ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908): FEBRUARY 1899

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.

FEBRUARY 1899

February 6-11: Amphion: That Man; Bijou: Through the Breakers; Columbia: On and Off; Gayety: At the French Ball, with Fanny Rice; Grand Opera House: Pousse Café; Montauk: The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, The Termagant, Camille, Carmen, with Olga Nethersole; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty; February 13-18: Amphion: Shenandoah, with Maurice Barrymore; Bijou: McFadden’s Row of Flats; Columbia: Secret Service, with William Gillette; Gayety: Pousse Café, with Maggie Cline; Grand Opera House: The Bride Elect; Montauk: The Moth and the Flame, with Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty; February 20-25: Amphion: A Dangerous Maid, with Cissie Loftus; Bijou: In Old Kentucky; Brooklyn Academy of Music, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Columbia: Secret Service, with William Gillette; Gayety: The Ragged Earl, with Andrew Mack; Grand Opera House: The Governors, with Ward and Vokes; Montauk: Kate Kip, Buyer, with May Irwin; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty; February 27-March 4: Amphion: The Crucifix Carver of Ammergau, Almenraush und Edelweiss, Der Gesunde Kern, Prozesshansl, Huntersblood, At the Black Horse Tavern, with Die Tergenseer (in German); Bijou: Daughters of the Poor; Columbia: The Little Host, with Della Fox; Gayety: A Stranger in New York, with Harry Conor; Grand Opera House: The Ragged Earl, with Andrew Mack; Montauk: Countess Valeska, As You Like It, Ingomar, with Julia Marlowe; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty