Twain in His Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates

From Daniel Frohman Presents: An Autobiography (1935)

[169] === From Daniel Frohman Presents: An Autobiography (1935) Daniel Frohman A dramatization of The Prince and the Pauper by Abby Sage Richardson (1837– 1900) and produced by David Belasco (1853–1931) and Daniel Frohman (1851–1940) premiered on Christmas Day 1889 in Philadelphia and opened 20 January 1890 in New York. Edward House soon applied for an injunction to stop the production on the grounds that Twain had granted him exclusive dramatic rights to the novel. Eventually Frohman sued Twain to cover the cost of defending his rights against House. See also Fatout, “Mark Twain: Litigant.” i knew mark twain very well. He was a great friend of the theatre and often spoke at theatrical gatherings. He always had something interesting to say in his felicitous and dramatic manner. His prescription for happiness has always appealed to me: “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience. This is the ideal life.” The most intimate experience I ever had with him was when I produced one of his plays, “The Prince and the Pauper.” It was an immediate success . On the first night at the old Broadway Theatre in New York City, he made a speech in acknowledgement of tumultuous applause.1 The next day, however, he came to me and said, “Mr. Frohman, this is the worst perversion of a story that I can imagine. The play hasn’t my lines, scenes, or conversations over which I spent much time. Now I am going to rewrite the play. I will follow your structure of the story but I want you to substitute my version when it is ready.” In a few weeks he returned with the script, which I read. Thereupon, I said to him, “Mr. Clemens, if I produce this play as you have written it, it will take us two nights to present it. We have made a play out of the main twain in his own time [170] events of the book and we have given it in pleasant and effective shape. We cannot possibly use all these lines.” After this unsatisfactory conversation, he left, and I heard no more from him. The play continued its run in New York and later went on tour as originally planned. No complaint was received from the author about the large royalties that accrued. AtonetimeIhadalawsuitwithMarkTwain.Duringthedaywesuedeach other in court. At night we played billiards together at the Players’ Club. Frequently I dined with him in his Fifth Avenue residence and with a friend we played billiards, for he was very fond of the game. But he found he lost every game, and so he said, “You fellows go on and play. I’m through.” We understood the reason and thereafter we arranged that he should win one game out of every three. This bolstered up his interest and enthusiasm so that he remained our friendly competitor during many succeeding sessions. Note 1. The speech is reprinted in Fatout, Mark Twain Speaking, 256–57. Daniel Frohman, from Daniel Frohman Presents: An Autobiography (New York: Claude Kendall & Willoughby Sharp, 1935), 141–42. ...