''Anselma'', also known as ''The Princess Andrea'', is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

in six acts. It is an 1885 English-language adaptation of

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

's 1873 French-language play ''Andréa'' which was created by

Leander Richardson Leander Pease Richardson (February 28, 1856 – February 2, 1918) was an American journalist, playwright, theatrical writer and author.Antonie Janisch Antonie Janisch, also known on the stage as Madame Janisch (May 9, 1848, Vienna – October 12, 1920, Vienna) was an Austrian actress. Career Antonie Janisch began her career as a teenager at the Theater an der Wien where her first significant ro ...

(1848-1920), known on the stage as Madame Janisch. The play became a source of contention in the

Judiciary of New York The Judiciary of New York (officially the New York State Unified Court System) is the judicial branch of the Government of New York (state), Government of New York, comprising all the courts of the State of New York (excluding extrajudicial adm ...

with several legal battles between the producers of ''Anselma'' and the actress Agnes Ethel arguing over the rights to Sardou's play.

History

''Anselma'' premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

at the

Madison Square Theatre The Madison Square Theatre was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, on the south side of 24th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway (which intersects Fifth Avenue near that point). It was built in 1863, operated as a theater from 1865 to 1908, an ...

on September 7, 1885. Originally the play was supposed to premiere a week earlier but prior to its premiere, the production was embroiled in legal battles after the actress Agnes Ethel successfully obtained an injunction against the planned premiere performance of the play on August 31, 1885. Ethel had previously obtained the rights for an earlier English-language stage adaptation of the play which had been titled ''Agnes''. In her lawsuit, Ethel claimed that she owned the sole rights to any production of ''Andréa''. To further complicate matters, Ethel had sold the rights of performance for Agnes to the actress Kate Claxton. The court case surrounding ''Anselma'' was widely covered in the American press, and it was an important early copyright law case. Initially a New York City judge ruled that Sardou maintained his copyright to the work and that as the work had been published and was available for public consumption, Ethel could not claim a right to sole performance. Further, the producer's of ''Anselma'' had entered into an agreement with the actress Kate Claxton, who had purchased the rights of performance from Ethel, to pay her royalties and thus a legal work-around was reached for performances of the play to continue in the midst of court battles. Ultimately, the lower court's initial ruling was overturned by the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

in December 1885, and Agnes Ethel was recognized as legally owning the rights to Sardou's''Andréa'' in both Australia and the United States as the actress had purchased those rights from the author. This ruling placed a permanent injunction on performances of ''Anselma'' and any other stage adaptation of Sardou's play in the United States without the permission of Agnes Ethel. After this ruling performances of ''Anselma'' ceased.

Broadway cast

Antonie Janisch Antonie Janisch, also known on the stage as Madame Janisch (May 9, 1848, Vienna – October 12, 1920, Vienna) was an Austrian actress. Career Antonie Janisch began her career as a teenager at the Theater an der Wien where her first significant ro ...

as Anselma *

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

as Count Marcelin de Pourtales *Gabrielle Du Sauld as Stella *Leslie Edmunds as Dr. Bazilos * S. Henry Pincus as Henry Clay Rustler *Nettie Abbott as Mme. Celine * W. J. Ferguson as Basil * Max Freeman as Count de Brionne *M. B. Hoffman as Lambert *Jenny Karsner as Sidonie *G. H. Leonard as General Boulevardo *John G McDonald as Oroide Brassey *H. S. Millward as Grabbitt *M. Morton as Kraft

References

{{reflist

External links

Anselma
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

1885 plays Broadway plays Adaptations of works by Victorien Sardou