Stanislaus Stange and Stannard Mears based their four-act comedy on Booth Tarkington's popular novel of the same name.
Produced by Stuart Walker, Seventeen opened on 22 January 1918 for 225 performances. Capturing small-town Indiana life, the simple plot focuses on the machinations of teenager Willie Baxter, who is in love with Lola Pratt, a baby-talking local girl. Willie runs into trouble when he steals his father's tuxedo to impress Lola. A motion picture adaptation of Tarkington's novel appeared in 1916, prior to this stage adaptation, and, a subsequent 1940 movie featured Jackie Cooper. A musical adaptation appeared on Broadway in 1951.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.