| Via Wireless (play) | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Guglielmo_Marconi_1901_wireless_signal.jpg) Early wireless set | |
| Written by | Paul Armstrong and Winchell Smith |
| Based on | Unpublished story by Frederic Thompson |
| Directed by | Frederic Thompson and Winchell Smith |
| Date premiered | November 2, 1908 |
| Place premiered | Liberty Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Melodrama |
Via Wireless is a 1908 play dramatized by Paul Armstrong and Winchell Smith from an original story idea by Frederic Thompson, and incorporating one scene devised by Edwin Balmer and Irving W. Edwards. It is a melodrama with four acts, five settings, six scenes, a large cast and fast pacing. The story concerns a Navy lieutenant who has designed a new marine artillery piece, the royalty owner of a rival gun who wants to sabotage it, and the girl who both men want. The story depends for its climax on the use of ship-to-ship wireless telegraphy.
The play was first produced by Frederic Thompson, and staged by Thompson and Smith. There was a tryout in Washington, D. C. during October 1908. The Broadway premiere came in early November 1908. The production ran on Broadway through January 1909, for over 85 performances.
The play was later adapted for a silent film of the same title in 1915.