ACROSS THE RIVER FROM BROADWAY: ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908)

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

FEBRUARY 1905

This blog is dedicated to preserving a curated record of theatre-related images drawn from the digitized pages of the four chief Brooklyn newspapers and one weekly magazine of 1898-1908. The sources, as they were called during these years: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn Standard Union, and Brooklyn Daily Times. At first, only Brooklyn Life provided photos, but as time passed the newspapers, beginning with the Citizen, abandoned their 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 who are often listed on the ads that begin 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 (McFarland: 2024).

FEBRUARY 1905

February 6-11: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Lovers’ Lane; Broadway: Joseph Entangled, with Henry Miller, Hilda Spong, Laura Hope Crews; Columbia: (American Stock Company) Monte Cristo; Folly: Shadows on the Hearth; Gotham: At Cripple Creek; Grand Opera House: Paris By Night; Majestic: Siberia; Montauk: The Usurper, with Nat C. Goodwin; Novelty: For His Brother’s Crime; Park: Alone in the World; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Sign of the Four; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) For Her Children’s Sake; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion; February 13-18: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Altar of Friendship; Broadway: The County Chairman, with Maclyn Arbuckle; Columbia: (American Stock Company) Man’s Enemy; Folly: Kellar, the magician; Gotham: The Child Wife; Grand Opera House: Nancy Brown; Majestic: Checkers, with Thomas W. Ross; Montauk: The Duke of Killiecrankie, with John Drew; Novelty: A Midnight Marriage; Park: A Working Girl’s Wrongs; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Silver King; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Darkest Russia; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s Fulton Street, Amphion, Garden; February 20-25: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Sword of the King; Broadway: The Office Boy, with Frank Daniels; Columbia: (American Stock Company) The Silver King; Folly: Checkers, with Thomas W. Ross; Gotham: On the Suwanee River; Grand Opera House: The Jewel of Asia; Majestic: A Pair of Pinks, with Ward and Vokes; Montauk: Little Johnny Jones, with George M. Cohan; Novelty:

Two Little Waifs; Park: A Desperate Chance; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) A Bunch of Keys; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Village Postmaster; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion, Garden; February 27-March 4: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Two Little Vagrants; Broadway: A Madcap Princess, with Lulu Glaser; Columbia: (American Stock Company) Under Two Flags; Folly: A Pair of Pinks, with Ward and Vokes; Gotham: Hearts Adrift; Grand Opera House: At the Old Crossroads; Majestic: In Old Kentucky; Montauk: The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, with Viola Allen; Novelty: From Clue to Capture; or, the Great Chadwick Mystery; Park: A Wife’s Secret; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Eternal City; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Vacant Chair; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion, Garden

1. February 6-11, 1905

2. February 13-18, 1905

3. February 20-25, 1905

4. February 27-March 4, 1905

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

JANUARY 1905

Samuel L. Leiter

Author: BROOKLYN TAKES THE STAGE: NINETEENTH-CENTURY THEATER IN THE CITY OF CHURCHES (McFarland: 2024).

JANUARY 1905

January 2-7: Amphion: Iris, Mercy Merrick, with Eugenie Blair; Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Cavalier; Broadway: Wang, with De Wolf Hopper; Folly: Cohen’s Luck, with Joe Welch; Gotham: A Wife’s Secret; Grand Opera House: Texas; Majestic: Twirly-Whirly, with Charles J. Ross, Mabel Fenton; Montauk: Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, E.H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe; Novelty: Too Proud to Beg; Park: Driven from Home; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Cherry Pickers; Phillips’ Lyceum: A Royal Slave; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Star, Orpheum, Watson’s, Keeney’s, Columbia Music Hall; January 9-14: Amphion: Sinbad, with the Royal Lilliputians; Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Miles Aroon; Broadway: Piff, Paff, Pouf; Folly: Texas; Gotham: At Risk of His Life; Grand Opera House: Sky Farm; Majestic: Superba; Montauk: Parsifal, with Henry W. Savage Grand Opera Company; Novelty: At Cripple Creek; Park: Fast Life in New York; Payton’s Lee Avenue: Sweet Kitty Bellairs, with Henrietta Crosman; Phillips’ Lyceum: Northern Lights; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Star, Orpheum, Watson’s, Keeney’s, Columbia Music Hall; January 16-21: Amphion: Polly Primrose, with Adelaide Thurston; Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Zaza; Broadway: Raffles, with Kyrle Bellew; Columbia: (American Stock Company) Because She Loved; Folly: Sky Farm; Gotham: Too Proud to Beg; Grand Opera House: His Honor, the Mayor of the Bowery; Majestic: His Last Dollar, with David Higgins; Montauk: Letty, with William Faversham; Novelty: A Little Outcast; Park: Queen of the White Slaves; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton’s Stock Company) Out of the Fold; Phillips’ Lyceum: Two Little Sailor Boys; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Star, Orpheum, Watson’s, Keeney’s; January 23-28: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) All the Comforts of Home; Broadway: The Pit, with Wilton Lackaye; Columbia: (American Theatre Stock Company) At the Sign of the Four; Folly: His Last Dollar; Gotham: For His Brother’s Crime; Grand Opera House: Sinbad, with the Royal Lilliputians ; Majestic: The Burgomaster; Montauk: The School Girl, with Edna May Spooner; Novelty: On the Suwanee River; Park: A Midnight Marriage; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton’s Stock Company) For Fair Virginia; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Marriage Vow; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Star, Orpheum, Watson’s, Keeney’s; January 30-February 5: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Joan of Arc; Broadway: The Other Girl, with Lionel Barrymore; Columbia (American Theatre Stock Company) Tennessee’s Partner; Folly: His Honor, the Mayor of the Bowery; Gotham: For His Brother’s Crime; Grand Opera House: Quincy Adams Sawyer; Majestic: Primrose’s Minstrels; Montauk: Mrs. Gorringe’s Necklace, David Garrick, The Case of Rebellious Susan, with Charles Wyndham; Novelty: Driven from Home, with Patrice; Park: The Child Wife; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton’s Company) The Gay Lord Sinch; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) A Ragged Hero; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Star, Orpheum, Watson’s, Keeney’s

January 2-7, 1905

January 9-14, 1905

3. January 16-21, 1905

4. January 23-28, 1905

6. January 30-February 5, 1905