Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1918, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Mama and I went to see the big spectacle of “The Wanderer” at the Auditorium. It was awfully good. The scenery was fine.”
“The Wanderer” was a production written by Maurice V. Samuels and staged by David Belasco. The plot was based on the well-known parable of the prodigal son. “The Boston Globe” announced that the show was “endorsed by more than 1500 clergymen of New York and by 800 clergymen of Philadelphia” (18 Nov, 1917, page 48). According to newspapers across the country, it was the “greatest cast ever organized in the history of the American stage” with Nance O’Neil, James O’Neil, Charles Dalton, Frederick Lewis, Lionel Braham, Sydney Herbert, Ernest Cove, Henry Duggan, Jean Stuart, Florence Auer, Jean Robertson, Olga Newton, Edward Martyn, Sydney Mather, George Byron, C. H. Faulkner, and “more than 200 others.”
The first and third act of the show depicted the home of the prodigal son in the hills of Hebron with a flock of sheep. The second act took place in the elaborate palace of Nadina in Jerusalem. Of the palatial scene, the “Spokesman-Review” reported, “Gorgeous and grandeur almost beyond description are said to be found in this scene. Voluptuousness is probably the word that most nearly describes the atmosphere and color of the big act. A riot of color and motion is said to be everywhere as portraying the haunts of gilded vice where, as Scripture relates, the prodigal son ‘wasted his substance in riotous living.’ While the biblical story is closely followed, the playwright has embroidered much romantic effect on the fabric of the parable and tells the story in dignified and picturesque phrases” (Spokane, Washington, 4 Aug., 1918, page 20)
“The Los Angeles Express” described, “Jerusalem’s house of sin, which is the second act of The Wanderer, also shows a touch of this master. There is sumptuous and luxury with deft touches of the garish in lights and decorations, all combining to convey the impression of a sin-filled atmosphere. The scene is said to be a marvelous palace of imaginative exemplification of St. Luke’s brief description that the Prodigal Son had ‘wasted his substance with riotous living’” (May 9, 1918, page 8).
Advertisements announced, “The magnificence of the orient in the time of King Solomon is revealed in all its grandeur in this wonderful play” (Spokane, Washington, 4 Aug., 1918, page 20). The show was advertised as the “Biggest Dramatic Spectacle on Earth!” Considering that the Ringling Brothers transported 1,250 performers, 300 ballet dancers and 90 musicians for their “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” production, this was a little overstated (see past post #486 https://drypigment.net2018/08/25/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-486-ringling-brothers-king-solomon-and-the-queen-of-sheba/).
“The Wanderer” traveled with a company of 200, 90 ballet dancers, and 120 real sheep. I cannot imagine working a touring production with 120 sheep. And what were the sheep doing? The flock of 120 real sheep entered down the scenic runway, 35 feet high, representing the hills of Hebron. “The Los Angeles Express” described the scene with the sheep, reporting, “It is said that the curtain is raised for but a few minutes when the audience is fairly electrified, for there in the poetic quietude of the pastoral scene which represents the home of the Prodigal So amidst the hills of Hebron, is to be seen a large flock of sheep wending their way down the low hillside to the fold at eventide, and the friendly barking of the shepherd dogs is heard as well as the soft grinding of the hand-turned millstones which provide flour of the festal bread” (May 9, 1918, page 8).
Anselm Goetzel wrote the musical score and Alexis Kosloff arranged and directed the incidental dances. “Stern of Paris” was credited with the scene painting and costuming. This was Ernst Stern (1876-1954), the Romanian-German scenic artist, who worked for Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater.
To be continued…
