ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908): MARCH 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.

MARCH 1899

March 6-11: Amphion: The Little Host, with Della Fox; Bijou: A Female Drummer, with Johnstone Bennett; Columbia: Catherine, with Annie Russell; Gayety: The Four Cohans and Company; Grand Opera House: The Telephone Girl, with Louis Mann, Clara Lipman; Montauk: The Fortune Teller, with Alice Nielsen Opera Company; Park: The Chimes of Normandy, with Jaxon Opera Company; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty; March 13-18: Amphion: Way Down East; Bijou: Shenandoah, with Maurice Barrymore; Columbia: Catherine, with Annie Russell; Gayety: The Governors, with Ward and Vokes; Grand Opera House: The White Heather, with Alice Fischer; Montauk: La Belle Helene, with Lillian Russell, Thomas Q. Seabrooke, Edna Wallace Hopper; Park: Fra Diavolo, The Bohemian Girl, with Jaxon Opera Company; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty; March 20-25: Amphion: The Reverend Griffith Davenport, with James A. Herne; Bijou: Casey’s Wife; Columbia: A Dangerous Maid, with Cissie Loftus; Gayety: The White Heather, with Alice Fischer; Grand Opera House: The Village Postmaster; Montauk: Nathan Hale, with Nat C. Goodwin, Maxine Elliott; Park: Olivette, The Mascot, with Jaxon Opera Company; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty; March 27-April 1: Bijou: King of the Opium Ring; Gayety: A Female Drummer, with Johnstone Bennett; Montauk: Nathan Hale, Nat C. Goodwin, Maxine Elliott; Park: Il Trovatore, Lucia Di Lammermoor, Faust, with Jaxon Opera Company; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Brooklyn Music Hall, Empire, Star, Novelty