. who was on the stage of Ford's tneateI
! in Washington at the moment that Lincoln was
shot in the box above him by John Wilkes Booth
another in that company was Harold Fos
burg, a gorgeous specimen of the old-time heavy
man Harold was of the stage STACY; he seemed
| to think in the terms Of meodrama and blanl
verse. While the troupe was exhibiting in Ger
many his delight was to parade through the
streets of Berlin and other cities dressed in tht