Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Love in '76 An Incident of the Revolution

Excerpt

The name of Oliver Bell Bunce is not prominently connected with the American Theatre.  Authorities have taken little or no trouble to unearth his association with the plays and players of his time—­the mid-period of the nineteenth century.  Yet they all agree that, as illustration of “parlour comedy,” his “Love in ’76” is a satisfactory example of sprightliness and fresh inventiveness.  For this reason, the small comedietta is included in the present collection.  It challenges comparison with Royall Tyler’s “The Contrast” for manner, and its volatile spirit involved in the acting the good services of such estimable players as Laura Keene, Stoddart, and Ringgold.  In the cast also was J.G.  Burnett, author of “Blanche of Brandywine,” a dramatization of a novel by George Lippard, also produced by Laura Keene.