The opening caused a public uproar, with a selected audience for the first performance, on Thursday 21 February 1901, and the first public performance scheduled for 22 February. "The Times" refused to review the private opening, instead waiting until the first public production on the following day. The opening production was the American musical comedy "The Belle of Bohemia", which survived for 72 performances—17 more than it had accomplished when produced on Broadway. The production was followed by John Martin-Harvey's season, including "A Cigarette Maker's Romance" and "The Only Way", an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities".