Purdue revives work of Indiana-born playwright

KENTLAND, Ind. -- A century ago, Indiana-born playwright George Ade was the toast of Broadway, where his amusing plays packed theaters and made him a fortune.\nAde is no longer a household name, but his fans hope an upcoming revival of his 1904 play, "The College Widow," by Purdue University's theater department stirs interest in his work.\nJohn Yost, a Kentland resident and an authority on Ade, said the playwright's literary humor -- showcased in little stories he called "fables" -- were masterpieces of subtlety and irony.\n"They are as fresh and vibrant and amusing as they were a century ago," Yost said.\nAde, who died in 1944, was born in Kentland about 100 miles northwest of Indianapolis. He became famous writing bestsellers and scripts in Chicago, and sometimes earned more than $1 million a year in royalties.\nHe traveled the world, but settled in the Newton County town of Brook, where his home, Hazelden, still stands. The estate had its own golf course, swimming pool, dance hall, stable, greenhouse, gardens, tennis courts and picnic grounds.\nAde's houseguests over the years included Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Will Rogers, James Whitcomb Riley, Douglas MacArthur and Ernie Pyle.\nDale Miller, a professor emeritus and the former chairman of Purdue's theater division, will direct "The College Widow," which runs Feb. 17 to 26.\nThe play, loosely based on the football rivalry between DePauw University and Wabash College, is being set in 1924 to add flashy "Roaring '20s" costumes.\nMiller said he has done very little adaptation to the play, which he said holds up well more than a century after its premiere.\n"Comedy has a notoriously short shelf life, but I have been impressed by old George Ade," he said. "He kind of had the root of what is funny, and it still works with very little translation."\n"Widow" opened in New York on Sept. 20, 1904, and ran for about a year, during which three road companies were performing it across the land, Yost said. When the play was retired, he said Ade had earned $2 million from that one show alone.\nAde, an 1887 Purdue grad, served as a Purdue trustee and helped fund the construction of the West Lafayette campus' Ross-Ade Stadium.