Early in the twentieth century such a bias did not exist in the United States, especially on the New York stage, and Spanish plays enjoyed an extraordinary wave of popularity. Works by Benavente, the husband and wife team of Gregorio (1881–1947) and María (1874–1974) Martínez Sierra, the Álvarez Quintero brothers (Serafín, 1871–1938 and Joaquín, 1873–1944), and, somewhat later, Federico García Lorca (1898–1936), reached the English-language stage quickly and often with considerable success. In 1920 the Theatre Guild staged Benavente's The Passion Flower (La malquerida, translated by John Garrett Underhill); this rural tragedy of a dysfunctional family was an immediate box office hit. The Martínez Sierras' The Cradle Song (Canción de cuna, translated by Underhill) had its American premiere at the Times Square Theater in 1921 and later became a trademark production for Eva Le Gallienne and her widely respected Civic Repertory company.According to Julia S. Price, Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory “was not exactly Off-Broadway” but shared its “credo in regard to the presentation of the new, unusual play.” The Off-Broadway Theater (New York: Scarecrow Press, 1962), 18. María Martínez Sierra's name appeared as co-author of The Cradle Song on Civic Repertory's opening night program, 24 January 1927, but her contribution to this and other plays has often been overlooked. For a full discussion of María's authorship, see Patricia O'Connor's Gregorio and María Martínez Sierra, Twayne World Authors Series 412 (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1977). Burns Mantle chose the sentimental comedy of a foundling raised by convent nuns as one of the 1926–27 season's best plays.Robert Burns Mantle, The Best Plays of 1926–27 and the Year Book of the Drama in America (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1927). Another Martínez Sierra work, The Kingdom of God (El reino de Dios, translated by Helen and Harley Granville-Barker) was chosen as the inaugural production of the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and made the Burns Mantle list for 1928–29.Mantle, The Best Plays of 1928–29 and the Year Book of the Drama in America (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1929). In a single season, 1929–30, there were New York productions of no fewer than three comedies by the Álvarez Quinteros. In 1933, besides New York stagings of additional Martínez Sierra plays, The Cradle Song was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures.The film starred Dorothea Weick and Evelyn Venable. “Reviews uniformly praised the sensitivity of the stars and the beauty of the photography as they welcomed Cradle Song to the charmed circle of filmed masterpieces of modern international drama.” O'Connor, Gregorio and María Martínez Sierra, 36. Frederico García Lorca's Blood Wedding (Bodas de sangre; titled Bitter Oleander in the translation by José A. Weissberger) reached the American audience in 1935, a scant two years after its Spanish premiere.