ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908): DECEMBER 1901

Gayety Theatre, at the intersection of Broadway and Throop Avenue.

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. 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 1901

December 2-7: Amphion: The Old Homestead, with Denman Thompson; Bijou: A Ragged Hero; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Hazel Kirke; Criterion: Two Irish Hearts, with Kitty Coleman; Folly: The County Fair, with Neil Burgess; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Hazel Kirke; Grand Opera House: Faust, with Lewis Morrison; Montauk: In the Palace of the King, with Viola Allen; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) The Deacon’s Daughter; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Wife; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Kit, the Arkansas Traveler; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Paula’s Musée, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique; December 9-14: Amphion: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, with Edward Harrigan; Bijou: The Secret Dispatch; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Cumberland ‘61; Criterion: The Flip Mr. Flop; Folly: Faust, with Lewis Morrison; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Under the Gaslight; Grand Opera House: The Old Homestead, with Denman Thompson; Montauk: A Royal Rival, with William Faversham; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) East Lynne; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Rip Van Winkle; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Theatre Company) The Wheel of Fortune; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Unique, Gayety, Paula’s Musee, Orpheum; December 16-21: Bijou: The Road to Ruin, with Terry McGovern; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Cleopatra; Criterion: Down on the Farm; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) An Old Colony Girl; Grand Opera House: The Girl from Paris; Montauk: If I Were King, with E.H. Sothern; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) Too Much Johnson; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) East Lynne; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Old Money Bags; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Unique, Gayety, Paula’s Musée, Orpheum; December 23-28: Amphion: Lovers’ Lane; Bijou: Eight Bells, with the Byrne Brothers; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Aristocracy; Criterion: The House That Jack Built; Folly: Tom Moore, with Andrew Mack; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) The Battle for Life; or, In Prison Bars; Grand Opera House: The County Fair, with Neil Burgess; Montauk: The Second in Command, with John Drew; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) The Girl from Texas; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) A Midnight Bell; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Unique, Gayety, Paula’s Musée, Orpheum; December 30-January 4: Blaney’s Amphion: The Burgomaster; Bijou: At Cripple Creek; Brooklyn Academy of Music: As You Like It, Mistress Nell, with Henrietta Crosman; Blaney’s: Only a Shop Girl; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Around the World in Eighty Days; Folly: Eight Bells, with the Byrne Brothers; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Russian Serfs; Grand Opera House: Tom Moore, with Andrew Mack; Montauk: Liberty Belles; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) Little Lord Fauntleroy; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Charity Ball; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Queen of Chinatown; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Unique, Gayety, Paula’s Musée, Orpheum