Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/833

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Part Taken by Women in American History


of "Mary Jane's Pa," one of the most successful plays produced. She began her career as a child actress. She is one of the few successful stage managers, and has frequently strengthened lines in places and made a possible success from what seemed an inevitable failure.

Rachel Crothers is another who supervises much of the rehearsing of her own plays. She began her authorship of plays while a teacher in the Wheatcroft School of Acting. Among her plays are "The Coming of Mrs. Patrick," "Myself Bettina," and "The Inferior Sex," which were written for Maxine Elliott. "The Man on the Box" was dramatized by Grace Livingston Furniss, who with the late Abby Sage Richardson dramatized "The Pride of Jennico." Since then she has written a number of other plays, including, "Mrs. Jack," "The Colonial Girl," and "Gretna Green."

Frances Hodgson Burnett writes her books and then dramatizes them. This she has done most successfully in the case of "Little Lord Fauntleroy," "The Little Princess," "A Lady of Quality," "That Lass o' Lowries," "The Pretty Sister of Jose," and "The Dawn of a To-morrow."

Harriet Ford has successfully dramatized many books, among them: "The Gentleman of France," "Audrey," and with Mr. Joseph Medill Patterson, she wrote the most successful play of last season (1910-1911), "The Fourth Estate." This play brought forth more favorable comment and discussion from the press than any other produced.

Miss Mary Roberts Rinehart has written three plays, two of which were in co-authorship, "Double Life," "The Avenger," and "Seven Days." Her husband, Dr. Stanley Rinehart, contributed to "The Avenger," and Avery Hapgood to "Seven Days." This was one of the season's successes.

Two successful playwrights, Pauline Phelps and Marion Short, have formed a partnership and turned out a number of most successful plays. Miss Phelps, a country girl, deals