ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908): DECEMBER 1903

Sir Henry Irving as Dante, Lena Ashwell as Pia. Painting by Edward King.

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).

DECEMBER 1903

ovember 30-December 5: Amphion: The Tenderfoot, with Richard Carle; Bijou: (Spooner’s Stock Company) The Blue Letter; Columbia: A Hot Old Time, with Johnny and Emma Ray; Folly: Our Bridget’s Dream, with George W. Monroe; Gotham: A Fight for Millions; Grand Opera House: A Prince of Tatters, with Al H. Wilson; Montauk: Mice and Men, with Annie Russell; Novelty: A Human Slave; Park: The Christian; Payton’s Fulton Street: (Payton Fulton Street Stock Company) The Mantle of Charity; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Octoroon; Phillips’s Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Convict’s Stripes; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Orpheum, Unique, Watson’s; December 7-12: Amphion: Checkers, with Thomas W. Ross; Bijou: (Spooner’s Stock Company) The Lottery of Love; Columbia: The Wayward Son; Folly: A Prince of Tatters, with Al H. Wilson; Gotham: On the Stroke of 12; Grand Opera House: The Old Homestead, with Denman Thompson; Montauk: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Nat C. Goodwin; Novelty: From Rags to Riches; Park: Ole Oleson, with Ben Hendricks; Payton’s Fulton Street: (Payton Fulton Street Stock Company) Two Nights in Rome; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Monte Cristo; Phillips’s Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Buffalo Mystery; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Orpheum, Unique, Watson’s; December 14-19: Bijou: Saratoga; Columbia; Alfonse and Gaston; Folly: A Ragged Hero; Grand Opera House: The Ninety and Nine; Montauk: The Runaways, with Fay Templeton; Novelty: A Fight for Millions; Palm Garden: (Rialto Stock Company) The Last Shot (Thursday, December 17); Park: Escaped from Sing Sing; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Mary, Queen of Scots; Phillips’s Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Span of Life; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Orpheum, Unique, Watson’s; December 21-26: Amphion: The Rogers Brothers in London, with the Rogers Brothers; Bijou: (Spooner’s Stock Company) Sweet Nell of Old Drury; Columbia: Child Slaves of New York; Folly: Wedded and Parted; Gotham: The Great White Diamond; Grand Opera House: The Worst Woman in London, with Nora Dunblane; Montauk: Dante, “Waterloo,” The Bells, The Merchant of Venice, Louis XI, with Sir Henry Irving; Novelty: Too Proud to Beg; Park: Peck and His Mother-in-Law Abroad; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Orpheum, Unique, Watson’s; Payton’s Fulton Street: (Payton Fulton Street Stock Company) The Prince of Liars; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Lee Avenue Stock Company) All the Comforts of Home; Phillips’s Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Beware of Men; December 28-January 2: Amphion: The Runaways, with Fay Templeton; Bijou: (Spooner’s Stock Company) Our Cinderella; Columbia: To Be Buried Alive; Folly: The Old Homestead, with Denman Thompson; Gotham: From Rags to Riches; Grand Opera House: Drink, with Charles Warner; Montauk: Three Little Maids, with Frohman and Edwardes’ London Musical Comedy Company; Novelty: At Cripple Creek; Park: The Heart of a Hero; Payton’s Fulton Street: (Payton Fulton Street Stock Company) Jim, the Penman; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Vanity Fair; Phillips’s Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Angel of the Alley; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Orpheum, Unique, Watson’s