Treasure Island The Broadway Play of 1915

"Treasure Island" was the break out hit of the 1915 season when it opened on Broadway to sold out houses and ran for over 200 performances. Stevenson's estate had granted the rights to Broadway producer Charles Hopkins only on specifications that the adaptation took no liberties with the novel. Critics noted that the playwright caught and preserved the flavor, the color, and the spirit of the book. The play was such a popular success that it toured extensively throughout the first part of the 20th Century and is even still produced today. After leaving his editorship post with Current Literature, Jules Eckert Goodman turned his attention to writing plays and achieved his first success with his 1910 play "Mother." It followed a succession of other successful Broadway plays including the popular "Potash and Permutter" plays. Many of his plays were adapted for the movies including the 1932 Bette Davis film "The Man Who Played God."