The play was first produced by William A. Brady, Jr. and Dwight Wiman, with staging by Lester Lonergan, settings and costumes by Lee Simonson, musical effects by Douglas Moore, and starring Jane Cowl, with Philip Merivale and Richie Ling.
While Fabius sends for Drusus, Sertorius and other senators, Scipio speaks of Hannibal's genius and skill, and proclaims him a god of battle.
Pronounced spies by Hasdrubal, who orders the Sergeant to have them killed, they win a reprieve when Mago starts fondling Amytis, who is still wearing the scandalous gown.
Hannibal dismisses Hasdrubal and Mago, and at Amytis' insistance, orders the guards to protect Varius and Meta from harm while in camp.
Placing Amytis under her husband's care, he dismisses the Roman delegation, telling Fabius to treasure such a wife and any heirs she may soon produce.
(Curtain) Historical satire, as opposed to costume drama, enjoyed a vogue in early 20th Century theatre, with works such as Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw and Madame Sand by Philip Moeller.
Robert E. Sherwood was well aware of the actual events as recorded by ancient authors and interpreted by modern historians, which he recounts in a lengthy preface to his published play.
[14] Philander Johnson said it was "a thoroughly original work, irresistable in its fun, convincing in its sentiment" and judged it comparable with the best of George Bernard Shaw.
[15] Two days after the opening, costume and setting designer Lee Simonson surprised members of The Road to Rome production by marrying Carolyn Hancock Bergman at a Washington court on January 19, 1927, and immediately leaving for New York.
However, Arthur Pollock in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle gave Philip Merivale the acting honors, in part because he felt Hannibal was the only character who really interested Sherwood.
Pollock thought Jane Cowl's Amytis exhibited "calculated cuteness" in the first act, was a "Newark ingenue" and not a "New York actress" until her character met Merivale's Hannibal.
[20] His opinion was opposite to Brooks Atkinson, who thought the play showed "a wearisomely professional sense of humor" until the last act when it "gets down to romance and human values worth while".
[22] On April 26, 1927, the 100th performance of The Road to Rome was given at the Playhouse Theatre, all of them being to capacity audiences, setting a box office record for that venue.
[23] For the Decoration Day holiday, veterans of the Canadian Black Watch who had served with Sherwood in the Great War were given matinee tickets.
[25] In early September 1927, the entire cast attended the funeral of stage manager Robert McGroarty, who was killed when the body of a homicide victim fell nine stories onto him while walking on 44th Street in Manhattan.
[26] A second company was launched at Detroit's Garrick Theatre on October 3, 1927, with Grace George[fn 5] as Amytis, Morris McKay as Hannibal, and J. M. Kerrigan as Fabius.
[fn 6] After a four month tour, the production was revived at the same theater, running from May 21, 1928,[9] with Sir Guy Standing in the role of Hannibal, until June 16, 1928.