Maude Adams appeared on several radio broadcasts and on several recordings. For example, in 1934, Maude gave a live NBC radio performance of her famous plays, The Little Minister and Peter Pan. Sadly, no recording was ever made of her three-part / three-night broadcast of Peter Pan, which has been verified in the NBC Radio archived documents. However, a segment of The Little Minister was recorded. This recording has historical value not only as one of the few recordings we have of her delightfully melodic voice, but also as an illustration of acting styles from that era.
The play tells the story of Babbie, a vivacious and wayward girl, and how she captures Gavin Dishart, a young Presbyterian minister in the narrow and suspicious village of Thrums. Dressed as a gypsy, Babbie is in the woods to warn the loom weavers that soldiers are coming for them, yet Gavin is there to see that the weavers do not resist the law. Before the soldiers, Babbie declares she is Gavin's' wife. To protect her, he remains silent, and by Scotch law, they are wed. They meet again at Lord Rintoul's, where the Lord's daughter, Lady Babbie, claims Gavin, while her suitors swear Gavin is wed to a gypsy girl. The offended congregation is reconciled, and the suitors are foiled, as they learn that the gypsy girl and the Lady are one.
The Little Minister opened first for a two-week trial performance in the Lafayette Square Theatre in Washington, D.C., and then opened on September 27, 1897 at the Empire Theater. The Little Minister began one of the most remarkable successes in theatrical history. North, south, east, and west, Miss Adams toured in the play after she had concluded her extraordinarily successful New York run. Sunday schools cried for her, and clergymen of all denominations flocked to see the play. The fact that in Rosemary and The Bauble Shop she had done far more artistic and difficult work than anything she did in Barrie's pretty play went for nothing. From the four corners of America, the verdict of the playgoers seemed universal: there was only one thing greater than The Little Minister, and that was little Maude Adams. Children, corsets, and cigars were even named after her.
During its initial showing at the Empire, The Little Minister ran for 300 consecutive performances, to gross receipts of $370,000, a financial record at the time. The Little Minister ran in London for over 200 performances. In the United States, Maude Adams played Lady Babbie frequently until 1916. Before Miss Adams finished with the play, it had more than 3,000 performances throughout the country and earned $ 500,000 for James Barrie and a similar fortune for Maude, (amounts in excess of tens of millions in 21st century terms.)