The Heir to the Hoorah (play) | |
---|---|
Written by | Paul Armstrong |
Based on | "The Transmogrification of Dan" by Henry J. W. Dam (1898) |
Directed by | Kirke La Shelle |
Date premiered | April 10, 1905 |
Place premiered | Hudson Theatre |
Original language | English |
Subject | Comic sentiment |
Genre | Melodrama |
Setting | A mining town east of the Divide |
The Heir to the Hoorah is a 1904 play written by Paul Armstrong, which was later determined in court to have been based on "The Transmogrification of Dan" by Henry J. W. Dam. It is a melodrama with four acts, three settings, and moderate pacing. The story concerns the western owner of a gold mine called the Hoorah, his eastern-born wife, and their path to reconciliation.
The play was produced and staged by Kirke La Shelle, the last he would ever do. There were tryouts in Scranton and Philadelphia during March 1905, with the Broadway premiere following in April 1905. The production ran on Broadway through the middle of July 1905, for 112 performances. This was Armstrong's first successful multi-act stage work, though it would become the subject of a copyright violation lawsuit. It also marked the debut of T. Tamamoto, a Japan-born actor who employed jiu-jitsu during the play's action and would go on to appear in a dozen more Broadway productions.
The play was later adapted for a silent film of the same title in 1916.