Transcriber's Notes:
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CAUTION.-Professionals and amateurs are hereby notified that this playis fully copyrighted under the existing laws of the United StatesGovernment, and nobody is allowed to do this play without first havingobtained permission of Samuel French, 24 West 22d Street, New YorkCity, U. S. A.
Lieutenant-Colonel Leopold Schwartz.
Pastor Heffterdingt
Dr. Von Kellner
Max
Major-General Von Klebs
Prof. Beckmann
Mrs. Schwartz, the stepmother
| Magda Schwartz | } | sisters |
| Marie Schwartz |
Franziska
Mrs. General Von Klebs
Mrs. Justice Ellrich
Mrs. Schumann
Theresa, the Schwartzs' maid
| Scene--The Schwartzs' home. Act I.--Afternoon. Act II.--Evening of the same day. Act III.--The next morning. Act IV.--The same morning. |
Herr Hermann Sudermann has achieved surprising success in passing fromnovel-writing to dramatic authorship. He has a style of the utmostdistinction, and is well skilled in technique. His masterpiece,"Heimat," is absolutely original. No play has ever produced a moreimpressive effect upon German audiences. When it ceases to beperformed, it will still hold a permanent and important place in thelibraries of dramatic literature. Though a psychological study, thereis no concentration of attention upon morbid conditions. All these havepassed before the play begins. There is no passion for mere passion'ssake. Its development proceeds from the energies of circumstances andcharacter.Herr Sudermann, unlike some of the new dramatists, is not lacking inhumor; and the snobbishness, stuffy etiquette, and scandal-mongering ofa provincial town are well illustrated by the minor characters. Intothis atmosphere comes the whirlwind from the outer world with fataleffect. It is scarcely possible to conceive more varied and intenseemotions naturally and even inevitably evolved from the action of asingle day. The value of the drama lies in the sharp contrasts betweenthe New and the Old, alternately commanding, in their strife, theadhesion of the spectator or reader. The preparation for the return of"The Prodigal Daughter" occupies an entire act, and invests herentrance with an interest which increases until the tremendous climax.Yet the proud martinet father commands our respect and sympathy; andthe Pastor, in his enlightened se