No other work, besides Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften, occupied Musil as much as did his first dramatic effort, Die Schwärmer (The Enthusiasts). For over twelve years, from around 1908 to the summer of 1920, he struggled to give shape to his vision of imbuing theater with “Geist” (an amalgam of intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, and emotional intensity). Habitually — and notoriously — dissatisfied with the results of any of his labors, Musil nevertheless toward the end of his life regarded the play as his second most important accomplishment, alongside the unfinished magnum opus of the novel. When the play was published in book form in 1921, it was greeted with a great deal of respect, earning him, at the suggestion of Alfred Döblin, the prestigious Kleist Prize, although some critics voiced concerns over its suitability for the stage. Buoyed by the critical reaction, Musil seriously contemplated a career as a playwright, dashing off a second play, Vinzenz und die Freundin bedeutender Männer (Vinzenz and the Lady-Friend of Important Men, 1923), within a few weeks — with (for him) uncharacteristic ease and speed. The farcical comedy can be read as a kind of companion piece to Die Schwärmer, a frivolous satire in which many of the first play's thematic issues are refracted in lightweight fashion. Musil apparently hoped that the comedy would help consolidate his status as a playwright and pave the way for a first production of his more serious drama. Indeed, Vinzenz was quickly picked up by theaters in Berlin, in Teplitz-Schönau (Teplice, then a fashionable spa town in German- speaking Northern Bohemia), and in Vienna — always with moderate success. All the same, years of negotiations to arrange a production of Die Schwärmer with various leading theater companies in Germany and Austria came to naught. It was not until 1929 that the play was finally performed in Berlin, against the author's protests, by a fledgling avant-garde troupe.