ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908)

This site is under construction.

This blog is dedicated to preserving a curated record of theatre-related clippings drawn from the digitized pages of the four chief Brooklyn newspapers and one weekly magazine of 1898-1908. Those sources, as they were called during these years, are: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn Standard Union, and Brooklyn Daily Times. At first, only Brooklyn Life printed photos; as time passed, the newspapers, beginning with the Citizen, abandoned photo-based etchings and line drawings for photos.

Each entry is devoted to one or two months during the decade. A list of the month’s offerings precedes the illustrations, most of which are identified within the original image. The performers include not only leading players but lesser ones, most of whose names are entirely forgotten today. Many depict burlesque and vaudeville acts that are often listed on the heading each weekly group of images.

The production lists designate titles of shows at the legitimate theatres only; burlesque and vaudeville theatres are listed only by name to show that they were active. If a theatre is missing it was either permanently or temporarily closed.

It is hoped that this blog will be a useful adjunct to a two-volume book I’m preparing for publication, ACROSS THE RIVER FROM BROADWAY: ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908); Vol. I (1898-1903), Vol. II (1903-1908).

Samuel L. Leiter

Author: BROOKLYN TAKES THE STAGE: NINETEENTH-CENTURY THEATER IN THE CITY OF CHURCHES.

DECEMBER 1898

December 5-10: Bijou: Going to the Races; Columbia: Way Down East; Gayety: A Reign of Error, with the Rogers Brothers; Grand Opera House: The Mulligan Guard Ball, with Edward Harrigan and Bob Fitzsimmons; Montauk: The Little Minister, with Maude Adams, Robert Edeson; Novelty: (Novelty Stock Company) A Fair Rebel; Park (Grover Stock Company): The White Rabbits; Vaudeville/ burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star; December 12-17: Bijou: When London Sleeps; Columbia: The Jolly Musketeer, with the Jefferson De Angelis Opera Company; Gayety: The Forever Devil’s Auction; Grand Opera House: Maids to Order, with the Russell Brothers; Montauk: The Little Minister, with Maude Adams, Robert Edeson; Park (Grover Stock Company): A Lucky Coon, with Bert Williams and George Walker; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star; 1December 19-24, 1898: Bijou: The Silver King, with Carl A. Haswin; Columbia: The Geisha; Gayety: Maids to Order, with the Russell Brothers; Grand Opera House: Devil’s Auction; Montauk: The Royal Box, with Charles Coghlan; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star; December 26-31, 1898: Amphion: The Tree of Knowledge, Rupert of Hentzau, with James K. Hackett; Bijou: The Finish of Mr. Fresh; Brooklyn Academy of Music; Love Finds the Way, “A Bit of Old Chelsea,” Tess of D’Urbervilles, with Minnie Maddern Fiske; Columbia: Yankee Doodle Dandy, with Edna Wallace Hopper and Thomas Q. Seabrooke; Criterion: The Mascot, with Standard Opera Company; Gayety: What Happened to Jones; Grand Opera House: The Girl from Paris; Montauk: The Liars, with John Drew; Park: The Two Orphans, with Kate Claxton; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star