EQUESTRIAN DRAMA

Plays that made a spectacle of horsemanship were expensive to tour, but their popularity with audiences seems to have justified the cost. While the earlierMazepparequired only one horse,Ben-Hur(1899) multiplied the thrills with many horses; its climactic chariot race was performed with live horses on treadmills. Somemelodramasnot specifically written as equestrian dramas used horses on stage as an element of spectacle. For example,William A. Brady's 1901 revival ofUncle Tom's Cabinincluded "horses, carriages, pony carts, donkeys, and dogs" (NewYork Times, 5 March 1901). A 1900 production ofQuo Vadis!, performed by Kansas City's Auditorium Stock Company, touted the horses in its advertisements and became the longest continuously running play in Kansas City history.