The French melodrama La Femme X by Alexandre Bis-son became a mainstay of the early 20th-century American stage, largely for the histrionic opportunities afforded an emotional actress in the portrayal of an erring woman who has sunk to the gutter and committed murder. She is brought to trial and finally redeemed by reunion with her son, who—in a wonderful coincidence—is the attorney appointed to defend the woman he does not recognize. She also gets to play a death scene. Charles Frohman presented an English version in London, opening 2 September 1909, and 12 days later, Henry W. Savage opened the first American production in Rochester, New York. Translated by John N. Raphael and edited for the American stage by William Henry Wright, it opened at New York's New Amsterdam Theatre on 2 February 1910. Dorothy Donnelly elicited floods of tears in the title role, which was taken up on tour by Amelia Bingham, among others, as well as produced by resident stock companies to feature actresses like Eva Lang.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.