Dion Boucicault’s Robert Emmet?: the question of authorship and the season premiere at the McVicker's Theatre, Chicago, on November 5, 1884
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2020v73n2p127Abstract
The Irish playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) spent most of his career in the United States, where he established himself, adapting crucial moments of Irish history to the stage. Robert Emmet (1884), a play produced at the end of his career, arouses questioning surrounding its authorship. The dramatic text was arguably written by the playwright Frank Marshall (1840-1889) at the request of the actor Henry Irving (1838-1905). This paper explores the question of Robert Emmet’s authorship and investigates the reception of the production in its unsuccessful opening season at the McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago in November, 1884, and Boucicault’s part in it.
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