Hall Caine and his wife spent four winters in Rome. On their visit in 1901 Caine finished his novel "The Eternal City", which turned out to be his greatest commercial success. After being serialized in Collier's Magazine between February and August 1901 it was immediately published in book form by Heinemann. It sold more than a million copies in English and was translated into thirteen languages. The stage adaptation opened at His Majesty's Theatre in London on October 2, 1902, produced by Herbert Beerbohm Tree with incidental music by Pietro Mascagni. A week later, Caine republished the novel, cutting out the whole political strand concerning the dispute between the Vatican and the Italian state on the temporal power of the Church.
This American production opened at the Victoria Theatre in New York City on November 17, 1902 and closed in February 1903. Hall Caine supervised the rehearsals. The production starred Viola Allen as Roma, Frederic de Belleville as Bonelli and Edward J. Morgan as Rossi. The text of the program gives a synopsis of each act of the play. The production photos include many pictures of Viola Allen in a series of magnificent gowns.
Rare souvenir program. Good .
Keywords: THEATRE; THEATER; STAGE; VICTORIA THEATRE, NEW YORK CITY; HALL CAINE; THE ETERNAL CITY; MUSIC BY PIETRO MASCAGNI; SOUVENIR PROGRAM; SYNOPSIS; PRODUCTION PHOTOS; VIOLA ALLEN; FREDERIC DE BELLEVILLE; EDWARD J. MORGAN.