Lightnin' (play)

Lightnin'
Frank Bacon as Lightnin' Bill Jones
Written byWinchell Smith and Frank Bacon
CharactersLightnin' Bill Jones
Original languageEnglish

Lightnin' is a comedy play in three acts by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon. The play was produced by John Golden and directed by P. E. McCoy. With Frank Bacon in the lead role and billed as "A Live Wire American Comedy", Lightnin' made its Broadway debut on August 26, 1918, at the Gaiety Theatre and played continuously over three seasons with a record breaking run of 1,291 performances. The show began its long national tour at the end of August 1921 and continued on for some time after Bacon’s death in November 1922. Lightnin' was revived in 1938 for a two-month run at the John Golden Theatre with Fred Stone playing Lightnin’ Bill Jones and was adapted for cinema twice in films starring Jay Hunt (1925) and Will Rogers (1930).[1]

  1. ^ Lightnin' Flashes A Hit At The Gaiety. New York Times, August 27, 1918 p. 7