User:RL0919/Draft TFA blurbs

This page contains draft blurbs for articles I am interested in nominating at TFA.

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) was an African-American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped in 1849, then returned 13 times to rescue approximately 70 of her enslaved family and friends. Traveling by night, she used a network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, she helped fugitives go farther north into British North America, and helped newly freed slaves find work. Tubman met John Brown in 1858, and helped him plan and recruit for his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. When the Civil War began, she worked for the Union Army, first as a cook and nurse, and then as an armed scout and spy. The first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, she guided the raid at Combahee Ferry, which liberated more than 700 slaves. Later in life she was an activist for women's suffrage. After her death, she was celebrated as an American icon. (Full article...)

• Last appearance at TFA: 17 September 2019
• Eligible to re-run: In 2024
• Relevant dates: 17 September (1st escape 1849), March (approx 1822 birth), 19 June (Juneteenth), 1 June (Combahee Ferry raid 1863)

The Bat

The Bat is a three-act comedy-mystery play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood that was first produced by Lincoln Wagenhals and Collin Kemper. The play opened on Broadway on August 23, 1920. At a rented summer home, Cornelia Van Gorder and guests search for stolen money while being stalked by a masked criminal known as "the Bat". The play originated as an adaptation of Rinehart's 1908 mystery novel The Circular Staircase. It was a critical and commercial success, running for 867 performances in New York and 327 in London, with tours by several road companies. It was revived twice on Broadway, in 1937 and 1953. It had several adaptations, including a 1926 novelization credited to Rinehart and Hopwood but ghostwritten by Stephen Vincent Benét. Three film adaptations were produced: The Bat (1926), The Bat Whispers (1930), and The Bat (1959). The play and its adaptations inspired other comedy-mysteries with similar settings, and influenced the creation of the comic-book superhero Batman. (Full article...)

• Last appearance at TFA: 23 August 2018
• Eligible to re-run: Yes
• Relevant dates: 23 August (1920 premiere), 12 August (Rinehart's 1876 birth), 28 May (Hopwood's 1882 birth), 20 January (opening of last revival in 1953), 31 May (opening of 1937 revival)

Night of January 16th

Night of January 16th is a play by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of Ivar Kreuger, an industrialist and accused swindler known as the Match King. The play is set in a courtroom during a murder trial, and members of the audience are chosen to play the jury. The court hears the case of Karen Andre, a former secretary and lover of businessman Bjorn Faulkner, of whose murder she is accused. The jury must rely on character testimony to decide whether Andre is guilty; the play's ending depends on their verdict. Rand wanted to dramatize a conflict between individualism and conformity. The play was first produced in 1934 in Los Angeles under the title Woman on Trial. Producer Al Woods took it to Broadway for the 1935–36 season and re-titled it Night of January 16th. It became a hit and ran for seven months. The play has been adapted as a movie, as well as for television and radio. Rand had many disputes with Woods over the play, and in 1968 re-edited it for publication as her "definitive" version. (Full article...)

• Last appearance at TFA: 16 January 2017
• Eligible to re-run: Yes
• Relevant dates: 16 January (title), 22 October (1934 LA premiere), 16 September (Broadway opening 1935), 2 February (Rand's 1905 birth)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a four-act play written by Thomas Russell Sullivan in collaboration with the actor Richard Mansfield (pictured). It is an adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story focuses on the respected London doctor Henry Jekyll, who uses a potion to transform into Edward Hyde, a loathsome criminal. Intrigued by the opportunity to play a dual role, Mansfield secured the stage rights and asked Sullivan to write the adaptation. The play debuted in Boston on May 9, 1887, then opened on Broadway in September of that year. Mansfield's performance as the dual character was acclaimed by critics. The play opened in London in August 1888, just before the first Jack the Ripper murders. Some press reports compared the murderer to the Jekyll-Hyde character, and Mansfield was suggested as a possible suspect. Mansfield's company continued to perform the play in the US until shortly before his death in 1907. Sullivan made changes from Stevenson's story that have been adopted by many subsequent adaptations, including several film versions that were derived from the play. (Full article...)

• Last appearance at TFA: 9 May 2017
• Eligible to re-run: Yes
• Relevant dates: 9 May (1887 premiere), 4 August (1888 London opening), 24 May (Mansfield's 1857 birth), 21 November (Sullivan's 1849 birth), 31 October (Halloween)