Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1907 — Bouctcault’s "The Colleen Bawn." [ARTICLE]

Bouctcault’s "The Colleen Bawn."

The speed with which Dion Boucicault worked is illustrated in this story of “The Colleen Bawn” in "Famous Actor Families In America,” by Montrose G. Moses. “The Colleen Bawn" followed his “Vanity Fair,” which, produced by Laura Keene, proved to be a failure. The actress had thereupon turned in distress to the dramatist. “What have you put in its place?” she had queried. “Nothing,” came the reply. But that night Boucicault stopped at a bookstore and purchased the above mentioned volume, which he read from cover to cover through the early morning. Then he wrote in all haste to Miss Keene: My Dear Laura—l have it! I send you seven steel engravings of scenes around Klllarney. Get your scene painter to work on them at once. I also send a book of Irish melodies with those marked I desire Baker to score for the orchestra. I shall read act 1 of my new Irish play on Friday; we rehearse that while I am writing the second, which will be ready on Monday, and we rehearse the second While I am doing the third. We can get the play out within a fortnight