The Sign of the Cross (play)

[3] The plot resembles that of Henryk Sienkiewicz's historical novel Quo Vadis, which was first published between 26 March 1895 and 29 February 1896 in the Gazeta Polska,[4] 11 months after the play's first production.

Marcus Superbus, a Roman patrician under Nero, falls in love with a young woman (Mercia) and converts to Christianity for her.

Much of the plot of Quo Vadis is similar, as far as both featuring main characters named Marcus, against the same historic setting.

The ending is in complete contrast to Quo Vadis, in which Marcus (Vinicius not Superbus) and Lygia (not Mercia) survive and presumably live happily ever after, and Nero and Poppea are the ones who die.

It was originally produced by Barrett at the Grand Opera House, St. Louis, Missouri on 28 March 1895 (with Maud Jeffries as Mercia).