UTC
The Illustrated News
Unsigned Article
New York: 22 January 1853

"UNCLE TOM" ON THE STAGE.

  The most remarkable illustration of the impression produced in England by "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is in the fact that dramas founded upon it were on Christmas night played in London, at Drury Lane, the Adelphi, the Surrey, Saddler's Wells, and other theatres, and at Astley's Amphitheatre, where there was an "equestrian version" of it. The extraordinary merit of this last piece was established by the fact that it commanded uninterrupted attention for upwards of two hours, of a "boxing-night" audience assembled to witness a pantomime. This may have been owing to the large preponderance of comic scenes, some of which were quite equal in humor to any part of the pantomime. The fidelity of the representation to Mrs. Stowe's tale may be judged from the fact that the closing scene was a sword combat between Cassy and Legree. At Saddler's Wells, the best hit was a display of rival "Uncle Toms," each greater than the last, followed by an impersonation of the genuine "Old Tom," labelled (gin,) "the True Cause of Slavery in England."