Playbill for the Mission Play by John Steven McGroarty, dedication performance at the new Mission Playhouse in San Gabriel, California, on March 5, 1927. Construction of the playhouse was funded in part by McGroarty, whose dream it was, the program notes indicate, that there be "an enduring home in which his pageant drama of California could be set." This highly romanticized play traces the history of the California missions from 1769 to 1849. leaf 2 of 12 leaves scanned. laid paper with tied spine. 12 x 9 in.