Maude Adams

Maude Adams (1872–1953) was a beloved and talented American Broadway actress who greatly influenced succeeding acting methods and production techniques. She first appeared on stage as an infant in her actress mother’s arms, and then moved to a succession of children’s parts. Her New York debut came in 1888, supported by E. H. Southern and then Charles Frohman, a demanding mentor. In 1905, she played her most famous role: the star of James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.
Beautiful, kind, and very private, this early American actress is chronicled in a biography covering both her life experiences and innovations on the stage.

The late Armond Fields was a social historian specializing in American popular theater. The author of numerous books about vaudeville and other early theater figures, he lived in Culver City, California.

Armond Fields
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 326
Bibliographic Info: 53 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1927-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Introduction      1

1 The Adams Heritage      3
2 Introduction to the Stage      13
3 Mastering Her Skills      29
4 Touring Adventures      44
5 An Ingenue’s Achievements      55
6 Under Frohman’s Tutelage      73
7 First Steps to Stardom      89
8 The Making of a Star      108
9 The Little Minister      120
10 Testing Her Skills      135
11 Overwrought and Overworked      156
12 Return to Popularity      166
13 Peter Pan      185
14 Jesters to Joan      207
15 Hard Tasks, Long Seasons      223
16 Sadness and Disenchantment      243
17 Dim Shadows and Bright Lights      257
18 The One I Knew Least of All      268
19 Passages      276
20 The Final Curtain      288

Epilogue      300
Chapter Notes      305
Selected Bibliography and Source Material      311
Index      315