The Charity ball

   David Belasco and Henry C. DeMilles four-act drama opened on 19 November 1889 for 200 performances at the Lyceum Theatre, produced by Daniel Frohman and starring Georgia Cayvan. Mildly sensational, this intense drama focused on the Reverend John Van Buren, who takes blind Phyllis Lee under his protection after her father's death. John learns that his brother, Dick, a Wall Street opportunist, has previously seduced Phyllis and abandoned her in order to court Ann Cruger, whose father is a financial tycoon. John forces Dick to marry Phyllis and repent his ways. As the play ends, John is drawn to Ann, who has loved him all along.