The Phantom (play)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Phantom is a two act melodrama written by Dion Boucicault. It was originally titled The Vampire when it was first performed at the Princess's Theatre in London in 1852. Boucicault renamed it The Phantom when he went to the United States, where it opened in Philadelphia in 1856. The play tells the story of two different encounters with a mysterious phantom.
This play moved Boucicault into writing plays that were technically demanding. The Phantom is an adaption of Le Vampire, by Pierre Carmouche, Achile de Jouffroy, and Charles Nodier, which was published in Paris in 1820. Boucicault first titled the play The Vampire: a Phantasm Related in Three Dramas, then shortened and renamed.
The role of the Alan Raby/Phantom was written for Charles Kean, but he declined so it was played by Boucucault himself. After it was published in Paris in 1820, Boucicault adapted the story, shortening it to two acts and retitling it. The previous version included a third act that took place in the future.
This play was one of the first plays performed in America that looked at the supernatural and influenced our understanding of supernatural phenomenon in popular culture. As one of Boucicualt's minor plays, not a lot of writings about productions and critiques were found.