The German play is freely adapted from the French play Lucrèce Borgia, by Victor Hugo. The file contains materials related to rehearsal and performance, including a published copy that has been annotated as a prompt book, and 12 handwritten role books for the following parts: Alphonso, Herzog von Ferrara; Donna Lucretia, seine Gemahlin; Gennaro, Capitain im Dienste der Republik Venedig; Gubetta, im Dienste der Herzogin; Gräfin Negroni; Maffei Orsini; Jeppo Liveretto; Apostolo Gazella; Ascanio Petrucci; Olofero Vitellozzo; Rustighello, Trabant des Herzogs; and Astolofo, Trabant der Herzogin. (The play has one other main role: ein Thürsteher.) The published copy is labeled as the property of Theodor Bloch, who was active in German-language theater in Philadelphia from 1873 to at least the mid 1890s, first as an actor and later as a prompter, and who also ran a theater lending library. The published copy is part of the series Both's Bühnen-Repertoir (Bloch's label pasted onto the title page obscures the title's number), and likely dates from the 1840s, if not earlier. (The series was published in Berlin, by Louis Schneider, 1805-1878.) The role books for Donna Lucretia and Maffei Orsini bear the names of the cast members who played those parts, Josephine Lube and Carl Schmidt. Lube has signed and dated the back cover of the role book, Philadelphia, 28 March 1886. The two names reflect the cast that performed the play at Thalia Theater, Philadelphia, the week ending 27-28 March 1886, as further documented by a theater newspaper, a playbill, and an oversized playbill (see folders 711, 687, and 722, respectively).
