ACROSS THE RIVER FROM BROADWAY: ANNALS OF THE BROOKLYN STAGE (1898-1908): MARCH 1905

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, with Madge Carr Cook (center)

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).

MARCH 1905

March 6-11: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Are You a Mason?; Broadway: Weather-Beaten Benson, with Ezra Kendall; Columbia: (American Stock Company) The Streets of New York; Folly: A Romance of Athlone, with Chauncey Olcott; Gotham: Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Grand Opera House: Kellar, the magician; Majestic: A Son of Rest, with Nat Wills; Montauk: Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, with Madge Carr Cook; Novelty: Queen of the Highway; Park: The Charity Nurse; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Why Smith Left Home; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Why Women Sin; Vaudeville/’burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion, Garden; March 13-18: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Shamus, or The Spy of the Glen; Broadway: Dockstader’s Minstrels; Columbia: (American Stock Company) Sign of the Four; Folly: Quincy Adams Sawyer; Gotham: The James Boys in Missouri; Grand Opera House: The Watch on the Rhine, with Al H. Wilson; Majestic: The Pit, with Wilton Lackaye; Montauk: Sunday, with Ethel Barrymore; Novelty: His First False Step; Park: Hearts Adrift; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton’s Lee Avenue Stock Company) The School for Scandal; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Slaves of the Mine; Vaudeville/’burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion, Garden; March 20-25; Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Zip; Broadway: Mrs. Black is Back, with May Irwin; Columbia: (American Stock Company) Northern Lights; Folly: A Son of Rest; Gotham: Human Hearts; Grand Opera House: Pals, with James J. Corbett; Majestic: The Pit, with Wilton Lackaye; Montauk: Merely Mary Ann, with Eleanor Robson; Novelty: Hearts Adrift; Park: M’liss, with Nellie McHenry; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Rip Van Winkle; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Driven from Home; Vaudeville/’burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion, Garden; March 27-April 1: Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Lady of Lyons; Broadway: The Girl from Kays, with Sam Bernard, Hattie Williams; Columbia: (American Stock Company) For Her Sake; Folly: In Old Kentucky; Gotham: Alone in the World; Grand Opera House: A Romance at Athlone, with Chauncey Olcott; Majestic: Busy Izzy, with George Sidney; Montauk: Business Is Business, with William H. Crane; Novelty: When Women Love; Park: Wedded but No Wife, with Selma Herman; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The County Fair, with Neil Burgess; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) A Fight for Millions; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s, Star, Keeney’s, Amphion, Garden