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

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

September 30-October 5: Bijou: Sons of Ham, with Bert Williams, George Walker; Brooklyn Academy of Music: Humpty Dumpty and the Black Dwarf; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Fanchon, the Cricket; Criterion: (Baker Stock Company) Captain Swift; Gayety: The Dairy Farm; Gotham: (Gotham Elite Stock Company) Wife for Wife; Grand Opera House: The Girl from Maxim’s; Montauk: The Brixton Burglary; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) The Butterflies; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Banker’s Daughter; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Novelty, Star, Orpheum, Theatre Unique; October 7-12:Amphion: The Strollers, with Francis Wilson; Bijou: Lost in the Desert; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Northern Lights; Criterion (Baker Stock Company) What Happened to Jones; Gayety: Two Little Vagrants; Grand Opera House: The Governor’s Son, with the Four Cohans; Gotham: Lynwood; Montauk: Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, with Ethel Barrymore; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) Madame Sans Gene; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Peaceful Valley; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Hoodman Blind; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Novelty, Star, Orpheum, Theatre Unique; October 14-19: Amphion: The Christian; Bijou: Australia; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) Siberia; Criterion: (Baker Stock Company) Nell Gwynne; Gayety: Happy Hooligan; Grand Opera House: The Heart of Maryland, with Helene Wintner; Gotham: (Gotham Elite Stock Company) East Lynne; Montauk: The King’s Carnival, with Marie Dressler, Emma Carus; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) The Jilt; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Darkest Russia; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Moonshiners; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Novelty, Star, Theatre Unique, Folly; October 21-26: Amphion: The Brixton Burglary; Bijou: Happy Hooligan; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) La Tosca; Criterion: (Baker Stock Company) Because I Love You, “Betsy”; Gayety: The Heart of Maryland, with Helene Wintner; Grand Opera House: Winchester; Gotham: (Gotham Elite Stock Company) The Octoroon; Montauk: The Rogers Brothers in Washington, with the Rogers Brothers; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) On the Wabash; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) A Contented Woman; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Strategists; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Orpheum, Unique, Folly; October 28-November 2: Amphion: Up York State, with David Higgins; Bijou: Home Sweet Home; Columbia: (Greenwall Stock Company) My Partner; Criterion: (Baker Stock Company) Dr. Bill; Gayety: Sons of Ham, with Bert Williams, George Walker; Grand Opera House: Mrs. B. O’Shaughnessy (Wash Lady), with George W. Monroe; Gotham: (Gotham Elite Stock Company) Ten Nights in a Barroom; Montauk: The Climbers, with Amelia Bingham; Park: (Spooner Stock Company) The Adventures of Lady Ursula; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Held by the Enemy; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Passion’s Slave; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Novelty, Orpheum, Folly