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

This blog is dedicated to preserving a record of Brooklyn theatre history and theatre-related images based largely on coverage in the nearly half-dozen daily Brooklyn newspapers and one weekly magazine (Brooklyn Life) of 1898-1908. It is a vastly expanded, upgraded, and corrected version of my blog, BROOKLYN THEATRE FROM 1898: AN ILLUSTRATED CHRONOLOGY, which is gradually being dismantled as this one is being constructed. It covers everything related to Brooklyn theatre, including plays, playhouses, productions, people, producing policies, scandals, law suits, fires, accidents, brawls, ethnic theatres, crimes, religious attacks, rivalry with Manhattan, and so on. The focus is on legitimate theatre but considerable attention is paid to developments in vaudeville and burlesque as well.

The main newspaper sources, using the names by which they were known during these years, were the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn Standard Union, and Brooklyn Daily Times; occasionally, other local sources were called on. At first, only Brooklyn Life provided photos, but as time passed the newspapers, beginning with the Citizen, abandoned their photo-based engravings 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 both leading players and 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 of the same title I’m preparing for publication.

To find a specific item, please use the search box in the upper left corner. You ca also go to a particular month by searching for it, i.e., February 1905. The project hopes to be complete sometime in 2026 when it reaches 1908.

Samuel L. Leiter

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

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1905

August 21–26: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Schoolmistress; Folly: The Ninety and Nine (opened August 26); Grand Opera House: My Tom-Boy Girl, with Lottie Williams (opened August 26); Majestic: Buster Brown (opened August 19); Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Liars; Vaudeville/burlesque: Unique, Nassau, Gayety, Star, Alcazar.

August 28–September 2: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Prodigal Daughter; Broadway: The Virginian, with Dustin Farnum (opened September 1); Folly: The Ninety and Nine; Grand Opera House: My Tom-Boy Girl, with Lottie Williams; Majestic: Buster Brown; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) For Her Children’s Sake; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Fatal Wedding; Vaudeville/burlesque: Amphion, Unique, Nassau, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Keeney’s Fulton Street, Alcazar, Novelty, Gotham.

September 4–9: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Matilda; Broadway: The Virginian, with Dustin Farnum; Folly: Buster Brown; Grand Opera House: David Harum, with William H. Turner; Majestic: Babes in Toyland; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Belle of Richmond; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Wedded but No Wife; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Amphion, Unique, Nassau, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Keeney’s Fulton Street, Gotham.

September 11–16: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Men and Women; Broadway: Woodland; Folly: Fast Life in New York; Grand Opera House: Bankers and Brokers; Majestic: The Wizard of Oz, with Montgomery and Stone; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Man from Mexico; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Nobody’s Darling; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Alcazar, Gotham, Amphion, Unique, Nassau, Orpheum, Star, Gayety.

September 18–23: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Pique; Broadway: The County Chairman, with Maclyn Arbuckle; Folly: My Tom-Boy Girl, with Lottie Williams; Grand Opera House: Hearts of Gold, with Maurice Freeman; Majestic: The Errand Boy, with Billy B. Van; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Eagle Tavern; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Down Our Way; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Unique, Nassau, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Alcazar, Gotham, Keeney’s.

September 25–30: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) His Majesty and the Maid; Broadway: Love’s Lottery, with Ernestine Schumann-Heink; Folly: Bankers and Brokers; Grand Opera House: The Great Jewel Mystery, with the Russell Brothers; Majestic: The Sambo Girl, with Eva Tanguay; New Montauk: The Duchess of Dantzic, with Evie Greene and Holbrook Blinn; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company); Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Sign of the Four; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Unique, Nassau, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Gotham, Alcazar, Keeney’s.