DECEMBER 1907

Frances Starr in The Rose of the Rancho, The Theatre Magazine, April 1907.

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).

DECEMBER 1907

*=novelties (recent plays new to Brooklyn)

December 2-7:
Bijou: His Terrible Secret
Blaney’s Amphion: The Spoilers
Broadway: The Right of Way* (Guy Standing, Theodore Roberts)
Columbia: The Original Cohen*
Folly: The Old Homestead
Majestic: Virginius; Monte Cristo; Julius Caesar (James O’Neill)
New Montauk: The Fool Hath Said—There Is No God*; If I Were King; Hamlet (E. H. Sothern)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Oliver Twist
Phillips’ Lyceum: The King of the Cowboys
Royal Italian: (Maiori Stock Company) ?
Shubert: (Clarendon Stock Company) For Her Sake
Vaudeville/burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham

December 9-14:
Bijou: The Burglar and the Lady (James J. Corbett)
Blaney’s Amphion: It’s Never Too Late to Mend*
Broadway: The Kreutzer Sonata (Blanche Walsh)
Columbia: The Rocky Mountain Express
Folly: Buster Brown
Majestic: Metz of the Alps (Al H. Wilson)
New Montauk: The Rogers Brothers in Panama* (Rogers Brothers)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Tennessee’s Partner
Phillips’ Lyceum: The Burglar’s Daughter
Royal Italian: (Maiori Stock Company) ?
Vaudeville/burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham

December 16-21:
Bijou: Chinatown Charlie
Blaney’s Amphion: The Life of an Actress (Leila Dell Lennon)
Broadway: Peter Pan (Maude Adams)
Columbia: Wall Street Mystery; or, King of Wire Tappers*
Folly: The Little Organ Grinder (Marion Ballou)
Majestic: The Dancer and the King; The Girl Raffles (Cecil Spooner)
New Montauk: Brewster’s Millions* (Edward S. Abeles)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Hamlet
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Camille
Royal Italian: (Maiori Stock Company) ?
Shubert: The Rose of the Rancho* (Frances Starr)
Vaudeville/burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham

December 23-28:
Bijou: Since Nellie Went Away
Blaney’s Amphion: Bunco in Arizona* (Lillian Mortimer)
Broadway: The Rich Mr. Hoggenheimer (Sam Bernard)
Columbia: The Candy Kid*
Folly: Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model
Grand Opera House: Robin Hood (Aborn Opera Company)
Majestic: The Dancer and the King; The Girl Raffles (Cecil Spooner)
New Montauk: Little Cherub (Hattie Williams)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Sky Farm
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Counterfeiters
Royal Italian: (Maiori Stock Company) ?
Vaudeville/burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham, Park

December 30-January 4:
Bijou: The Shoemaker*
Blaney’s Amphion: His Terrible Secret; or, the Man Monkey (William H. Turner)
Broadway: Lord Dundreary (a.k.a. Our American Cousin); If I Were King; The Fool Hath Said—There Is No God; Hamlet (E. H. Sothern)
Columbia: Shadowed by Three*
Folly: Shore Acres (Digby Bell)
Grand Opera House: The Bohemian Girl (Aborn Opera Company)
Majestic: The Wizard of Oz
New Montauk: The Orchid* (Eddie Foy)
Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Theodora
Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Queen of Chinatown
Vaudeville/burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Gotham, Shubert, Royal

December 2-7, 1907

Bijou: His Terrible Secret

Blaney’s Amphion: The Spoilers

Broadway: The Right of Way, with Guy Standing, Theodore Roberts

Columbia: The Original Cohen

Folly: The Old Homestead

Majestic: Virginius, Monte Cristo, Julius Caesar, with James O’Neill

Montauk: The Fool Hath Said—There Is No God, If I Were King, Hamlet, with E.H. Sothern

Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Lee Avenue Stock Company) Oliver Twist

Phillips’ Lyceum: The King of the Cowboys

Royal Italian: (Majori Stock Company) ?

Shubert: (Clarendon Stock Company) For Her Sake

Vaudeville and burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham

December 9-14, 1907

Bijou: The Burglar and the Lady, with James J. Corbett

Blaney’s Amphion: It’s Never Too Late to Mend

Broadway: The Kreutzer Sonata, with Blanche Walsh

Columbia: The Rocky Mountain Express

Folly: Buster Brown

Majestic: Metz of the Alps, with Al H. Wilson

Montauk: The Rogers Brothers in Panama, with the Rogers Brothers

Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Lee Avenue Stock Company) Tennessee’s Partner

Phillips’ Lyceum: The Burglar’s Daughter

Royal Italian: (Majori Stock Company) ?

Vaudeville and burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham

December 16-21, 1907

Bijou: Chinatown Charlie, the Opium Fiend

Blaney’s Amphion: The Life of an Actress, with Leila Dell Lennon

Broadway: Peter Pan, with Maude Adams

Columbia: Wall Street Mystery; or, King of Wire Tappers

Folly: The Little Organ Grinder, with Marion Ballou

Majestic: The Dancer and the King, The Girl Raffles, with Cecil Spooner

Montauk: Brewster’s Millions, with Edward S. Abeles

Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Lee Avenue Stock Company) Hamlet

Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Camille

Royal Italian: (Majori Stock Company) ?

Shubert: The Rose of the Rancho, with Frances Starr 

Vaudeville and burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham

December 23-28, 1907

Bijou: Since Nellie Went Away

Blaney’s Amphion: Bunco in Arizona, with Lillian Mortimer

Broadway: The Rich Mr. Hoggenheimer, with Sam Bernard

Columbia: The Candy Kid

Folly: Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model

Grand Opera House: Robin Hood, with the Aborn Opera Company

Majestic: The Dancer and the King, The Girl Raffles, with Cecil Spooner

Montauk: The Little Cherub, with Hattie Williams

Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Lee Avenue Stock Company) Sky Farm

Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) The Counterfeiters

Royal Italian: (Majori Stock Company) ?

Vaudeville and burlesque: Keeney’s, Olympic, Novelty, Orpheum, Star, Gayety, Grand Opera House, Gotham, Park (changed from Shubert)

The week of December 30, 1907, to January 4, 1908, is covered in the January 1908 entry for this blog.

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1908: MAY-JUNE

When May 1908 began, Brooklyn’s theatre scene looked like that of any other normal month. Ten legitimate playhouses (three stock companies...

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Samuel L. Leiter

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theatre), Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. Drama Desk voter. Author/editor of 31 books. Most recent: BROOKLYN TAKES THE STAGE (2024); MEIJI KABUKI (2022); KABUKI AT THE CROSSROADS (2014). Selected others: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1920-1930, 1930-1940, 1940-1950; SHAKESPEARE AROUND THE GLOBE; FROM BELASCO TO BROOK; FROM STANISLAVSKY TO BARRAULT; THE GREAT STAGE DIRECTORS; FROZEN MOMENTS; ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASIAN THEATRE; HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF JAPANESE TRADITIONAL THEATRE; THE ART OF KABUKI; KABUKI PLAYS ON STAGE (4 vols.), etc. “Back-translations”: THE LION KING, AIDA, and WICKED for Tokyo productions. Blogs: KABUKI WOOGIE and THEATRE'S LEITER SIDE. Regular contributor: THEATER PIZZAZZ, THEATER LIFE. slleiter@gmail.com

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