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Thomas, Augustus
Thomas, Augustus (1857–1934), playwright. Born in St. Louis, he tried the law, railroading, and journalism before writing his first play, Editha's Burglar (1889) co‐authored by Edgar Smith. Shortly thereafter, Thomas supplanted Dion Boucicault as the play doctor and adapter for the Madison Square Theatre. His first totally original success was Alabama (1891), which signaled Thomas's interest in plays based on American themes. Among his more notable achievements were In Mizzoura (1893), Arizona (1900), The Witching Hour (1907), As a Man Thinks (1911), and The Copperhead (1918). Besides these more‐or‐less realistic dramas, he also wrote several popular comedies, the best of which were The Earl of Pawtucket (1903) and Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots (1905). Thomas served as president of the Society of American Dramatists for many years and after the death of Charles Frohman became active in the firm that the producer left behind. Not counting his early translations and adaptations, some three dozen of his plays were produced. As a writer he was sometimes criticized for working too hastily and unevenly but was lauded for his determination to make American drama reflect American themes and interests. Autobiography: The Print of My Remembrance, 1922.
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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Thomas, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Thomas, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-ThomasAugustus.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Thomas, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-ThomasAugustus.html |
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Thomas, Augustus
Thomas, Augustus (1857–1934), popular dramatist, whose more than 60 plays cover a wide range of subject matter and treatment, but whose most significant work had as its purpose the depiction of American background, as in Alabama (1891), In Mizzoura (1893), The Capitol (1895), Arizona (1899), and The Copperhead (1918), or the presentation of a character whose desire for individual liberty is obstructed by immediate surroundings or fate. Plays developing this theme include The Witching Hour (1907) and The Harvest Moon (1909), about hypnotism and psychological domination; and As a Man Thinks (1911), a problem play partly concerned with mental healing. Thomas also adapted Frances Hodgson Burnett's Editha's Burglar, first as a one‐act and then as a four‐act play, The Burglar (1889); and F.H. Smith's Colonel Carter of Cartersville (1892). With R.H. Davis he dramatized Soldiers of Fortune (1902).
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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Thomas, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Thomas, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-ThomasAugustus.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Thomas, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-ThomasAugustus.html |
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Thomas, Augustus
Thomas, Augustus (1857–1934), American dramatist, and one of the first to make use in his plays of American material. He succeeded Boucicault as adapter of foreign plays at the Madison Square Theatre under Palmer, but his first popular success, an original drama entitled Alabama (1891), enabled him to resign and devote all his time to his own work. Among his later plays were several others based on a definite locality—In Mizzoura (1893), Arizona (1899), Colorado (1901), and Rio Grande (1916). His most successful play was The Copperhead (1918), in which Lionel Barrymore made a hit. An interest in hypnotism and faith-healing was shown in The Witching Hour (1907), Harvest Moon (1909), and As a Man Thinks (1911), but on the whole Thomas's plays were not profound, and provided entertainment of a kind acceptable to his audiences.
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Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Thomas, Augustus." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Thomas, Augustus." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-ThomasAugustus.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Thomas, Augustus." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-ThomasAugustus.html |
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