The Project Gutenberg EBook of Representative Plays by American
Dramatists: 1856-1911: Rip van Winkle by Charles Burke

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Title: Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Rip van
Winkle

Author: Charles Burke

Release Date: December 18, 2007 [Ebook #27552]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REPRESENTATIVE PLAYS BY AMERICAN DRAMATISTS: 1856-1911: RIP VAN WINKLE***

Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911:
Rip van Winkle

by Charles Burke

First Project Gutenberg Edition , (December 18, 2007)

[Illustration: Charles Burke]

CHARLES BURKE

CONTENTS

Preface
Announcement
RIP VAN WINKLE
Introduction
CAST OF CHARACTERS
COSTUME
RIP VAN WINKLE
ACT I.
SCENE I.
SCENE II.
SCENE III.
SCENE IV.
SCENE V.
ACT II.
SCENE I.
SCENE II.
SCENE III.
SCENE IV.
SCENE LAST.
Transcribers' Notes

This is the history of the evolution of a play. Many hands were concerned
in its growth, but its increase in scenic effect as well as in dialogue
was a stage one, rather than prompted by literary fervour. No
dramatization of Washington Irving's immortal story has approached the
original in art of expression or in vividness of scene. But, if historical
record can be believed, it is the actor, rather than the dramatist, who
has vied with Irving in the vitality of characterization and in the
romantic ideality of figure and speech. Some of our best comedians found
attraction in the ri?1/2le, yet, though Charles Burke and James A. Herne are
recalled, by those who remember back so far, for the very Dutch
lifelikeness of the genial old drunkard, Joseph Jefferson overtops all
memories by his classic portrayal.

As far as literary value of the versions is concerned, it would be small
loss if none of them were available. They form a mechanical frame-work as
devoid of beauty as the skeleton scarecrow in Percy Mackaye's play, which
was based on Hawthorne's "Feathertop" in "Mosses from an Old