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BEST HISTORICAL DRAMA
Peter Stuyvesant
by Will McMorrow From The Cavalcade of America
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IN SEEKING the historical drama that was to be considered the best of its kind, a small mountain of material was examined, but the questions for assaying values were simple : Was it history ? Was it drama ? A great many of the specimens tested showed a high content of historical accuracy ; a great many assayed high in dramatic value ; a few, including the one finally chosen, showed a proper and balanced content of both.
In “Peter Stuyvesant” the writer has not overstepped the barriers of historical truth. At the same time he has given depth and breadth and meaning to a character who, at first glance, would have seemed to most of us to be as unyielding as one of his own statues. It is obvious that the writer of the drama has met the obstinate and cantankerous old Dutchman, has heard the tap of the wooden peg echoing on the wharves of New Amsterdam, has listened in, across the centuries, to the dialogue that ends the piece. We feel that the writer fully enjoyed meeting Peter Stuyvesant, sympathized with the gruff old empire builder, saw something more there than a roaring tyrant and a swearing martinet; and in this sympathetic understanding of the man behind the one-dimensional picture lies the value of the piece.
Cavalcade of America, the series from which this drama was chosen, has uniformly maintained a high standard of workmanship in accordance with the formula we have given above. In view of the research entailed, the variety of subjects and historical incidents involved, no one uniter can hope to maintain such standards alone, through con
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