 |
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).
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1903
August 24-29:
Bijou: (Spooner Stock Company) Nancy and Co.; Columbia: (Wells-Dunne-Harlan Musical Comedy Company) By
the Sad Sea Waves; Gotham: The
Little Church Around the Corner (opened Saturday, August 29); Grand
Opera House: Under Two Flags, with Jane Kenmark (opened Saturday,
August 29); Novelty: The Minister’s Daughter (opened Saturday,
August 29); Vaudeville/burlesque:
Star, Gayety, Unique, Watson’s; August 31-September 5: Bijou: (Spooner
Stock Company) The Fatal Card;
Columbia: (Wells-Dunne-Harlan Musical Comedy Company) By the Sad
Sea Waves; Folly: For
Her Children’s Sake; Gotham: The
Little Church Around the Corner; Grand
Opera House: Under Two Flags, with Jane Kenmark; Novelty: The
Minister’s Daughter; Park: The
Winning Hand, with Noah
Beery; Payton’s Lee Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) Captain Jinks of the
Horse Marines; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Hearts of
the Blue Ridge; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde &
Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s; September 7-13: Bijou:
(Spooner Stock Company) The Masked Ball; Columbia: (Wells-Dunne-Harlan Musical Comedy Company) Lost,
Strayed or Stolen; Folly: Under
Two Flags; Gotham: The
Night Before Christmas; Grand
Opera House: David Harum; Montauk: The
Wizard of Oz, with David C. Montgomery and Fred Stone; Novelty: Why
Women Sin; Park: A
Working Girl’s Wrongs; Payton’s
Lee Avenue: The Sporting Duchess; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock
Company) The Counterfeiters;
Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde
& Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s; September 14-19: Bijou:
(Spooner Stock Company) The Dancer and the King; Columbia: (Wells-Dunne-Harlan
Musical Comedy Company) A Trip to Chinatown; Folly: David Harum; Gotham: The Limited Mail; Grand Opera House: A Son of Rest, with Nat Wills;
Montauk: “Over a Welsh Rarebit,” Facing the Music, with Henry E.
Dixey; Novelty: The Little Church Around the Corner; Park: The King of
Detectives; Payton’s Lee
Avenue: (Payton’s Stock Company) More Than Queen; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock
Company) Gypsy Jack; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde &
Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Unique, Orpheum, Watson’s; September 21-26: Amphion: A Fool and His Money; Bijou: (Spooner Stock
Company) Led Astray; Columbia:
(Wells-Dunne-Harlan Musical Comedy Company) The Man from Mexico; Folly: A Son of Rest,
with Nat Wills; Gotham: The
King of Detectives; Grand
Opera House: The Fatal Wedding; Montauk: Pretty Peggy, with Grace George;
Novelty: M’liss, with Nellie McHenry; Park: No Wedding
Bells for Her; Payton’s Lee
Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) A Celebrated Case; Phillips’ Lyceum:
(Lyceum Stock Company) Black Eagle; or, The Firm of Girdlestone and Co.; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Unique,
Orpheum, Watson’s; September 28-October 3: Amphion: “Over a Welsh
Rarebit,” Facing the Music, with Henry E. Dixey; Bijou: (Spooner
Stock Company) D’Arcy of the Guards; Columbia: (Wells-Dunne-Harlan Musical Comedy Company) A
Black Sheep; Folly: The
Fatal Wedding; Gotham: Only
a Shop Girl; Grand Opera
House: The Heart of Maryland;
Montauk: Du Barry, with Mrs. Leslie Carter; Novelty: The
Great White Diamond; Park: A
Ragged Hero; Payton’s Lee
Avenue: (Payton Stock Company) A Poor Relation, “Pudd’nhead
Wilson”; Phillips’ Lyceum: (Lyceum Stock Company) Just Before Dawn; Vaudeville/burlesque: Hyde & Behman’s, Star, Gayety, Unique,
Orpheum, Watson’s
1. August 24-29, 1903
.jpg)
2. August 31-September 5, 1903
3. September 7-12, 1903
4. September 14-19, 1903
5. September 21-26, 1903
6. September 28-October 3, 1903
.jpg)
