What Happened to Jones

What Happened to Jones is a farce by George Howells Broadhurst (1866-1952)[1].

Also found as What Happened to Jones?.

The original text

After warmup performances in New Haven, Connecticut, it opened at the Manhattan Theatre on Broadway on August 30, 1897. In London the play opened at The Strand on 9 April, 1898 (playing for 383 performances). Charles Arnold starred in this production, and then took it on international tours of the colonies, including to Australia (1900 and 1902) and South Africa (1899-1900), playing it as a double bill with An Empty Stocking (Wright).

Translations and adaptations

Three silent film versions were made of the play, directed by Fred Mace in 1915[2], directed by James Cruze in 1920[3] and directed by William A. Seiter in 1926[4] (the poster in this case lists it as as What Happened to Jones?).

Performance history in South Africa

1899: Performed in the Theatre Royal, Durban, on 19 December by a visiting company led by Charles Arnold (referred to as Charles Arnold's English Comedy Company in some sources), as a double bill with An Empty Stocking (Wright).

1900: Performed by Charles Arnold's English Comedy Company in the Opera House Cape Town on 20 January. According to D.C. Boonzaier (1923), the production included five of the original performers from the London premiere. The full cast consisted of Charles Arnold (as "Jones"), Frederick B. Sharp (as "Ebenezer Goodby"), Frank H. Denton (as "Richard Heatherley"), E.W. Thomas (as "Thomas Holder"), Fred. W. Leonard (as "William Bigbee"), Hugh Ardale (as "Henry Fuller"), Agness Nights (as "Mrs Goodby"), Dot Frederic (as "Cissy"), Eugene Magnus (as "Marjorie"), Beatrice Mervyn (as "Minerva"), Sallie Booth (as "Alvina Starlight") and Ada Lee (as "Helma").

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Happened_to_Jones_(play)

https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/66638

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Broadhurst

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Happened_to_Jones_(1915_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Happened_to_Jones_(1920_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Happened_to_Jones_(1926_film)

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.407-8

Walter Greyvenstein 1988a. The History and Development of Children's Theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

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