During the decade of the 1880s there were dozens of "Tom Shows" travelling across the country. Many of these featured "bloodthirsty" dogs, companies of African American singers and dancers, and "double" Topsy's or Tom's. Townsend's acting script advertises itself as comparatively simple, and may have been intended for use by very small companies, or perhaps even amateur productions. It not a "new version" of the novel, but rather of the most frequently acted of the dramatizations: the 1852 play by George Aiken. Although Aiken's name doesn't appear anywhere in Townsend's text, nearly every line of dialogue and most of the stage business are taken directly from the earlier dramatization. It is interesting to see, however, or rather not see, the parts of Aiken's version of Stowe's story that Townsend feels can be left out. What remains, for example, emphasizes the comic business -- there is even slapstick on stage seconds before Tom dies.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, A Melodrama in Five Acts, Arranged by Charles Townsend, Together with A Description of the Costumes--Cast of Characters--List of Properties--Scenery--Entrances and Exits--Relative Positions--and the Whole of the Stage Business. As Performed Under the Author's Management (New York: Harold Roorbach, 1889)

The Fred W. Atkinson Collection University of Chicago Library

STAGE BUSINESS ACT I Scene 1 -- ROOM AT SHELBYS' Scene 2 -- TAVERN BY THE RIVER ACT II -- PARLOR AT ST. CLARES' ACT III -- PARLOR AT ST. CLARES' ACT IV -- PARLOR AT ST. CLARES' ACT V -- ROOM AT LEGREE'S