When Knighthood Was In Flower
Belasco Theatre / Los Angeles / 1906
"The Belasco Theatre Stock Company's Tremendous Success, When Knighthood Was in Flower!
The One Great Big Play Of The Season: No advance in prices, notwithstanding the enormous cost of this production.
On account of the Immense Demand for Seats No Phone Orders Can Be Received."
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Los Angeles Herald, Volume 33, Number 119, 28 January 1906 — The Week's Bills [Article]:
Belasco— When Knighthood Was in Flower
A man from New York city visited the Belasco one evening last week and remarked that there was nothing now in the metropolis to compare with the artistic worth of this production of When Knighthood Was in Flower. His amazement that a stock company could prepare such an entertainment in seven days was undisguised. "It is stamped with the most artistic workmanship," he exclaimed. "The finish and refinement of the production are not excelled by even the most famous players. I dropped into the theater to pass half an hour and remained to the finish and am going again. Back in New York I have been paying two dollars after two dollars and have seen failure after failure and it's a genuine relief to see a truly artistic drama."
When Knighthood Was in Flower is a marvelous production in many respects. Few plays ever presented in Los Angeles have proved so tremendously attractive and the reason is not far to seek. The Belasco management recognized the opportunity which presented itself in this play and they were not to be found wanting in ability to make the most of it.
Here was a drama which did not hold the mirror up to nature but which had made itself famous despite of that fact, or perhaps because of it. It is a romance of the sort that in a dull, prosaic exlstence one's imagination hungers for. The Belasco management secured this play, they have a company including some of the most artistic players on the American stage, and then it became only a question of proper production. George Barnum worked day and night. The management placed almost unlimited funds at his command, for they intended that this should outdo any theatrical entertainment in Los Angeles this season. The result is apparent. Since Old Heidelberg, the Belasco box office has not witnessed such a demand for seats. Every night the house has been sold put. The event marked also the sudden immense accession in popularity of Miss Eugenic Thais Lawton. She also found her opportunity and was prepared to make the most of it. Her work in the character of Mary Tudor was a revelation even to those who expected much of her. The play runs another week— of course.
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Los Angeles Herald, Volume 33, Number 176, 25 March 1906 — Page 5
Miss Eugenic Thais Lawton is to have a well earned and much needed ' rest. For six whole weeks she Is to forget call boy and rehearsals, mandates of managers and the numerous similar things which go to make up the life of a busy actress. As a farewell to Los Angeles theater goers she will again appear as Mary Tudor. In When Knighthood Was In Flower, 'the performance with which she made' such a decided hit several weeks ago.
