''Three Live Ghosts'' is a 1920

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 ...

based on the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

of the same name by Frederic S. Isham. The story follows three soldiers who return from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, despite being declared dead. Two of them are English, with one suffering from memory loss due to

shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...

and the other finding out that his

life insurance policy Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurance , insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon ...

has been collected by his mother. The third soldier is an American with personal reasons for wanting to remain presumed dead. The trio must navigate the challenges of maintaining their false situations while dealing with various complications. The play premiered at the

Greenwich Village Theatre Greenwich Village Theatre (GVT) was an arts venue in Greenwich Village, New York which opened in 1917 and closed for the last time in 1930. Herman Lee Meader was the architect and it was located in Sheridan Square at 4th Street and Seventh Av ...

in New York, gaining significant attention and drawing packed audiences. It later moved to

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

s, including the

Nora Bayes Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theater at 216 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It was originally named Weber and Fields' Music Hall when it opened in November 1912 as a resident ve ...

where it was described as being a "big hit" and enjoyed a successful season. The play also had runs at the Globe Theatre in New Jersey in 1920, presented by

Max Marcin Max Marcin (5 May 1879 – 30 March 1948) was a Polish-born American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and film director. He wrote for 47 films between 1916 and 1949. He also directed six films between 1931 and 1936. His stage work inclu ...

and at the Mauch Chunk Opera House in 1921.

Reception

The play was described as being unusual by a writer for Delaware's The Morning News, remarking that it had "all the ear marks of a whizzing comedy success".

References

External links

1920 plays American plays adapted into films {{1920s-play-stub