The result was Maugham's play "The Land of Promise," which was really built around Frohman's idea.
Frohman produced all of Maugham's plays in America, and most of them were great successes. He also did the great majority of them in England. Maugham waxed so prosperous that he was able to buy a charming old residence in Chesterfield Street which he remodeled in elaborate fashion. On its completion his first dinner guest was Charles Frohman. When Maugham sent him the invitation it read:
Will you come and see the house that Frohman built?
In the same way he developed men like Michael Morton. He would see a French farce in the Paris theaters, and, although he could not understand a word of French, he got the spirit and the meaning through its action. He would buy the play, go to London with the manuscript, and get Morton or Paul Potter to adapt it for American consumption.
Life in London to Charles Frohman was one series of adventures. Like Harun-al-Rashid in the Arabian Nights, he delighted to wander about, often with Barrie, sometimes with Lestocq, seeking out strange and picturesque places in which to eat.
These adventures began in his earliest days in England. Here is a characteristic experience:
One day Madeline Lucette Ryley, the playwright, came to see him in his office in Henrietta Street. A battered old man was hanging around the door.
"Did you see that man outside?" asked Frohman.
"Yes," said Mrs. Ryley. "Is he the bailiff?"
"Oh no," said Frohman, "he is a Maidenhead cabby." This is the story of how he came there.