The Blue Flame (play)
| The Blue Flame | |
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Theda Bara in The Blue Flame
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| Written by | George V. Hobart, John Willard, Leta Vance Nicholson |
| Date premiered | March 20, 1920 |
| Place premiered | Shubert Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, thriller |
| Setting | New York City |
The Blue Flame is a four-act play written by George V. Hobart and John Willard, who revised an earlier version by Leta Vance Nicholson. In 1920, producer Albert H. Woods staged it on Broadway and on tour across the United States. The main character is a religious young woman who dies and is revived by her scientist fiancé as a soulless femme fatale. She seduces several men and involves them in crimes, including drug use and murder. In the final act, her death and resurrection are revealed to be a dream. The production starred Theda Bara, a popular silent film actress who was known for playing similar roles in movies.
The play received strongly negative reviews, with critics ridiculing the plot, dialog, and Bara's acting. It has been called "one of the worst plays ever written". However, Bara's movie fame drew large crowds to theaters, making the play a commercial success, with the production breaking attendance records at some of its venues. The Blue Flame was Bara's only Broadway role and one of her last professional acting projects.
In the first of the play's four acts, irreligious scientist John Varnum has developed a device to bring the recently dead back to life. His sweet, religious fiancée, Ruth Gordon, does not approve of his experiments and hopes to reform him. However, when she is struck by lightning and killed, she becomes the first person to be revived by his machine. Before she is reanimated, the audience sees her soul visibly leave her body as the "blue flame" of the title. With no soul, the revived Ruth has an entirely different personality. Upon waking, she asks John for a kiss, then suggests they marry immediately so they can begin having sex.
In the second and third acts, Ruth seduces a young man named Larry Winston and steals him away from his own fiancée. She takes Larry to New York's Chinatown, where she gets him hooked on cocaine and steals an emerald from an idol. She seduces Ned Maddox and kills him for insurance money, framing another man for the murder. In the final act, Ruth's death and revival is revealed to be a dream John Varnum was having. Upon waking he now understands the importance of the soul; he embraces religion and destroys his life restoration device.
The characters and cast from the Broadway production are given below:
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