Courtney White
Courtney White made his Broadway debut in the 1918 revival of Experience at the Manhatten Opera House. Among his ten other Broadway credits was the title role of in the short-lived 1931 revival of Dracula at the Royale Theatre. In addition to his roles in on the stage he appeared in silent films and radio, including a production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
1930
November 23-29, 1930
Davidson Theatre, Milwaukee
Perhaps to cut down on costs, the playbill contained photos of various actors who had donned Dracula’s cape
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Milwaukee Journal, November 22, 1930
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Milwaukee Journal, November 23, 1930
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Milwaukee Sentinel, November 23, 1930
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Milwaukee Journal, November 25, 1930
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Milwaukee Journal, November 27, 1930
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Milwaukee Journal, November 28, 1930
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Milwaukee Journal, November 29, 1930
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November 30, 1930
Selwyn Theatre, Chicago
Rockford Morning Star, December 2, 1930
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December 21, 1930
Hanna Theatre, Cleveland
White, Plain Dealer, December 21, 1930
1931
January 8-10, 1931
Parsons Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut
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January 12-?, 1931
The Lyric Theatre, Boston
Boston Herald, January 11, 1931
Openings
LYRIC
“Dracula”
“Dracula,” most sensational and most enduring of all the mystery dramas, returns to Boston Monday evening, this time being on view at the Lyric Theatre. That it always has been popular entertainment here is indicated by its various previous engagements. The story of a vampire in human form which roams the countryside from midnight to dawn, leaving terror in its wake. Hamilton Deane and John Balderstone made the now famous dramatization from the rambling narrative by Bram Stoker. The novel has thrilled book readers for two generations. The play is now in its fourth year in England. The present cast in Horace Liveright’s production includes Courtney White, Edward Forbes, Marcella Gaudel, William Melville and Alfred Sill.
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Plain Dealer, April 22, 1934
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April 13-18, 1931
Broadway Revival
Royale Theatre, New York
Arnold Daly – Jonathan Harker
Edward Forbes – R.M. Renfield
Marcella Gaudel – Lucy Seward
William Melville – Dr. Seward
William Olathe Miller – Butterworth
Maurice Morris – Abraham Van Helsing
Alfreda Sill – Miss Wells, a maid
Courtney White – Count Dracula
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Plain Dealer, May 24, 1931
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September 14-19, 1931
Broad Street Theatre, Newark
The Rahway Record, September 11, 1931
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The Westfield Leader Wednesday, September 16, 1931
With the Plays and Players
New and Old Events Now Being Presented at Various Playhouses
Broad – Newark
In presenting “Dracula” the sensational vampire mystery play at the Broad Street Theatre, Newark, this week, O.E. Wee, the producer of the play, offers the following information about it by way of explanation:
“Dracula” is based on a strange superstition that lurks in certain countries of middle Europe, relative to ghostly vampires – beings of an ether world who exist on a sanguinary diet, secured by drawing the blood from the necks of their victims. In the old legends they were supposed to prey on human kind, and to go on existing for centuries by virtue of their predatory activities. Mo vampire actually died but remained an animate corpse, taking various shapes and forms at night and returning each day to sleep within the place of internment.
With this foundation the plot of “Dracula” revolves around an English girl who has come under the sinister influence of the titles personage, “Count Volvode Dracula,” a suave Hungarian diplomat. The machinations of “Dracula,” who assumes at will the form of a were-wolf, a howling dog, a flapping vampire or a mist, and to whom walls, doors and windows form no obstacle to his entry and exit, are foiled by the Dutch scientist, “Professor Van Helsing,” versed in ways of necrology.
The cast presenting “Dracula” is headed by Courtney White as “Count Dracula” and includes Maurice Morris, Edward Forbes, William Melville, William Olathe Miller, Arnold Daly, Marcella Gaudel and Peggy Hastings.
Regular matinees today and Saturday will be given.
