AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1906

This blog is dedicated to preserving a record of Brooklyn theatre history and theatre-related images based largely on coverage in the nearly half-dozen daily Brooklyn newspapers and one weekly magazine (Brooklyn Life) of 1898-1908. It is a vastly expanded, upgraded, and corrected version of my blog, BROOKLYN THEATRE FROM 1898: AN ILLUSTRATED CHRONOLOGY, which is gradually being dismantled as this one is being constructed. It covers everything related to Brooklyn theatre, including plays, playhouses, productions, people, producing policies, scandals, law suits, fires, accidents, brawls, ethnic theatres, crimes, religious attacks, rivalry with Manhattan, and so on. The focus is on legitimate theatre but considerable attention is paid to developments in vaudeville and burlesque as well. 

The main newspaper sources, using the names by which they were known during these years, were the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn Standard Union, and Brooklyn Daily Times; occasionally, other local sources were called on. At first, only Brooklyn Life provided photos, but as time passed the newspapers, beginning with the Citizen, abandoned their photo-based engravings 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 both leading players and 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 of the same title I’m preparing for publication. 

To find a specific item, please use the search box in the upper left corner. You ca also go to a particular month by searching for it, i.e., February 1905. The project hopes to be complete sometime in 2026 when it reaches 1908. 

Samuel L. Leiter

Author: BROOKLYN TAKES THE STAGE: NINETEENTH-CENTURY THEATER IN THE CITY OF CHURCHES (McFarland: 2024).

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1906

*=novelties (recent plays new to Brooklyn)

July 30-August 4:
Blaney’s Amphion: Across the Pacific (Johnny Hoey)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Masqueraders

August 6-11:
Blaney’s Amphion: The Devil’s Auction
Grand Family Theatre: The King of Diamonds
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Woman Against Woman

August 13-18:
Blaney’s Amphion: The Great Jewel Mystery (Russell Brothers)
Grand Family Theatre: Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Majestic: The Yankee Consul (Harry Short; opened Saturday, August 18)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Soldiers of Fortune
Burlesque: Imperial, Star (both open Saturday, August 18)

August 20-25:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) If I Were King
Blaney’s Amphion: The Queen of the Circus (Beatrice Vance)
Broadway: The Gingerbread Man
Grand Family Theatre: Ragged Hero
Majestic: The Yankee Consul (Harry Short)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Minister’s Son
Burlesque: Imperial, Star

August 27-September 1:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Graustark
Blaney’s Amphion: The Curse of Drink
Folly: The Power of Money, or in the Power of the Trust
Grand Family Theatre: Jekyll and Hyde
Grand Opera House: The Convict’s Daughter
Majestic: The New Errand Boy (Billy B. Van)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Eternal City
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Lighthouse by the Sea
Shubert: Happyland (opened Saturday, September 1)
Vaudeville/burlesque: Gotham, Gayety, Imperial, Star

September 3-8:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) The Factory Girl
Blaney’s Amphion: The Millionaire Detective
Broadway: Arrah-na-Pogue (Andrew Mack)
Folly: Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl
Grand Family Theatre: Lost in New York
Grand Opera House: A Bad Man from Mexico
Majestic: Abyssinia (Williams and Walker)
New Montauk: His Honor the Mayor (Harry Kelly, Trixie Friganza)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Soudan
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) A Devil in Skirts
Shubert: Happyland (De Wolf Hopper)
Vaudeville/burlesque: Gotham, Gayety, Novelty, Hyde & Behman’s, Imperial, Star, Orpheum, Keeney’s

September 10-15:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Leah, the Forsaken
Blaney’s Amphion: Wild Nell, A Child of the Regiment
Broadway: Strongheart (Robert Edeson)
Folly: The New Errand Boy (Billy B. Van)
Grand Family Theatre: Montana
Grand Opera House: The Ninety and Nine
Majestic: Abyssinia (Williams and Walker)
New Montauk: The Galloper (Raymond Hitchcock)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Fatal Card
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) On the Bridge at Midnight
Shubert: The Press Agent (Peter F. Dailey)
Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Unique, Gotham, Gayety, Keeney’s, Star, Imperial, Novelty

September 17-22:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Mr. Barnes of New York
Blaney’s Amphion: A Race for Life
Broadway: Babes in Toyland
Columbia: A Woman of Fire
Folly: Secrets of the Police
Grand Family Theatre: The Corner Grocery
Grand Opera House: My Tom-Boy Girl (Lottie Williams)
Majestic: Breaking Into Society (Four Mortons)
New Montauk: The College Widow
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Girl I Left Behind Me
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Convict’s Daughter
Shubert: The Man on the Box (Henry E. Dixey)
Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Unique, Gotham, Gayety, Keeney’s, Star, Imperial, Novelty

September 24-29:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Du Barry
Blaney’s Amphion: A Millionaire’s Revenge
Broadway: The Virginian (Dustin Farnum)
Columbia: A Square Deal
Folly: My Tom-Boy Girl (Lottie Williams)
Grand Family Theatre: Gypsy Jack
Grand Opera House: Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl
Majestic: A Lucky Dog (Nat M. Wills)
New Montauk: The Mountain Climber; “The Little Father of the Wilderness” (Francis Wilson)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) The Two Orphans
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Under Two Flags
Shubert: The Prince Chap (Cyril Scott)
Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Unique, Gotham, Gayety, Keeney’s, Star, Imperial, Novelty, Family

July 30-August 4, 1906

August 6-11, 1906

August 13-18, 1906

August 20-25, 1906

August 27-September 1, 1906

September 10-15, 1906

September 17-22, 1906

September 24-29, 1906

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