In this Book
- Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: Indiana University Press
In 1876, Poland's leading actress, Helena Modrzejewska, accompanied by family and friends, emigrated to southern California to establish a utopian commune that soon failed. Within a year Modrzejewska made her debut in the title role of Adrienne Lecouvreur at San Francisco's California Theatre. She changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore. Starring Madame Modjeska traces Modjeska's fabulous life and career from her illegitimate birth in Krakow, to her successive reinventions of herself as a star in both Poland and America, and finally to her enduring legacy.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-xii
- Timeline of Modjeska's Life and Career
- pp. xiii-xv
- 2. The Making of a Polish Actress
- pp. 18-63
- 3. Warsaw's State of the Stars
- pp. 64-115
- 4. A Colonial Party and the California Dream
- pp. 116-148
- 5. On the American Road
- pp. 149-206
- 6. The Roles of Madame Modjeska
- pp. 207-252
- 7. The Polish Modjeska
- pp. 253-297
- 8. Farewell Tour
- pp. 298-308
- Epilogue: Finding Modjeska Today
- pp. 309-328
- Bibliography
- pp. 385-398