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

Grand Opera House, Elm Place, between Fulton and Livingston.

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.

OCTOBER 1901

November 4-9: Amphion: Tom Moore, with Andrew Mack; Bijou: Treasure Island; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Lights o’ London; Criterion: (Baker Stock Company) “A Poster Maid,” My Uncle’s Nephew; Folly: Mrs. B. Shaughnessy (Wash Lady), with George W. Monroe:Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Woman against Woman; Grand Opera House: A Hot Old Time, with Johnny and Emma Ray; Montauk: Florodora; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) The Fatal Card; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Hidden Hand; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Woman in Black; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Orpheum, Gayety, Brooklyn Academy of Music (Election Night only), Unique; November 11-16: Amphion: The Altar of Friendship, with John Mason; Bijou: Two Little Vagrants; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) The White Squadron; Criterion: (Baker Stock Company) The Boarding School; Folly: Lost River; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) All the Comforts of Home; Grand Opera House: The Merry Tramps, with the Lilliputians; Montauk: The Merchant of Venice, King Charles I, Nance Oldfield and “The Bells,” Louis XI, “Waterloo” and The Lyons Mail, with Henry Irving and Ellen Terry; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) A Fair Rebel; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Parisian Princess; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Jack Royal; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique, Paula’s Musée; November 18-23: Amphion: The Red Kloof, with Louis Mann, Clara Lipman; Bijou: Are You a Buffalo?; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) A Lady of Quality; Criterion: The Queen of Chinatown; Folly: A Ragged Hero; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) Sapho; Grand Opera House: Garrett O’Magh, with Chauncey Olcott; Montauk; When Knighthood Was in Flower, with Julia Marlowe; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) Magda; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Silver King; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Raglan’s War; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Orpheum, Gayety, Unique; November 25-30: Amphion: Are You a Mason?; Bijou: The Village Postmaster; Brooklyn Academy of Music: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, with Edward Horrigan; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Tennessee Partner; Criterion: Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Folly: The Merry Tramps, with the Lilliputians; Gotham: (Elite Stock Company) The Wages of Sin; Grand Opera House: Garrett O’Magh, with Chauncey Olcott; Montauk: Mrs. Dane’s Defence, with Empire Company; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) Mexico; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Flirtation; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Voice of Nature; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Orpheum, Gayety Unique