ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908): FEBRUARY 1902

Edna May Spooner, one of the two sisters who were leading ladies with the Spooner Stock Company.

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).

JANUARY 1902

February 3-8: Amphion: Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, with Ethel Barrymore; Bijou: Dangers of Paris; Blaney’s: (Blaney’s All-Star Stock Company) The Fatal Flower; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Carmen; Folly: M’liss, with Nellie McHenry; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Camille; Grand Opera House: The Man Who Dared, with Howard Hall; Montauk: Magda, The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith, Marianna, Beyond Human Power, with Mrs. Patrick Campbell; Park: (Spooner’s Stock Company) A Scrap of Paper; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Masked Ball; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Sporting Duchess; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique; February 10-15: Amphion: Way Down East; Bijou: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, with Al. W. Martin’s company; Blaney’s: (Blaney’s All-Star Stock Company) The Daughter of the Diamond King; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) A Trip to Chinatown; Folly: In Old Kentucky; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) The Fugitive; Grand Opera House: McFadden’s Row of Flats; Montauk: The Widow Jones, with May Irwin; Park: (Spooner’s Stock Company) Blue Jeans; Payton’s: (Payton Stock Company) The Lady of Lyons; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Home, Sweet Home; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique; February 17-22: Amphion: The Liberty Belles; Bijou: The Outpost; Blaney’s: (Blaney’s All-Star Stock Company) Blue Jeans; Brooklyn Academy of Music: Protecto, or Fun in Fairyland; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Sapho; Folly: McFadden’s Row of Flats; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Sins of the Night; Grand Opera House: In Old Kentucky; Montauk: The Auctioneer, with David Warfield; Park: (Spooner’s Stock Company) Lord and Lady Algy; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) A Temperance Town; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) A Guilty Mother; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique; February 24-March 1: Amphion: The Bonnie Brier Bush, with J.H. Stoddart; Bijou: On the Suwannee River, J.K. Emmett, Lottie Gilson; Blaney’s: (Blaney’s All-Star Stock Company) The Red Cross Nurse; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) A Bachelor’s Honeymoon; Folly: The Outpost; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Eagle’s Nest; Grand Opera House: Up York State, with David Higgins, Gloria Waldron; Montauk: The New Yorkers, with Dan Daly; Park: (Spooner’s Stock Company) Pawn Ticket 210; Payton’s: (Payton Stock Company) Camille; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Burglar; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique

February 3-8, 1902