Kismet

   Edward Knoblock's three-act play, which opened on 25 December 1911 for 184 performances at the Knickerbocker Theatre (following a successful run in London), is mostly remembered as the source for the 1953 musical of the same name, adapted by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, with lyrics by Richard Wright and a score adapted by George Forrest from Aleksandr Borodin's music. The musical ran for 583 performances and was successful again in 1978 with an all-AFRicAN American cast under the title Timbuktu. Set in ancient Baghdad, Kismet focuses on Hajj the poet, who is arrested and reluctantly agrees to the Wazir's demand that he kill the Caliph Abdullah. Hajj fails to kill the Caliph and is thrown into the same cell with an old enemy, Sheik Jawan. Hajj kills the sheik and steals his identity, escaping in the sheik's clothing. Hajj saves his daughter, Marsinah, from the harem of the Wazir, whom he drowns in the process. Meanwhile, the Caliph, who loves Marsinah, succeeds in wooing her in the guise of a gardener. With the Wazir dead, the Caliph must by law banish Hajj, but chooses to look the other way when Hajj returns to the city to live simply as a poet. Otis Skinner won praise as Hajj, also appearing in the 1920 and 1930 motion picture versions. A lavish film version in 1944 starred Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich. Kismet proved a gold mine for producers Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger, in association with Charles Frohman.