The Girl of the Golden West: Classic Literature

The Girl of the Golden West is a theatrical play written, produced and directed by David Belasco and later made into an opera, La fanciulla del West, by Puccini. The four-act melodrama set in the California Gold Rush opened at the old Belasco Theatre in New York on November 14, 1905 and ran for 224 performances. Blanche Bates originated the role of The Girl, Robert C. Hilliard played Dick Johnson, and Frank Keenan played Jack Rance. Bates was joined by Charles Millward and Cuyler Hastings for two-week Broadway runs in 1907 and 1908. William Furst composed the play's incidental music. The play toured throughout the US for several years, and was made into four films, in 1915, 1923, 1930 and 1938. Belasco wrote a novel based on the play in 1911.