text:
A History of Theatre in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from its Beginning to 1900 / Siefkas, James M. Special Collections University Publications WU101.S56 T44 Jump to a Section Chaper I. General History of La Crosse Chaper II. La Crosse Theatres Chapter III. Acting Styles of Actors that Toured La Crosse Chapter IV. Frequently Produced Plays Chapter V. Cheap Shows Chapter VI. Germania Hall Chapter VII. Other Phases of La Crosse Theatre Chapter VIII. Conclusion Bibliography Appendix
A History of Theatre in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from its Beginning to 1900 / Siefkas, James M. Special Collections University Publications WU101.S56 T44
To search the text of this document use your web browser's Find feature located under the Edit menu.
This is an authorized facsimile and was produced by microfilm-xerography in 1975 by Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal. sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again - beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. 5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor. Michigan 48106 73-21,828 SIEFKAS, James M., 1935- A HISTORY OF THEATRE IN LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, FROM ITS BEGINNING TO 1900. University of Missouri - Columbia, Ph.D., 1972 Speech-Theater University Microfilms. A XEROX Company. Ann Arbor, Michigan A HISTORY OF THEATRE IN LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, FROM ITS BEGINNING TO 1900 A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School University of Missouri-Columbia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by James M. Siefkas December 1972 Dr. Larry Clark, Dissertation Supervisor The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate Faculty, have examined a thesis entitled A HISTORY OF THEATRE IN LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, FROM ITS BEGINNING TO 1900 presented by James M. Siefkas a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. GENERAL HISTORY OF LA CROSSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. LA CROSSE THEATRES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 III. ACTING STYLES OF ACTORS THAT TOURED LA CROSSE AND INFLUENCED THEATRE IN THE AREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The Heroic or Democratic Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Romantic Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Neo Romantic or Classic Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Emotional Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Personality Performers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Comic Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Realistic Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 FREQUENTLY PRODUCED PLAYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 CHEAP SHOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 GERMANIA HALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 OTHER PHASES OF LA CROSSE THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Spectaculars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Transvestism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Showboats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Famous Producer-Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Black Entertainers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Wild West Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Chapter Page Indian Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Shows That Bombed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 VIII. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 CHAPTER I GENERAL HISTORY OF LA CROSSE La Crosse, Wisconsin, is a city of 52,000 people, located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi in the southwestern part of the state at about forty-two degrees north latitude and at about ninety-two degrees longitude. La Crosse has a university, a college, a technical school, and numerous industries, such as Trane Company, an internationally known air conditioning firm; and G. Heileman Brewing Company, brewers of Old Style, Blatz, and several other brands of beer. It is serviced by railroads, bus lines, a highway network, and an airport. The only characteristic, however, that La Crosse (1972) has in common with Prairie La Crosse when it was first settled by Nathan Myrick in 1841 is its location. Long before white men came to the area that is now La Crosse, it had been a central trading point for the Indians. It was a good location because a number of small rivers, the Black, Trempealeau, La Crosse, Root, Coon, and Bad Ax emptied into the Mississippi River within a radius of fifteen to twenty miles. It was this location with its potential for a lucrative fur trade with the Indians that prompted Nathan Myrick and Eben Weld to establish the first trading post at Prairie La Crosse, November 9, 1841. 1 La Crosse received its name from Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, who was commissioned by President Jefferson to explore the upper Mississippi in 1805. He called the area Prairie La Crosse because it was a prairie 1 2 between the river and the bluffs and because the Sioux Indians who lived in the area often played a ball game with a stick that had a thong basket on one end. 2 The object of the game was to carry the ball beyond the opponent's goal line. In the process there were many unlucky blows, sometimes from friends as well as opponents. The game was spirited and lively, for the Indians participating often wagered all they had on its outcome. 3 The "Prairie" in the name Prairie La Crosse was dropped as unnecessary by the first postmaster of the town--Nathan Myrick. The fur trade with the Indians was profitable for several years. In 1846, however, Myrick and his new partner, Harmon J. B. Miller, decided to expand their operation and opened a sawmill on the Black River. During the first two years of the operation, the Black River was low so that logs that had been cut could not be floated down river. The next year it rained heavily, flooding the river, tearing out the dams, and scattering most of the cut logs. Myrick and Miller realized little from their three years' investment in the lumber business. In the spring of 1848, Myrick decided to leave La Crosse. He gave a number of reasons for his decision: his failure in the lumber business; the removal of the Winnebago Indians from the area; and the resultant decline in the fur trade. 4 In 1850, nine years after Myrick built his first trading post at the site, La Crosse had only six or eight houses. By 1853, the town had grown considerably. In addition to its location on the Mississippi, numerous influences, according to Sanford, contributed to the sudden growth of the populations 1. The admission of Wisconsin as a state in 1841 advertised it to the public. 3 2. The final measures for the removal of the Indian tribes from this area gave another stimulus. 3. The sale of land in this district was begun in 1848 at Mineral Point. In 1853, a United States Land Office was opened in La Crosse. There began, then, a period of immigration to La Crosse County. 4. La Crosse County and the Town of La Crosse were organized in 1851. This was another advertisement for this section and an assurance of a stable local government. 5. Here, as elsewhere, the anticipated building of railroads gave stimulus to the growth of the population. Many railroad projects were announced, most of which were never realized. But from the organization of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Company in 1852, this subject was kept constantly before the public until its completion in 1858. 5 By 1853, the population in La Crosse was 745, and it continued to grow, although its growth was not spectacular for a settlement with such an advantageous location. 6 The population in 1855 was 1,637; in 1860, it had grown to 3,860; in 1865, it was 5,037; in 1870, it was 7,785; in 1880, it had grown to 14,505; by 1890, it was 25,090; by 1895, the rate of growth had slowed, for the population was 28,895. 7 The population of La Crosse did not vary notably from that figure for more than ten years. Of all the factors that contributed to the founding and development of La Crosse, the Mississippi River and its tributaries were probably the most important. The town was founded on its present site because such men as Myrick could transport goods by river. The early means of freight and passenger transportation were the canoe and the keel boat; however, less than ten years after the first settlement in La Crosse, the steamboat became of primary importance to development in the area. After trunk railroad lines from the East began to connect with the 4 Mississippi, the steamboat lines received new stimulation. Additionally, immigrants from Europe and the eastern states, who started populating the area along the Mississippi, used the steamboat for at least part of their journey. As the immigrants became established, they needed large quantities of goods and manufactured products, which the steamboats transported. Later, when the immigrants produced a surplus, they used the steamboats to send their products to market. The number of boat arrivals at La Crosse increased from 309 per year in 1853 to 1,200 by 1856. During the first eighteen days of June, 1856, there were 180 arrivals at La Crosse, an average of ten each day. 8 In 1877, twice as many steamboats were owned by La Crosse residents as were owned by residents in any single town north of St. Louis. No other town above St. Louis had a third as many pilots; in 1889, twenty-six locally owned steamboats were registered at the La Crosse port. 9 One of the most interesting exports by barge from La Crosse was river ice. Beginning about 1858, specially covered barges propelled by towboats transported ice down river. By 1876, they moved an estimated twenty thousand tons of ice from La Crosse to Hannibal and St. Louis, Missouri, and other points south. The peak of the business was the 1879-1880 season when the ice company built thirteen new ice houses and packed some forty thousand tons of ice. Unfortunately, the record flood of 1880 ruined about thirty thousand tons of ice and also the ice exporting industry. l0 The most important commodities transported by steamboat were wheat and flour. Early farmers of the virgin soils of Wisconsin and Minnesota grew wheat as a capital crop. In the 1850's, they shipped the wheat in sacks, but by the next decade, businessmen erected large grain elevators 5 in the city. In 1863, the grain elevators received 44,000 bushels of wheat in a single day. By 1869, the local elevator was handling 3,487,173 bushels of wheat a year, almost all of which was shipped by barge. 11 The steamboat business on the upper Mississippi River peaked in the early 1870's. Weakened by prolonged cut-throat competition among themselves and by the encroaching railroads that crossed the Mississippi and completed north and south connections, the steamboat became less important to the area. Railroads now moved the grain, since it was cheaper to leave the grain on the cars than it was to transfer it to the steamboats. Steamboats continued to carry small amounts of wheat even in the 1880's, but the great days of river grain shipment were over by 1879. Passengers also found it more convenient to travel by railroad, and they abandoned the steamboats. 8y the 1890's, only one steamship line was operating on the upper Mississippi. 12 From the 1870's forward, La Crosse depended progressively less on the river as a means of transportation. Although La Crosse owed its founding and early prosperity to its location on the Mississippi River, it, like many other towns, faced eventual ruin unless it could secure railroad connections. Naturally, during the years beginning about 1855, the single most important business enterprise was the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad. No other subject occupied as much space in newspaper columns, for most editors and city officials believed the railroad was the key to the future prosperity of La Crosse. When the railroad was finally completed (October 6, 1858), there was a huge celebration. 13 Under the original timetable, trains left La Crosse at 12:30 a. m. and 6:30 a. m. for Milwaukee. Passengers taking the 12:30 a. m. train could arrive in Milwaukee seventeen hours 6 after leaving La Crosse in time for the 5:30 p. m. train for the East. One could make the same trip now by car in four to five hours. The La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad fulfilled one of the major ambitions of the city--to be tied to the commerce of the East by rail. La Crosse now had a direct source of supply from the East to enhance its future position as a trading center and way station for goods and travelers going farther west. What was lacking were rail connections with markets and frontier communities-farther west. The completion of the railroad line on November 18, 1870, from La Crosse to Wells, Minnesota, made that juncture. 14 Lastly, the completion of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy line along the east bank of the Mississippi from Savanna, Illinois, to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1885, completed the city's major railroad network. The general commercial development of La Crosse depended upon the finished railroad system. Additionally, and of particular importance to this study, the railroad network made it possible for many of the best traveling troupes of the nineteenth century to tour La Crosse. Since La Crosse was located on railroad lines between Chicago and the Twin Cities, it was convenient for troupes to stop in La Crosse and play a night or two. Had it not been for this location between two larger cities, no doubt fewer prominent theatrical troupes would have toured La Crosse. The location, coupled with reduced rates on the railroads and in the hotels, encouraged theatrical companies to perform in La Crosse. 15 During the last century, lumbering was the most important single industry in La Crosse. Again, La Crosse had a strategic location, for pine that was cut in the area drained by the Black, Chippewa, and St. 7 Croix Rivers had to pass through La Crosse on its way to outside markets. 16 Logs cut and floated down the St. Croix increased from 300,000 board feet in 1837-1838 to 75,000,000 in 1850, and peaked at 452,000,000 in 1890, after which lumbering began to decline. 17 Illustrating the magnitude of the industry, the Black River carried over six billion board feet of logs to La Crosse between the years 1855 and 1899. 18 Because of its location on the Mississippi and because of the amount of logging in the area, La Crosse built numerous sawmills. To get an idea of the rapid growth of the lumber industry as well as the even more rapid decline, the average annual cut of the sawmills between 1860 and 1869 was less than 20 million board feet. It increased to 47 million board feet in 1870-1879, to 169 million board feet in 1880-1889, and to 177.7 million board feet in 1890-1899. The average cut between 1900 and 1903 had fallen to 40 million board feet. 19 Similarly, the number of mill workers increased rapidly and then decreased even more rapidly as the timber in the area diminished. The number of mill workers in 1882 was 1,301. This number increased yearly and peaked at 2,075 in 1893. Thereafter, the number of workers remained fairly constant until 1899. In 1900, there were only 480 mill employees, and by 1904, only 40. 20 Because of the failure of the lumber industry and its directly related industries, more than three thousand men lost their jobs between 1898 and 1904. The attendant loss in payroll was more than a million dollars annually. 21 To a city of less than 30,000 people, the failure of the lumber industry was a serious blow-so serious that the population remained relatively stationary for twenty years after 1900. Had it not been for other industries and local manufacturing companies, La Crosse might have 8 suffered a decline in industry and population from which it would never have recovered. The failure of the lumber industry directly affected theatre in the area. Except for the cheap shows, area residents did not have money to go to the theatre. Additionally, since La Crosse stopped growing while other cities in the general area continued to grow, the prominent traveling troupes went to the larger populated areas and by-passed La Crosse. The people of La Crosse were a mixture of many nationalities. In 1870, 3,500 La Crosse residents were foreign-born; in 1880, the number had risen to 5,400 La Crosse residents who were immigrants. The census of 1890 shows 16,700 residents were natives, and the rest, or about 8,400, were born outside the United States. Of this group, about 3,000 were from Germany, about 2,700 were from Norway, about 400 from Bohemia, about 400 from Ireland, about 200 from England, and about 200 from Sweden. By 1900, the number of foreign-born residents had decreased to about 7,200. Of this number, over 4,000 were from Germany and Norway. 22 La Crosse residents participated in a variety of activities to keep themselves entertained. Hunting, fishing, and shooting were popular during the nineteenth century and still are. Because of the long winters, ice skating and tobogganing were popular sports. La Crosse had several commercial toboggan slides, where an individual walked up a flight of stairs pulling his toboggan and then rode his toboggan down the hill. Bowling was one of the first games that had a structure built specifically for it. The first bowling alley, of sorts, was built in 1843. The game continued to be popular during the remainder of the 9 nineteenth century. Archery illustrates a long list of sports that became a craze for a time and then disappeared. The first archery club was organized in 1877 as a social affair where both men and women participated together. The craze terminated in a few years. The sport that best qualified as a craze, however, was roller skating. Within two years, beginning in 1884, businessmen constructed nine skating rinks. One rink, the Central, cost $4,000--relatively expensive for the period. Sometimes as many as 4,000 people skated at the rinks daily. The craze quickly disappeared, for by 1886 the rinks opened only for special occasions. In the 1890's, bicycling became an important means of transportation as well as a means of entertainment. In 1896, there were forty-five bicycle dealers in La Crosse. Clubs formed to provide social outings and to hold races. A specially banked bicycle track was built that provided seating for 2,000 spectators. La Crosse citizens also became involved in other sports: baseball about 1867, tennis about 1890, basketball about 1894, and golf about 1900. In addition to sports, La Crosse residents found entertainment in dances, county fairs, and circuses. A prominent feature of the circus during the nineteenth century was the morning parade that all could see without cost. Another important source of entertainment was the theatre. The remainder of this study will concentrate on that aspect of the history of La Crosse, focusing on the period between 1858, the first recorded theatrical performance, and the end of the nineteenth century. Nineteen hundred is a logical terminating point because La Crosse changed substantially about the turn of the century: The Spanish-American War 10 retarded theatrical presentations, and the previously mentioned demise of the lumber industry, which happened about 1900, caused a severe depression in the area. Residents had no money to spend on the theatre. The depression caused the population to stop growing, and it did not start growing again until about 1920. Since other cities in the area were growing, prominent acting groups went there and avoided La Crosse. There is no single reason why a historical study of theatre in La Crosse is significant; the reasons are many and varied. First, the La Crosse public, in general, tended to like the plays and the actors that were popular in larger metropolitan areas. There were, of course, a few exceptions. This adds interest and a measure of significance to the study. Second, a study of theatre in all of the small cities of nineteenth century America is impractical. From a study of La Crosse, one may make inferences about similar cities, a possibility that adds to the significance of the study. In addition to these two reasons, an examination of the available evidence indicates that there are some special features to the theatre of La Crosse. For example, (1) more than thirty nationally and internationally prominent actors toured La Crosse; (2) La Crosse built a theatre that was completely lighted by electricity in 1888, only three years later than Steele MacKaye's Madison Square Theatre; (3) some traveling companies that came to La Crosse were able to attract as much as ten per cent of the La Crosse population to the theatre nightly; and (4) La Crosse had an active community theatre from 1878-1888. This combination of the typical and the atypical theatrical occurrences provides sufficient impetus and significance for the investigation that follows. FOOTNOTES 1 Albert H. Sanford and H. J. Hirshheimer, A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1841-1900 (La Crosse: La Crosse County Historical Society, 1951), p. 15. 2 Ibid., p. 9. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid., p. 29. 5 Ibid., p. 55. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid., p. 206. 8 Ibid., p. 133. 9 Ibid., p. 142. 10 Ibid., p. 135. 11 Ibid., p. 134. 12 Ibid., p. 143. 13 Ibid., p. 79. 11 12 14 Ibid., p. 145. 15 Ibid., p. 249. 16 Selma S. Cusberg, The Lumbering Industry of La Crosse. Wisconsin 1841-1905 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1953), p. 4. 17 Ibid. 18 Sanford, p. 154. 19 H. J. Hirshheimer, "The Passing of the Sawmill and the Growth of Manufacturers in La Crosse, 1880-1905," La Crosse Historical Sketches, Series Three (2nd ed.; La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1937), p. 70. 20 Cusberg, p. 67. 21 Hirshheimer, p. 77. 22 Sanford, p. 208. CHAPTER II LA CROSSE THEATRES The La Crosse Opera House was the city's first notable building dedicated to the amusement of the public. Marcus M. Pomeroy built it in 1867 on the corner of Main and Fourth Streets; it cost $80,000. 1 The building occupied seventy feet along Main Street and one hundred ten feet along Fourth Street, and had more than one use. The first two stories provided offices for the Democrat newspaper as well as an apartment for Pomeroy, while only the third floor was equipped for presenting plays. The stage was twenty-four by thirty-two feet and had "all the furnishing necessary for a modern theatre." 2 The theatre was typical of other theatres of the period; it was lighted with gas, and was furnished with several generalized settings. The Opera House itself was not fully euipped [sic] until the fall of 1869. At that time Pomeroy described the theatre in the La Crosse Democrat: It is a fact not generally known that this city has the finest opera hall, erected by M. M. Pomeroy the past year, that there is in the state. Admittedly, Pomeroy's above statement and his description of the Opera House that followed were probably biased, since he owned both the La Crosse Democrat and the theatre; however, it is the only detailed 13 14 description of the building. According to his account, the main floor seated 1,000 people and the circular balcony seated 400 people. Private boxes at each side of the proscenium were carpeted and furnished in what Pomeroy called "good style." 4 Private boxes were typical of theatres of the period. Even Booth's Theatre in New York, the most progressive theatre built in America prior to 1880, had a few private boxes on either side of the stage. The stage of Pomeroy Opera Hall, measuring twenty-four by thirty-two feet, the largest in the state, was lighted with footlights and "celebrated sunlight reflectors," 5 which were controlled by a single gas cock that could darken the stage immediately. Gas had been in general use in theatres of America since the 1840's. Gas tables, comparable to the modern light control board, had also been in general use for about two decades prior to the construction of the Opera Hall. Pomeroy did not mention a gas table, so one must infer that in that respect the Opera Hall was behind other contemporary theatres. Pomeroy promised the public that "there will be ten complete scenes in Pomeroy Opera Hall by the 25th, which will render the hall better for theatre than any in the West." 6 He continued, saying there would be scenes of brooks; sea; mountains and rocks, behind which the red man could hide; parlors; prisons; and four others. The drop curtain was unique. It was a painting showing cards of local businessmen. At the top and on each side was a reproduction of the American flag; and crowning it all, in the center and at the top, the scene painter, Mr. F. A. Lydston, painted the portrait of none other than K. M. Pomeroy. According to Pomeroy, "The curtain is a good picture and suits exactly." 7 Evidently the public did not agree, because Pomeroy received numerous 15 complaints about mixing business with entertainment. He received so many complaints that he changed the drop curtain within a few months, still believing, however, that it suited exactly. Pomeroy's description of the other settings was detailed even though probably not unbiased. The first scene was: "A parlor, acknowledged by all to be the richest in the West, with its gold and crimson and beautiful proportions." 8 The second scene, according to the Democrat, showed: A deep wood. . . the native wilderness standing out in true denseness. And here where nearly all in shade and density, with the beech tree and the elm, lies darkly still, a lakelet, into whose water a little promontory thrusts its rude cheek to catch the kiss of the faltering rays of the setting sun. . . There is life, a romantic trueness, about the scene. 9 The next scene was a landscape of a shaded valley grove with a village in the distance and a river and a road winding through. "The clouds, the winding river, the stately hills, etc., reminds one of a real landscape upon the Mississippi." 10 The fourth scene was a sea scape. The mood was cold and chilly with large waves tossing upon the rocks and a few trees attempting to grow along the shore. 11 The fifth drop was a street scene in which, in Pomeroy's words, "Every style of architecture is embodied. . ." 12 The sixth scene was an old kitchen with battered walls and falling plaster. The seventh scene was a prison. Pomeroy's description of the seventh scene was equally subjective. He spoke of "the prison with its hors [sic], and chains, and bolted iron door, ghostly and hideous." 13 The eighth scene was another interior--a chamber, with a frescoed ceiling, a marble mantle, a coal grate, and a carpet. Additionally, there were several scenes of rocks, boats, 16 "all of which work well with admirable illusion and effect. . . Mr. Lydston has again proven that for scenery or portrait painting, he had no equal in the West." l4 To make sure that the La Crosse audience was well aware of the capacities of his Opera House, Pomeroy, in a critique of a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin, described the effect of the well equipped stage; At Pomeroy's Opera Hall last evening, the entire audience was hushed for a moment as the scene was presented which showed Eliza and her child crossing the Ohio on the floating blocks of ice. It was as natural as life itself; the roaring water and swaying ice presented a picture that a La Crosse audience was little prepared for, and developed the magnificence of the scenery and capacity of the stage. 15 Even though Pomeroy as editor of the paper could give the Opera Hall liberal advertisement and promotion, the Pomeroy block which included offices, stores, and the Opera Hall was not a financial success. Also, Pomeroy Opera Hall was probably not as well equipped nor as adequately designed as Pomeroy said, for in 1878 as an organizer for the Greenback party he returned to La Crosse to present a speech. Only three hundred people attended, and the Democrat used this occasion to comment upon Pomeroy and his theatre building that he had advertised with exaltation: His Greenback lecture. . . cannot be better described than by comparing its logic to the architecture of the opera hall that Brick (Pomeroy) advertised so tremendously when building it and which really cost about $80,000 but is so miserably planned that there is not a good room in it and that it never could be rented at a price that compared with other buildings near it. Within a year the insurance company that loaned $30,000 to Brick on the building and had to foreclose its mortgage to save any of the debt, offered, without getting a purchaser, to sell the building for $14,000. 16 17 In 1879, the Opera Hall was remodeled and renamed La Crosse Opera House. Mr. Harding was in charge of the interior design of the new hall; the decor was modern. set off with sprinkles of Japanese figures. According to Mr. Harding, the La Crosse Opera House was by far the "handsomest and best theatre" in the state, outside of Milwaukee. l7 For this remodeling, Mr. W. J. Gunning painted entirely new sets of scenery. According to the Chronicle, Gunning said that he had made the prettiest and most serviceable set of scenes in the state. 18 Based upon the description of the drop curtain, however, "prettiest" may not have been the most appropriate word. The drop curtain represented a scene from Byron's poem, "Sardanapalus." The Chronicle described the drop curtain: The gorgeous old king occupies a throne to the right; a female slave whose beauty entirely justifies her relations to him, is seated by his side, while grouped about are Assyrian officers watching two dancing girls in the center foreground. On the opposite side, the musicians form a dusky group on a raised platform. Slaves with fans of ostrich plumes and peacock feathers surround the king, while one on bended knee, presents wine on a salver. In the background, the hanging gardens rise terrace on terrace crowded with palms and strange foliage, while far in the distance there is a glean of water and a bit of blue sky. In the immediate foreground from an upright standard, a lambent flame flares in the wind, suggesting spicy odors of burning incense, and hinting at the vast rolling billowy sea of fire which swept away the earthly magnificence of the cruel voluptuary and set his spirit free to seek its healthier heaven. The picture is one of which the public will not soon weary. 19 The Chronicle continued by describing nine additional scenes. The description of Rocky Pass best illustrates the type of scenery used: This represents rocks piled in confusion in the foreground, and rising in steep declivities on the left; to the right there is a hill, bare of shrub or tree, except one stunted 18 and twisted cedar, suggesting fierce and unrelenting blasts. In the center, but back among the hills, a waterfall pours down; the distance is filled with mountains, high over which cold, white clouds are flying. The sky and clouds and mountain peaks are in perfect harmony and the picture as a whole is more worthy an audience than some shows. 20 The article described in similar detail the Horizon, Palace Interior, Dark Wood, the Garden, the Street House, the Fancy Chamber, the Kitchen, and the Prison, and concluded: All these scenes are supplied with the necessary wings; carpenter work and accessories are first class, and the whole outfit is modern, elegant and creditable to the artist, the owner, and the city. 21 The scenery described above was typical of the last century. Prior to 1880, there may have been an occasional box set with scenery designed specifically for a particular play, but this was not usual. Another theatre, Germania Hall, on the corner of Fifth and Ferry Streets, was used primarily for amateur productions. Germania Hall was originally Turner Hall, remodeled into Germania Hall in 1877. The stage of the new hall was eighty-two feet deep and fifty-two feet wide; the proscenium opening was twenty-two feet high and twenty feet wide. The theatre was uncommon because it had no proscenium boxes. 22 Even Booth's Theatre, which in several ways marked the beginning of a new era in theatre design, had a few boxes on either side of the proscenium. One might conclude, therefore, that Germania Hall was ahead of its time in this aspect. However, since the space where the boxes would have been was used for dressing rooms, and since the theatre 19 was small, it is more reasonable to conclude that boxes were omitted merely to provide extra space. The theatre was forty feet by one hundred feet, and held five hundred people, plus two hundred fifty more in the gallery. The seats were raked so that the rear seats were eight inches higher than the front seats. 23 A cluster of gas burners, (referred to as gas sun burners) placed in the center of the ceiling, lighted the auditorium. Bracket lights were used under the gallery and at the proscenium. 24 The third theatre building in La Crosse opened January 11, 1889. 25 Of this theatre Sanford said: "The La Crosse Theatre was built in 1888 on Fifth Street where the Hoeschler Building now stands. This was a real theatre with a sloping floor, appropriate seating, a gallery, and gas lights." 26 Sanford probably used the term "real theatre" to imply a comparison between the La Crosse Theatre and the antiquated Pomeroy Opera Hall. On the occasion of the opening of the La Crosse Theatre, the president of the theatre company, J. W. Losey, stepped in front of the curtain and addressed the nearly full one thousand two hundred seat house. He started by mentioning that he and some of his associates had seen a well equipped and designed theatre in Chicago, and each wondered why La Crosse did not have a safe, compact theatre. The associates circulated a subscription and within forty-eight hours had raised 340,000. I. H. Moullon, James McCord, J. J. Hogan, A. Hirshheimer, F. C. Copeland, and L. F. Eastman joined to create the La Crosse Theatre Company. 27 A committee of the above group visited Chicago and other places, and they hired an architect, Oscar Cobb, 20 from Chicago. Construction started within twenty days. 28 The theatre building was sixty by one hundred five feet with a wing eight feet by thirty feet to increase the stage room. It had a grand entrance which opened from Fifth Street into a hall twenty-four by thirty-one feet. On the right was the ticket office equipped in whet the Republican referred to as a "tasteful" manner. 29 On both sides of the hall, doors led to the foyer. At the right and left of the foyer, stairways went to the balcony. The men's and women's toilets were also in the foyer area. Four arched aisles led toward the stage. The parquet contained eleven rows of chairs upholstered in the best finish. Similarly, the parquet circle had nine rows of upholstered chairs. On both sides of the stage there were four boxes--each supplied with easy chairs and finished in elegant style. 30 Attendance at the La Crosse Theatre was a social occasion. Those in the parquet and in private boxes dressed formally. This custom may account for the regression to the use of box seats. The balcony had folding chairs and the gallery had "ordinary" theatre seats. The theatre seated about one thousand two hundred people. 31 The stage was seventy-four by forty-five feet and had a proscenium opening thirty-six feet wide. From the stage floor to the gridiron was fifty feet. The stage had six traps, one extending its entire width. There were fourteen dressing rooms, seven on each side of the stage. Under the stage, separate dressing rooms for black minstrel groups were available. 32 The drop curtain was thirty by thirty-six feet, and had a scene of ancient Jerusalem painted on it. The stage was equipped with twenty sets of scenery. 33 21 Losey made a point of stressing the strong structure of the theatre, for he said that the foundation walls were two feet thick, laid on a footing of stone four to six feet wide, and well embedded in the sand. The lower floor rested on fifty stone piers surrounded by concrete. The upper floor rested on pillars supported by piers not connected to the lower floor. The house, for the period, was well protected from fire. Water was stored on the roof, and there was a pipe and hose both right and left back stage, as well as one in front of the stage. Since there were doors eight feet wide on each side of the theatre, it could be emptied in one minute. 35 It is understandable why La Crosse citizens would have been concerned about fire. Fires in theatres were fairly common during the nineteenth century. Although La Crosse did not have any fires in theatre buildings during this period, there was a fire scare in 1877. The Republican reported that someone caused wild terror by suggesting fire in the Opera Hall. A few who realized that there was no fire sat down and tried to get the others to follow their lead, but most of the house was yelling with such force that "Sitting Bull's troop would have disbanded had they heard it." 36 Had the panic not subsided, no doubt casualties would have resulted. The Chronicle described in considerable detail the electric lights used to illuminate the theatre, because they were something to be proud of. Theatres in New York had been using electricity only a few years. The La Crosse Theatre had a total of 435 sixteen candle power lamps, and all but six of those were controlled at the switchboard at the left of the stage. In the part of the ceiling that sloped down toward the 22 stage, there were 128 lamps; the footlights had twenty-eight lamps; each of the four borders had thirty-two and there were thirty-two beneath the balcony. Additionally, there were lights in the wings, in the entrances, in the dressing rooms and basement, making a total of 435. The border lights had reflectors behind them so that the light could be directed to specific areas of the stage. A dimmer controlled each of the four borders, and could regulate them from full on to full out in twenty-five graduated steps. The ceiling and footlights were similarly controlled. The method of control was resistance: In the basement there is an iron frame four or five feet high composed of two square plates with stout rods at the corners. Between these plates are twenty-five coils of iron wire made like an ordinary coil spring. Three elements enter into the resistance: length, thickness, and material of the wire. It is all iron and of several sizes. By moving the lever on the switchboard one notch, the current that goes to the ceiling, footlights, or border is all passed through one of these coils which diminishes the intensity one twenty-fifth; a second notch passes it through coils reducing it to two twenty-fifths, and so on until the carbons only faintly glow. 37 Not only the intensity but also the color could be controlled, for the borders and footlights could be fitted with colored lights for mood. The architect, Cobb, evidently had limited faith in the reliability of electricity for three electrical wires came into the building and each mire lighted a different portion of the house. Therefore, an accident would have to happen to all three wires to leave the building in darkness. Besides this, the stage and the bracket lights in the auditorium were also fitted with gas in case something should go wrong 23 at the power plant. 38 Mr. Cobb suggested that there was not a better electrical system in any theatre in America. Royal L. Reynolds was the contractor; Thomas Barney did the plastering and molding; David Sorrenson was in charge of woodwork; James Trane did the plumbing; and John S. Smith did the carpeting and draperies. All were residents of La Crosse except for the architect. 39 As Edwards suggests, theatres in the Midwest fell basically into two groups: adaptations of other buildings and theatre buildings patterned after theatres in the larger cities such as New York and Boston. 40 The first theatrical presentations in La Crosse were in Singers Hall which was designed for meetings and dances. It, therefore, would be classified as an adaptation of another building. Some smaller cities never went beyond adaptations of other buildings; others such as La Crosse did. It is not particularly helpful to compare theatres in La Crosse, a city of twenty thousand, to theatres in larger cities such as New York. One can get a much clearer picture of La Crosse theatres by comparing them to theatres in other small cities in the Midwest. There is not much information available on this subject, but there is enough to indicate that La Crosse theatre buildings were generally superior to theatre buildings in other small cities. According to Brady, El Paso, Texas, had a theatre building in 1883 that was described as "spacious and well fitted for a ball room." 41 El Paso's second theatre, Myar's Opera House, built in 1887, was more similar to Pomeroy's Opera House than it was to the La Crosse Theatre. Myar's Opera House, like Pomeroy's, had office space on the first floor, seated about 1,200, and had similar dimensions. 24 Jones reports that the Greely Opera House, Greely, Colorado, built in 1886, was also on the second floor similar to Pomeroy's Opera House. It had a sloping floor, though, more similar to the La Crosse Theatre. Besides this fact, it was also similar to the La Crosse Theatre in that it Was lighted with electricity. Jones only mentions that the auditorium was electrically lighted. The stage may have been, but Jones did not say. 42 West described the opera house in St. Joseph, Missouri, as four stories high with the first floor used for stores and offices, similar to Pomeroy's Opera Hall. 43 The theatre in St. Joseph had more scenery though--seventeen scenes as compared to ten at the Opera Hall. Fuller Opera House, 1890, was the first building in Madison, Wisconsin, built for the specific purpose of presenting plays. 44 It was similar to the La Crosse Theatre--box seats, large stage, high gridiron, traps, and sloping floor in the auditorium. The Fuller Opera House was not lighted with electricity, though, as was the La Crosse Theatre. The Fuller Opera House used electricity only to ignite the gas jets. The theatre was not electrically lighted until 1902--thirteen years behind La Crosse. The finest theatre in La Crosse, the La Crosse Theatre, was patterned after theatres the building committee had seen in Chicago. The theatres in Chicago generally resembled the theatres in eastern cities. The La Crosse Theatre, then, was a typical theatre building of the period. The above evidence indicates, however, that the La Crosse Theatre was better equipped than theatres in comparable small cities. FOOTNOTES 1 La Crosse Morning Liberal Democrat, June 15, 1878, p. 3, col. 1. 2 Benjamin F. Bryant, memoirs of La Crosse County (Madison: Western Historical Association, 1907), p. 100. 3 La Crosse Daily Democrat, July 3, 1869, p. 4, col. 1. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. Exactly what type light Pomeroy was referring to with his term "celebrated sunlight reflectors" is not known. 6 Ibid., June 19, 1869, p. 4, col. 2. 7 Ibid., July 14, 1869, p. 4, col. 1. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 25 26 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid., July 29, 1869, p. 1, col. 3. 16 La Crosse Morning Liberal Democrat, June 15, 1878, p. 3, col. 1. 17 La Crosse Chronicle, January 25, 1879, p. 3, col. 1. 18 Ibid., December 7, 1878, p. 3, col. 1. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Bryant, pp. 100-101. 23 Liberal Democrat. October 12, 1877, p. 3, col. 3. 24 Ibid. 25 La Crosse Chronicle, January 11, 1889, p. 1, col. 3. 26 Albert H. Sanford and H. J. Hirshheimer, A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1841-1900 (La Crosse: La Crosse County Historical Society, 1951), p. 248. The theatre was lighted with both electricity and gas. 27 27 Bryant, pp. 100-101. For some reason Bryant did not mention Losey who was president of the company. 28 La Crosse Chronicle, January 11, 1889, p. 1, col. 1. 29 La Crosse Republican and Leader, January 11, 1889, p. 4, col. 2. 30 Ibid. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 34 La Crosse Chronicle. January 11, 1889, p. 1, col. 1. 35 Ibid. 36 La Crosse Republican, May 14, 1877, p. 4, col. 2. 37 La Crosse Chronicle. January 11, 1889, p. 1, col. 1. 38 Ibid. 39 La Crosse Republican. January 11, 1889, p. 4, col. 2. 40 John Cornwall Edwards, "A History of Nineteenth Century Theatre Architecture in the United States" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Northwestern University, 1963), p. 143. 28 41 Donald Vincent Brady, "History of El Paso Theatre 1881-1905" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Tulane University, 1965), p. 15. 42 Kenneth Lee Jones, "The Theatrical History of Greely, Colorado 1870-1908" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Denver, 1967), p. 230. 43 William Francis West, Jr., "The Legitimate Theatre in Rural Missouri from the Beginning of the Civil War Through 1872" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Missouri, 1964), p. 163. 44 Henry C. Youngerman, "Theatrical Activities: Madison, Wisconsin, 1836-1907" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1940), p. 33. CHAPTER III ACTING STYLES OF ACTORS THAT TOURED LA CROSSE AND INFLUENCED THEATRE IN THE AREA The arrangement of the performers in this chapter into groups by similarity of acting style is patterned partly after the grouping used by Wilson, 1 partly after the grouping used by Woodbury, 2 and partly a combination of the two. The resulting groupings will be the Heroic or Democratic style, the Romantic style, the Neo Romantic or Classic style, the Emotional style, the Personality style, the Comic style, end the Realistic style. There are many disadvantages in attempting to arrange actors into groups. Some readers may disagree with the group headings themselves; others may disagree with the actors assigned to the various groups. The advantages, however, more than compensate for the disadvantages. The arrangement of actors into groups makes it much easier and more convenient to drew comparisons among actors within a single group and between actors in different groups. It provides a more systematic approach to the study of acting styles in La Crosse during the nineteenth century. 29 The Heroic or Democratic Style The democratic or heroic acting style generally showed strong passion and was less spontaneous than was the romantic. It was a style that was bold and powerful--not subtle. It was influenced by the contemporary concepts of elocution. Those who practiced the democratic style tended to have strong voices and gloried in their physical prowess. Their movements were bold. It was a style attractive to a nation conquering a wilderness. The first actor to popularize this style of acting was Edwin Forrest. He was followed by John E. McCullough, McKean Buchanan, and much later by the heroes in western movies. McKean Buchanan was important to the La Crosse area because he was the first famous actor to appear there. He was successful both critically and popularly. Had he not been successful, theatre history in La Crosse might have been considerably altered. He was also important to La Crosse because at the conclusion of his presentation of The merchant of Venice, August 3, 1866, he came before the curtain and gave a speech thanking the citizens of La Crosse for their patronage. He suggested the wisdom of erecting a building more suitable for theatrical entertainment than Singers' Hall. There is no way of knowing how influential Buchanan's statement was, but Pomeroy's Opera Hall was constructed two years later. McKean Buchanan (1823-1872) is the only actor who toured La Crosse who could be classified as a practitioner of the democratic style. 30 31 He made his theatrical debut in New Orleans in 1849. 3 Shortly thereafter, he built a theatre and managed in the same city. Later he toured and performed in most of the principal theatres in America, including New York theatres where he appeared four times. 4 He played chiefly Shakespearean roles. Paule and Gebbie referred to him as a "painstaking and fair actor." 5 His style was a mixture of the heroic or democratic and the romantic. Wilson said that his style followed that of Edwin Forrest. 6 The Republican further substantiated this point by saying that Buchanan and Forrest had similar styles, both being representatives of the "old school of heavy tragedians." 7 However, his style also had elements of the romantic, for Pomeroy commented that Buchanan's style reminded him of J. B. Booth and Edmund Keen. 8 Before Buchanan's appearance in La Crosse, M. M. Pomeroy prepared the La Crosse citizens for his coming: The company has been selected from the leading theatres of New York and Philadelphia, the star performers being McKean Buchanan and his daughter, Virginia, whose fame is only limited by those sections of the world in which the English language is spoken. La Crosse has never before been visited by such distinguished and talented theatrical artists, and we hope our citizens will give the enterprise a liberal encouragement, that other members of the Theatrical profession may be induced to visit our city. 9 Although it was true that Buchanan was the most famous actor to visit La Crosse up to 1866, it was not quite true that Buchanan came from the leading theatres in New York. Pomeroy was known to exaggerate at times. As was mentioned above, Buchanan had played New York, but most of his experience was outside the New York area. 32 Buchanan's first performance was in Boucicault's London Assurance, July 30, 1866. One of the largest audiences ever assembled in La Crosse was in Singer's Hall at 7:00 (the hour the play was to begin), but it was 8:30 before the bell rang for the first scene. Pomeroy said: "The play was well performed, Mr. McKean Buchanan giving the part of Sir Harcount, the antiquated beau and conceited coxcomb, all the finishing touches of an artist." 10 Pomeroy was also basically pleased with Buchanan and his Star Company in their presentation of Kotzebue's The Stranger. Buchanan satisfactorily demonstrated a full appreciation and understanding of the recluse whose heart had been turned against humanity because of a terrible sorrow. All of the actors in the play must not have had the same understanding of their characters for Pomeroy concluded his critique: The play was somewhat marred by lengthy, silly, and out of place 'gags' perpetrated by two of the comical characters, which should be cut out in the future. Hamlet's advice to the players would be good reading for the perpetrators in their leisure moments. 11 Obviously, the Buchanan Star Company had already read Hamlet's advice to the players, for Hamlet was their next production. The audience that came to see Hamlet was the most "refined audience" that ever assembled in a public hall in La Crosse. 12 As was mentioned earlier, Pomeroy sometimes exaggerated. Pomeroy said that Buchanan gave a splendid representation of Hamlet. He presented the soliloquies and more emotional portions of the tragedy with a power and an understanding that commanded the audience's attention and promoted frequent applause. 13 33 The above reference to Buchanan's power suggests a style similar to Edwin Forrest and John McCullough, which Wilson classifies as belonging to the heroic school of acting. La Crosse critics, however, did not provide evidence that would indicate that Buchanan relied on his physical power in the manner of Forrest. Buchanan's power apparently was emotional. The Buchanans concluded their engagement August 4, 1866, with The Octoroon in the afternoon and with Richard III in the evening. The Democrat did not comment on the above productions except to say that they were well attended. McKean Buchanan did not come to La Crosse again until may of 1870. For this visit, he played Richelieu, Richard III, Hamlet, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and The Merchant of Venice. The audience was large for the opening performance of Richelieu, and they applauded frequently to demonstrate their appreciation of Buchanan and his group. 14 The Republican said that Buchanan in Richelieu was without equal: The sudden transition in the same breath--from the feebleness of old age to the dignity and power of the French minister, and from consuming rage to mirthfulness, require not only perfect conception of the character, but perfect command of voice, manner, and facial expression. 15 Pomeroy thought Buchanan's interpretation of Richard III stood unrivalled: Better acting was never seen in the West. . . . In many parts of the play it was sublimely grand. . . . Anything we can say does not strengthen Mr. Buchanan's reputation here, for all know he is one of the greatest of living artists. 16 34 The Democrat did not comment on the production of Hamlet, Merchant of Venice, or Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the Republican added little to what has already been mentioned. McKean Buchanan did not come to La Crosse again. It is difficult to compare Buchanan's style as recorded by La Crosse critics to his style as perceived by the country in general. Apparently little has been written about Buchanan. Hewitt does not mention him; Brockett does not mention him; Hughes does not mention him; Wilson has only one line about him; even Odell has little to say concerning Buchanan. Neither did the New York Times review Buchanan. Probably, New Orleans papers and papers in other smaller cities reviewed Buchanan, but such criticism is scarce and not readily obtainable. Based upon the absence of information about Buchanan in the usual sources on theatre history, Buchanan was probably more important to La Crosse theatre than he was to the development of American theatre in general. Buchanan was the first theatrical star to tour La Crosse. There he received generally favorable reviews and attracted a wide public following. And he probably hastened the building of Pomeroy's Opera Hall by suggesting that La Crosse needed a theatre more suitable for theatrical entertainment than Singers' Hall. The Romantic Style The romantic style of acting placed emphasis on emotion. The actors used rapid delivery, abrupt starts and pauses, and complex changes in pitch. They paced the stage, made quick turns, and demonstrated emotion with facial contortions. Their intent was to show unmodified nature represented by fundamental emotions expressed without restraint. Typical actors of this style were Edmund Kean and J. B. Booth. Woodbury says that the romantic style was basically over by 1840. 17 This study will show that the romantic style, at least in La Crosse, continued long after that date. The best example in La Crosse of the romantic acting style was Thomas W. Keene. Keene came to La Crosse seven times over a period of fifteen years and rarely failed to attract a full or nearly full theatre. Keene was particularly important to La Crosse, because the La Crosse papers wrote more about Keene than about any performer who came to the city. He was an actor who had a style that stimulated comment. Thomas W. Keene was born in 1840 and lived past the turn of the century. He made his New York debut as Lucius in Julius Caesar in 1856. For his performance in Julius Caesar, he achieved public favor and maintained that favor until the end of his career. He played a wide range of characters, emphasizing Shakespearean roles. He toured England in 1870, and by 1880 had become what Paula and Gebbie called a "full fledged star." 18 35 36 Keene's acting style was unusual for the late nineteenth century. The trend for several years had been toward greater realism in writing, staging, and acting. Keene was not a part of this trend. Of the April 7, 1882, performance of Richard III, the Chronicle said Keene's chief fault and his chief merit was in his unsurpassed versatility in facial expression. At times, one could read the thoughts of Richard III in the lines and muscles of Keene's face, but at other times his facial gymnastics were similar to burlesque and distracted from the performance. Likewise Keene's line interpretation was, on the one hand, deserving of praise, and on the other hand, deserving of criticism. The Chronicle found no fault with the so-called "rant" which was appropriate and helped show the boasting, self-praising, and threatening character of Richard III. The Chronicle adversely criticized the modernization both of Shakespeare's words and in the manner of saying them. At one point the above production strayed far from the original text. In the scene where the queen parts from her children, the Chronicle said: "The action was borrowed from the agonizing emotional drama that the last decade has had a surfeit of." 19 The Chronicle ended its review: Mr. Keene is an actor who has won his way a good piece up the ladder and though he may not reach the top, we believe he has established a reputation in this city that will always secure him a welcome and a full house. 20 The next time Keene came to La Crosse was May 10, 1883, as Macbeth. Keene's Macbeth was distinctly different from his Richard III. On this subject, the Chronicle said: "Attire, speech, manner, everything was so different that the most careful attention could only have and than 37 detect only a shade of resemblance. 21 Those who did not have a specific idea of how Macbeth should be played enjoyed Keene's performance more than those who expected Macbeth to be played in the traditional manner. Keene's interpretations were unique. He followed in no man's footsteps, but through study built an individualized character strictly his own. The Chronicle said that on the whole his recitations were better than his acting, but on some occasions his acting was powerful: In a few scenes, notably that preceding the murder of Duncan, the acting was so powerful that the audience sat breathless for a full minute while he, as silent as they, approached the door to the chamber of the doomed king. 22 The Chronicle mentioned that two scenes--the dagger scene and the appearance of Banquo's ghost--usually gave actors trouble. Keene handled these two scenes at least "satisfactorily." At times there might have seemed to have been too much groaning and staggering, but taken on the whole that which seemed uneven at the moment was lost in the "finished aggregate." 23 Keene came to La Crosse again about a year later in Julius Caesar. The Chronicle reported that Keene's style belonged to the old school of Shakespearean actors who are strong in "wind and limb." 24 Commenting in more detail on Keene's style, the Chronicle said: His entertainments are always heard, if they are not felt, and his Cassius was no exception to the rule. He was a boisterous, blustering, envious, thick skinned knave rather than a wily, cunning, deep, plotting conspirator. Keene's idea of expressing emotions other than of the violent howling kind, is to do so by ugly grimaces end contortions that suggest the cramp, yet there is much less of this in 38 his Cassius than in Richard III, where he writhes like a man who had been brought up on green applesauce. 25 The Chronicle added, however, that the entertainment gave satisfaction to a considerable portion of the audience, which applauded frequently. The Chronicle concluded with a generalization that was almost an about-face from its conclusions two years earlier: On the whole the Chronicle can see nothing great in Mr. Keene and feels that his efforts in the Shakespearean drama are really not of the sort to lift it any above the common level of the American stage of the day. 26 Keene came back to La Crosse in December of 1885, once again in Richard III. The production was so similar to his previous production that the Chronicle did not comment in detail. Keene drew only a fair audience, even though his company was large and contained a number of excellent people. 27 Almost two years passed before Keene returned. This time he represented Hamlet. Only a few seats at the Opera House were empty. The Chronicle commented that those who stayed away were emphatically the losers: Of course the main idea was to hear Keene in the character of Hamlet, but he had most excellent support, and, in fact, the production of the play as presented last night was beyond criticism of the ordinary critic. Without attempting any thing [sic] of the sort it simply remains to be said that beyond dispute the company is the equal of any which has visited this city. 28 The Republican's evaluation of Keene's Hamlet was similarly lavish but more detailed. The Republican reported that many who had seen Keene's 39 "muscular mannerisms" in Richard III hesitated before going to see Hamlet. Those who went, however, were surprised; for Keene's Hamlet was unlike many roles he had created. His style was not aimed at creating stage effects, but used common sense for controls For instance, most actors deliver the great soliloquies at the footlights and addressed to the audience; Mr. Keene on the other hand gives utterance to them while pacing restlessly the apartment or while setting [sic] abstractly at a table or on a couch, with the significant, nervous details of excited perplexity, thus depriving them of the air of set speeches, and making them appear the utterances of thoughts. Keene did not return to La Crosse for five years. When he did return, he drew a larger audience at the Opera House than any performer had drawn for three months. For this occasion, Keene and his company presented Othello. The Chronicle commented that when one saw Keene as Othello, one needed to get accustomed to the unexpected. Again, Keene's Othello was not traditional. Unfortunately, the Chronicle did not say exactly how Keene's interpretation differed. The Chronicle continued with some adverse criticism of the enunciation of Keene's company: "There were times when those unfamiliar with the play did not average a coherent sentence once in three." 30 Keene's last visit to La Crosse was in the play Louis XI, February 22, 1897. The Chronicle's review indicated that Keene's company had become a little frayed. They did not have appropriate scenery or furniture, and the costumes were inadequate. In spite of this general adverse criticism, Keene, himself, was praised: His delineation of the many-sided great monarch in the last hours of his cruel life, strong and theatrical as it seemed, 40 was at no time an exaggeration of the exact chronicles of the narration based thereon. 31 As was true of Buchanan, it is difficult to compare Keene's acting style as perceived by La Crosse critics to his style as perceived by critics in other areas. Little to nothing has been written about Keens in the usual sources. Odell, commenting on Booth's leaving the stage and on the passing of tragedy and the grand style, said of Keene: For a decade or more, lesser actors tried to keep the great tragedies alive; at least they acted them, often overacted them, to the best of their abilities. One of this group was Thomas W. Keene. . ." 32 It is probable that the Chronicle had more information an Keene's reputation in other parts of the country than is now available for the Chronicle wrote: "People have debated a dozen years as to Keene's place among dramatic artists, and are no nearer a conclusion than at the outset." 33 Regardless of what Keene's reputation was in the rest of the country, he was one of the most popular actors to La Crosse audiences and critics. He had a style that was unique. In the Chronicle's words: "It is a masterful style too, that holds the attention and leaves a strong impression on the mind." 34 Another actor who illustrated the romantic acting style was Alexander Salvini. He was one of the most popular and one of the most favorably received actors that ever toured La Crosse. Critics gave him the highest possible acclaim: they said he became the character he was portraying. 41 Alexander Salvini made his New York debut in 1882. For the occasion his father was in the audience. According to George Odell, his first appearance won a "fine position." 36 In 1890, he appeared in ten New York productions, and was perhaps on his way in becoming a national star, but he died before achieving that status. Nevertheless, he was a star of the first magnitude to La Crosse audiences. Salvini's first appearance in La Crosse was in October of 1894, in Alexander Dumas' The Three Guardsmen. The two leading features of the production mere the scenery and Salvini. There were a dozen scene changes, most of them in full view of the audience. Salvini must have had an emotional style that demanded involvement similar to that of his famous father, for the Chronicle said of his role in The Three Guardsmen: "He is not simply magnetic--he is electric in rapidity of his movements, the keenness of his wit and the quick response of his auditors." 36 Alexander Salvini and his company came to La Crosse once more on February 29, 1896. He played the part of Don Caesar in Don Caesar de Bazan. The Chronicle praised his performance, saying that it was not Salvini that the audience saw but Don Caesar, with his swagger, his courage, his indifference, and his unique turn of the wrist which made his sword slice the air whenever any character provoked him. As in Salvini's last visit in La Crosse, the costumes and scenery were "brilliant" and on the whole, the production was one of the "season's best attractions. 37 Unfortunately, little information is readily available on Salvini or his acting style. He is not mentioned in most of the major theatre histories. Odell wrote only a few lines about him. Hornblow wrote 42 three lines saying that he acquired popularity in romantic roles. 38 And the New York Times did not review his performances. One can speculate that, since he was Tommaso Salvini's son, he had probably developed a style somewhat similar to that of his father. He was an emotional actor--"electric in rapidity of his movements." 39 Neo Romantic or Classic Style The neo romantic or classic style of acting was similar to the romantic. Actors of both styles often used abrupt starts and pauses, paced the stage, and sat or lounged with unsteady ease. There were considerable differences, however, for the romantic actor attempted to show unrestrained emotion. The neo romantic actor, on the other hand, placed much greater emphasis on control and restraint. Their technique was modified by what was tasteful and mannerly; it was a more cultured and refined style. Acting to them was a noble calling. They served long apprenticeships and trained their voices to be flexible and varied. They played mainly Shakespearean roles. Typical actors and actresses of this group were: Charlotte Cushman, Helena Modjeska, Fanny Janauschek, Edwin Booth, James E. Murdoch, and Frederick Warde. Warde's main contribution to the La Crosse area, aside from providing entertainment on five different occasions between 1890 and 1900, was helping make Shakespearean drama popular. The Chronicle commented on this in 1891 when Warde acted in Henry VIII and then made a similar comment again in 1897 when Warde acted in King Lear: Whether because of better appreciation of Frederick Warde, or because of a turning away from frivolity towards something strong and serious, or because there is a Shakespearean audience in the town to be depended on once a year, the pleasant fact to be stated that there was a good house for King Lear. 40 43 44 more than likely the first alternative above is more logical, for La Crosse audiences usually went to the theatre to see a particular actor rather than a particular play. Also other actors presenting Shakespeare did well in the La Crosse area. Frederick Warde was born in 1851 and lived past the turn of the century. Originally from England, he made his American debut at Booth's Theatre in 1874 in Boucicault's Belle Lamor. 41 He was a hit in the production and remained a prominent figure on the American stage for many years. 42 He had a style, at least as perceived by La Crosse critics, that was varied. It ranged from "old fashioned ranting" 43 to what the Chronicle called a "modern conception of naturalism." 44 Generally, though, his style conformed closely to the neo romantic or classic style as previously described. For instance, the Chronicle described his Shylock as "studied." He acted Shylock with a relish that implied a tone of personal feeling behind his artistic study. 45 Evidently he carefully prepared for each role he played. The Chronicle emphasized his studied presentations, and Warde's writings indicate that he thoroughly analyzed his roles. Warde wrote that his concept of Lear was based on the Fool's reply to Lear's question, "Does any here know me?" The Fool's reply, "Lear's Shadow." The words seem to carry corroboration with them; for instead of the powerful monarch whose will was law, and word, a command, we see before us a weak, indefinite remainder of something which was a personality, and now is nothing; nothing but a shadow; realizing but too late the fatal error that robbed him of the power he is now impotent to regain. 46 45 The Chronicle, commenting on Warde's presentation of Lear, said that he was powerful in every scene, and went as far as the "modern conception of naturalism would approve." 47 He did not go over the line. His acting was controlled and carefully planned. As with the case of Keene and Buchanan, little is written about Warde in books on American theatre history. Glenn Hughes, Bernard Hewitt, and Arthur Hornblow do not even mention him. Wilson writes only a few lines about him. It is, therefore, difficult to compare Warde's style as interpreted by La Crosse critics with his style as it is perceived historically. Only one actress of the neo romantic or classic style significantly influenced theatre in La Crosse--Fanny Janauschek. She, like Wards, helped prove that La Crosse audiences would attend Shakespearean productions if they were well presented. She was also the only actress of the neo romantic style who generally received favorable reviews in the La Crosse papers. Fanny Janauschek (1830-1904) was born in Prague. She made her debut at sixteen and shortly thereafter became the leading woman at the Stadt Theatre, Frankfort, where she remained for ten years. Later she toured the principal cities of Germany, Austria, and Russia and met triumphant success. She made her first New York appearance as Medea at the Academy of Music in 1867. At this time she could not speak English, but she joined with Edwin Booth to play Lady Macbeth in a bilingual performance. She later learned to speak English and toured in the classics; she was admired as one of the last actresses of what Hughes called the "grand style." 48 46 Janauschek came to La Crosse either four or five times. The La Crosse papers mention only four, but Clark credits her with another visit, commenting that when Janauschek appeared in Mary Stuart and Double Life, a crowd of young people walked on the ice from La Crosse to north La Crosse in forty-two degree below zero temperatures to see Janauschek's private car. 49 Janauschek's first appearance as recorded in the La Crosse papers was in Macbeth. October, 1879. Her performance was not completely satisfactory. Although the Chronicle wrote that she had force and dramatic strength, her physical appearance was incompatible with the part of Lady Macbeth. 50 The paper did not explain exactly how she was incompatible. According to Wilson, she had a figure which was "majestic," "stately," or massive." 51 This should be appropriate for Lady Macbeth. Janauschek acted in Macbeth again in April, 1893. This time she was successful, for the Chronicle said that Janauschek in the sleepwalking scene had not been surpassed; also, her acting in the banquet scene was "powerful and of high artistic standard." 52 Whether the about-turn in opinion was due to a change in Janauschek, a change in reviewers, or a change in a single reviewer's opinion is not known. The Chronicle's term "powerful" for Janauschek's acting conforms closely to the terms that Wilson uses to describe her style. He said her acting was "intense, powerful, heroic." 53 Apparently, the La Crosse critics saw Janauschek much as did the rest of American critics. There was one notable difference though. Wilson said that for some time her career prospered, but soon the public tired of her style of acting and she sank in popularity. 54 The opposite was true in La Crosse, for Janauschek was more popular and received higher critical acclaim in 1893 than she did in 1879. Emotional Style While Fanny Janauschek and other actresses in the neo romantic or classic acting style were demonstrating their abilities, another group of actresses was becoming popular in tearful domestic melodramas. These actresses specialized in playing the lady in distress and other roles demanding emotional involvement. Wilson said that the emotional acting style had three significant characteristics. First, the actresses in this school actually experienced the feelings and passions that the role she was playing required. Second, their performances contained sobs, tears, tremblings, and other sentimentalized actions. Third, the actresses of this school did not rely on technique; instead, they surrendered to emotion. Their performances depended more upon inspiration than upon study. 55 In this respect the emotional style was similar to the romantic style. The major difference between the two styles was in the type of emotions portrayed. The romantics stressed anger, worry, frustration, and honor; the emotional style stressed sentiment, tears, heartbreak, and feminine charm. Because of the nature of the roles and the kind of emotions the roles demanded, the players of the emotional style were women. Actresses typical of this group were: Anna Cora Mowatt, Matilda Heron, Clara Morris, Fanny Davenport, and Laura Keene. 56 Laura Keene (1820-1873) was an English actress who made her American debut in 1852 at Wallack's Theatre. Between 1855 and 1863 she managed and was the leading actress in her own theatre in New York. Her 47 48 productions were lavishly mounted in the style of Mme. Vestris, with whom she had worked in England. After 1863, Laura Keens toured the country and happened to be playing at Ford's Theatre in Washington on the night Lincoln was assassinated. 57 Laura Keene came to La Crosse twice and completely charmed the reviewers on both occasions. On June 15, 1870, Keene and her company presented Hunted Down, and Our American Cousin followed the next evening. Most of Laura Keene's company had accompanied her on tour for five consecutive years. This circumstance, according to the Democrat, was of itself sufficient guarantee that the productions of Keene's company would be presented with the same attention to detail that had marked her engagements in other cities. Of the presentation of Hunted Down, the Democrat said: Last evening the Opera Hall was well filled with an appreciative audience to greet the 'Queen of Comedy,' Miss Laura Keene, at her first appearance in La Crosse, her role being that of Mary Leigh in the great emotional drama of Hunted Down. To say that Miss Keene met with most perfect success would be an acknowledgment that our people have theatrical taste and appreciation. The character is difficult; but the rendering was perfect, bringing out frequent and rapturous applause. It is seldom that La Crosse has been treated to such perfect acting. Miss Keene proves to an audience at once that she is no novice; but fully at home on the stage, and we doubt if any actress has ever been received in La Crosse with such general favor. 58 The Republican was equally lavish in its praise of Laura Keene in Hunted Down: If her rendition of the beautiful, grand, touching and extremely difficult part of May Leigh has been as perfect 49 as it was here last evening, it is no wonder that her name has become a household word. 59 The next evening, Keene appeared in Our American Cousin, the play President Lincoln was watching her perform five years previously when he was shot. 60 Of this production, the Republican said: Laura Keene proved her right to the title 'Queen of Comedy' in Our American Cousin. A lady in every sense of the word, she exhibits in her every move and speech, the nimble attributes of her sex in a manner truly perfect; and in doing so, she never stamps, nor raves, nor throws herself into unnatural or ungraceful attitudes; nor will she keep in her services an artist whose acting is mage up by a display of foot power instead of head power. 61 Laura Keene came to La Crosse again in July of 1870 in She Stoops to Conquer. The Democrat of that date is missing and the Republican's review was brief. She brought out the 'full strength of her character without excessive exertion.". 62 Keene was important to La Crosse because she was a nationally prominent star who toured the city early, only a few years after the first theatrical presentation. She was also important because she was the first actress to introduce the popular emotional acting style. Personality Performers Many actors and actresses of the nineteenth century, as well as today, relied upon their individual personalities, their physical appearance, their charm, or their sex appeal for their success. Typical of this group in the twentieth century would be Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, and Gary Cooper. Each had unique, magnetic personalities. They did not rely exclusively upon their personalities, though, for they were also technically competent as actors. Typical personality actors who visited La Crosse during the last century were Julia Marlowe, Maggie Mitchell, Kate Claxton, Jane Coombs, Charlotte Thompson, Frank Mayo, and Joseph Jefferson III. Joseph Jefferson was probably the most popular American actor of the nineteenth century throughout America. He was similarly popular in La Crosse. He received the longest review of any actor who toured the city. It was all favorable. He attracted large crowds to see his performances, and when he appeared in a production of The Rivals, the company grossed $1,6000, more than any previous company. 63 Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905) made his formal debut at the age of four when Thomas D. Rice blackened Jefferson's face, dressed him in a Jim Crow costume, carried him on the stage in a bag, and dumped him out to sing and dance to a delighted Washington audience. 64 Indeed, Jefferson inherited a stage career, for he said, "I belonged to the stage from my birth. My son, Tom, is the fifth of the line of acting 50 51 Jeffersons from the first who played with Garrick." 65 Jefferson received his first notable success in Laura Keene's production of Our American Cousin in 1858. He then toured California, Australia, and England. In 1865, he returned to New York and played Rip Van Winkle. In this role he won the hearts of everyone, sophisticated and unsophisticated. Rip became the mainstay of Jefferson's repertory after 1865. 66 Jefferson said Rip was "a great part in an indifferent play." 67 Generally, Jefferson played Rip solely for forty years, and never suffered in the slightest from the lack of public interest. 68 He played the role for the last time in 1904, a year before his death. Jefferson did not confine himself exclusively to Rip Van Winkle, however, for he also toured with The Rivals, and made Bob Acres a memorable characterization. 69 As Hewitt says, the intellectual preferred Booth, the multitude loved Forrest, but Jefferson won both groups. 70 Jefferson won La Crosse, too; for of his first appearance in La Crosse, the Republican wrote: To say that all were pleased with it [Rip Van Winkle] would be a feeble way of speaking of the way in which the audience were carried away, and the cheers and roars of laughter were farily deafening at times. 71 Although some might argue that Jefferson should have been discussed later with the actors in the comic style group, he has been included as a personality performer because he was more than a comic actor. He had the ability to make audiences laugh, but he also was capable of creating a believable character that commanded sincere emotional involvement. The Chronicle wrote a lengthy critique (longer than for any other actor) of Jefferson's Rip Van Winkle: 52 The picturesque drama which has been built upon the foundation of Mr. Irving's simple legend of the Catskill mountains forms, when inspired by Mr. Joseph Jefferson's genius, a fitting interpretation of the author's thoughts. Of the original story nothing remains but the foundation and the pathos; but in the building thereto, which has been very largely done by Mr. Jefferson himself, care has been exercised to do no undue violence to the simple manner and words of the story, and in its present acting form, we doubt if the writer could find anything, except here and there, trifles which would not meet his approval. We may remark in this connection that the play, although essayed by others with some success, seems the national property of the Jefferson family. More than a quarter of a century ago, it was frequently presented by Mr. Bart, a half brother of Joseph Jefferson; and was only ordinarily popular with audiences. In the hands of the latter, it has been enlarged in details, but infinitely more in the powerful personation of the character and physical peculiarities ascribed to Rip Van Winkle, the chief actor of the scene. A gentleman said recently, who, at one time, used to see Jefferson once or twice a week and who has seen many of the world's greatest actors, 'I never think of Jefferson as an actor; I have no conception of him except as Rip Van Winkle.' A little boy who was reading the story not long since dropped the book when a veil of tears came between him and the page and said with a rising inflection of grief in his voice: 'His children didn't know him and his neighbors didn't know him and even his dog didn't know him, and I think that's pretty hard,' and so it was. In this lies the exceptional popularity of the play. On the one hand, Mr. Jefferson effects a personation in its most explicit sense; he becomes in every essential the character represented, his own identity being nowhere seen or suggested. On the other hand, the pathos of the story is not founded upon love-sick distress, or upon scenes of pain because of death and sin. The bewilderment and grief of the main character, who is himself dead, while all the world is a hundred-fold alive, is within the comprehension of the youngest end simplest, and whether it moves the sympathy of auditors much or little, is certainly a welcome relief from much of the bloody realism we are in these times called upon to endure. Mr. Jefferson personated Rip Van Winkle twice in this city. His fine and appreciative audience last night numbered comparatively few who did not see him before, and they gave him the hearty welcome of an old friend to which he and his excellent company responded with an entertainment of notable merit, though not unmarred by such objectionable features as crude appearances, absurd thunder and lightning, and the like. There is something of monotony about the play; but it is the evenness of the sustained and perfect art. Mr. Jefferson, though, him and his play, hold the boards for another decade, and we trust they may, has nothing to learn concerning Rip Van Winkle as a dramatic character. There may be changes, but perfection is a positive quality. 72 53 The above critique is similar-to a critique in the Atlantic monthly 73 concerning Jefferson as Rip. Both the Atlantic Monthly and the Chronicle point out that Jefferson became the character Rip; likewise, both comment on the genius and art of Jefferson. As Hornblow explained, not all critics-considered Jefferson a genius to be ranked among the great actors of history. 74 Many did, though. Certainly the Chronicle considered him worthy of such ranking; had all the critics in the 1890's voted on whether or not Jefferson was one of the world's great actors, La Crosse critics would have voted on the winning side. Julia Marlowe influenced La Crosse theatre more than any other personality actress. She came to La Crosse four times, which was more often than Maggie Mitchell, Kate Castleton, or Mile Rhea, who also were personality style actresses. Marlowe brought productions to La Crosse that were more lavish than usual, and received nothing but favorable reviews. To La Crosse critics, Marlowe was "captivating." Marlowe (1866-1950) made her first appearance on any stage at Ironton, Ohio, in 1882, as a sailor in a juvenile H. M. S. Pinafore company. Afterwards, she spent several years in comic opera before taking lessons in elocution in order to perform Shakespearean roles. In 1887, she appeared at the Star Theatre as Juliet, and later the same year as Viola. At first some of the critics as well as the public did not take her seriously as a Shakespearean actress, but gradually her performances commanded attention. 75 Although the consensus of critical opinion did not credit Marlowe with being the best Juliet of her age, the best Viola, or the best Ophelia, she did receive, at times, lavish praise. 76 John Rankin Towse was one of the first to 54 recognize her unique abilities. 77 Marlowe brought a magnetism and a warmth to the roles she played. Marlowe's biographer, Charles Russell, said that if one reads the critical comments about Marlowe, there recurs the acknowledgment that the quality of her work was not easily analyzed. Some critics said that her success was due to her youth and beauty; others said that her success was in her rich and magical voice; still others said that her naive, natural grace was the secret to her charm. Russell concluded with: On the whole, the most significant fact one gathers from turning over these old reviews-is the paucity of comment about the phase of the actor's skill that must always be above all the others. . . a force above and beyond. . . a something inevitable, potent, reasoned and sure, some quality that shows in everything she does. 78 La Crosse critics commented upon her beauty, her voice, and her charm. But they also mentioned the magnetic force and power which Russell said had only received a "paucity of comment" in other reviews. Marlowe's first appearance in La Crosse was as Viola in Twelfth Night. The Chronicle said that she interpreted Viola with tenderness, charm, and grace. It also stated that she had a physical appearance and mobile face that was all the character required. 79 Since Marlowe's first appearance was shortly after the opening of the new La Crosse Theatre, the Chronicle used more space writing about the new theatre than about Marlowe and Twelfth Night. From the comments that the Chronicle made, however, the production was more lavish than most productions that had come to La Crosse prior to 1889: It is something to witness it [Twelfth Night] in a house where such a presentation does not seem out of place and on a stage 55 supplied with scenery fit to set the pictures. It is something again to see such a play costumed richly and with some attention to verisimilitude, epoch, and location. 80 Of the same production, the Republican said the company was large and evenly balanced. Marlowe was charming and presented an easy, graceful manner. The Republican wisely predicted that Marlowe "gives promise of taking a position very near if not at the head of her profession. 81 The next time Marlowe came to La Crosse was October, 1892, in As You Like It. The Chronicle commented on her expressive face, engaging manner, and her style of acting that made one expect her to conclude her conversation and then begin to act. The greatest strength of Marlowe's company, apart from Marlowe herself, was the spirited and forceful manner with which they spoke their lines. The paper concluded by saying that the presentation was as good as one could reasonably ask. 82 Marlowe presented Twelfth Night again in La Crosse on September 27, 1895. She played Viola and her husband, Robert Tabor, played Malvolio. The Chronicle said that the audience enjoyed the production so much that a curtain call followed each act; Marlowe, to them, was the most captivating Viola of the stage. 83 Critical opinion from the leading critics of the country did not significantly differ from the critical opinions of La Crosse critics. Hornblow quoted John Ranken Towse's statement that Marlowe "established her claim to a high place among the leading Juliets of her time." Similarly, Wilson quoted William Winter, "She is a superb actress. The sum of her influence has been distinctly and strongly helpful. . . ." 85 56 In La Crosse as throughout America, Marlowe made "Shakespeare at once an artistic and a business success." 86 According to Russell, by 1924, Marlowe had acted in more Shakespearean dramas than any other actress, and she had attracted a larger total audience than any Shakespearean player. 87 In La Crosse, Marlowe did not attract as large a total audience to Shakespearean performances as did McKean Buchanan or Thomas Keene, but neither did she tour the area so often. Had she played La Crosse as often as Buchanan or Keene, she would probably have held the same position in La Crosse that she held in America at large. Comic Style The actors that substantially influenced La Crosse theatre, using a non-serious or comic approach, have been grouped into one classification--comic style. No attempt has been made to further subdivide this group, because no technique or acting style emerges that is common to more than one actor. Each actor's style was unique. The only element common to all within this group was a basically comic approach. Among those classified within the comic style, one person. Dion Boucicault, stands apart from the others. He was not only a talented actor, but also one of the most popular playwrights of the last century. Among his frequently produced plays both in England and the United States were: Coleen Bawn, London Assurance, The Octoroon, The Shaughraun, The Streets of New York. During his career, he wrote or adapted four hundred plays. 88 All of the above mentioned plays were presented more than once in La Crosse except for Streets of New York, which had only one presentation. Dion Boucicault (1822-1890) was born in Dublin and educated as a civil engineer. He began writing plays and had his first success in 1841. He made his American debut in 1854 in his own play, Used Up. Hornblow said of Boucicault: This was the beginning of the career in this country of a remarkably brilliant man, an actor-playwright with an 57 58 extraordinary instinct for the stage, who from that time up to the day of his death dominated the American theatre. 89 On October 6, 1884, La Crosse audiences had the opportunity to see Boucicault act in his own play, The Shaughraun. The Chronicle said that most of the people who went to the Opera House to see Boucicault probably had in mind the author of numerous plays, sixty-two years old, and showing considerable age. Instead, they saw: Con the Shaughraun, a wild Irish boy, keen, wiry, tireless, brimming with wit, effervescing with animal spirits, big-hearted, a faithful friend, a tender lover, the typical Irish boy, in short. 90 His face showed the lines of age, but the lines seemed to be more like lines that an actor puts on with make-up than permanent lines caused by aging. The image that the Chronicle had of Boucicault was sufficiently different from what it saw on the stage that, to the Chronicle, Boucicault, the playwright, and Boucicault, the actor, would remain two separate personalities. 91 The company was not well balanced, for the support was not equal to the main character Con, played by Boucicault. "Con rather takes the shine out of the other twinklers, so to speak." 92 To La Crosse audiences, then, Boucicault created a credible, and energetic Irishman, Con. Critical opinion of Boucicault in La Crosse was similar to critical opinion in America at large. Wilson quotes Arthur H. Quinn, who commented on Boucicault's acting which "interpreted to the life the generous, hearty, irresponsible,-and none too sober wonder, ever ready to help others but with an eye to his concerns. 93 Wilson continued 59 by saying that Boucicault was a "clever technician" who could "simulate emotion" and "manipulate" the audience. 94 If this is true, then in La Crosse his technique worked, for La Crosse critics saw Boucicault as the character Con. They did not see his technique as "technique," rather they perceived his actions, movements, and speech as essential parts of the character Con. Another popular comic actor in the La Crosse area, both in terms of audience appeal and critical acclaim was Stuart Robson. Robson came to La Crosse six times and amused audiences with his unique comic style. Wilson described him as an actor "whose drolly innocent appearance, squeaky, unpredictable voice, and eccentric movements dominated every role he undertook and titillated audiences for over fifty years." 95 Goodwin considered Robson to be "one of the cleverest of modern comedians." 96 Goodwin reasoned that had Robson not been "handicapped by a vocal organ that squeaked only fun, his pathos would have equalled John E. Owens' or Joe Jefferson's." 97 La Crosse critics also commented upon Robson's ability to arouse pathos. In 1879, Robson played La Crosse for three consecutive performances. The first, February 6, 1879, was a version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. His good-humored additions were the delight of the audience. 98 The next night Robson acted in a play he had written, Asa Whitcomb. The play had little unity, only barely enough to make it hang together. Because of Robson, though, the audience roared in laughter. The presentation also had its pathetic moments, and at times the audience hardly knew whether Robson deserved higher praise for the humorous or the pathetic sections of the performance. 99 Apparently La Crosse critics 60 considered Robson as being more effective at creating pathos than did Goodwin. The last performance of the tour was Black Diamonds. The Chronicle commented only in general but highly complimentary terms. The company had played one of the most successful three day engagements in La Crosse in many seasons. 100 Twelve years later, Robson appeared in The Henrietta. Of this performance, the Chronicle wrote: It is a perfect comedy and that means that it had its sad incidents, its tragedy even; but these serve only as the background before which the brisk and merry action moves. Mr. Robson is one of the three or four really great comedians of America or of the world for that matter, and any person who was in the audience last night would hesitate some before selecting one to be preferred before him. 101 The evidence collected from the critical opinions of Robson in La Crosse papers suggests that Robson was perceived about the same in La Crosse as he was in the country in general. La Crosse critics, however, thought him slightly more effective at pathos. Sol Smith Russell (1848-1902) specialized in roles where he played the awkward, eccentric character with the heart of gold. The 'awkward absurdity" of his style as well as his "quaint pathos" appealed to audiences. He, somewhat like Jefferson, was able to play a single role in Edgewood Folks for five years before the public tired of it. 102 According to Goodwin, Russell admired Jefferson and wanted a similar reputation. Although Goodwin thought Russell was a good entertainer and sketch artist, he did not consider him to be a great actor. 103 61 La Crosse critics, however, did consider him to be a great actor. He came to La Crosse six times and always received complimentary reviews. For his performance in Bewitched, April, 1889, the Chronicle praised him as highly as one could be praised: There is but one Sol Smith Russell and when he passes from the stage of action (may the time be far distant), we doubt if anybody will arise to exactly fill his place. There are comedians, and readers and pantomimists and men of superior intelligence the world over; but here-we have them all combined in one and a thorough gentleman to boot. Everything about him is funny--his countenance, his gestures, his voice, but most of all that true humor which does not imitate but originates. 104 Russell was again complimented when he came to La Crosse in A Poor Relation, April, 1890. The presentation went in the records as one of the notable successes in the new theatre. The play was a character study of a poor but proud inventor. Russell acted the role with a pathos underlying the humor. The pathos never quite came to the surface, but neither was it ever obscured. 105 The Chronicle again complimented Russell when he appeared in April Weather, September, 1894. This time the paper used fewer words, but the praise was equally lavish: "April Weather is pretty near perfect as a play, and Sol Smith Russell is a little more than that as a player." 106 The paper concluded that Russell could probably rest on his laurels and play April Weather the rest of his life if he wanted to. 107 There is no information readily available to determine John Dillon's status as an actor, since Dillon is not mentioned by such major theatrical historians as Hornblow, Hewitt, Hughes, or Wilson. One must conclude, therefore, that Dillon's influence upon theatre in America, in general, 62 was not great. In La Crosse, however, the opposite was the case; for Dillon was one of the most popular entertainers to tour La Crosse. He came to La Crosse on seven different occasions between 1880 and 1894. His first presentation was Our Next President, February 15, 1880. The Chronicle reported that Dillon would cause an outbreak of merriment even if he never opened his mouth. Humor flowed spontaneously from him; he found humor in lines that even the playwright had probably not intended. 108 The Chronicle said that Dillon in Scott Marble's play, State's Attorney, November 13, 1882, was an amusing "conglomeration of Dillonesque fun, high flown sentiment, and Hazel Kirke agony." 109 Dillon was the same character though, and he had done better work previously. In November, 1885, Dillon again acted in New State's Attorney. On this occasion, the Chronicle reported: "Dillon remains the same queer genius, and whatever he says or does meets the approval of the audience. 110 On Dillon's last appearance in La Crosse, he still had not changed. He had the same old methods that he had been using for twenty-five years. The methods worked though, for the Chronicle found no fault with Dillon or any member of the company in their production of Model Husband, December 14, 1893. 111 The final comic actor to greatly influence the theatre in La Crosse was George H. Adams (stage name Grimaldi). Adams is not mentioned in the usual sources on theatre history; he is not listed in the index of Odell. His impact upon theatre in America in general must not have been significant. In La Crosse, though, Adams received critical acclaim and attracted full houses each time he toured. He came to La Crosse four times and acted in Humpty Dumpty each time. For his first performance, 63 1878, the gallery was filled and only a few seats were vacant downstairs. The Chronicle's review of that performance helps one understand his popularity: The title role by Grimaldi being so near perfect as to render it beyond criticism. The great forte of this celebrated clown is in his facial expressions, which are graduated through all the stages from a broad grin to that of wonder, afright, and despair, and back to the original grin, in a manner that is wonderful to behold. 112 Adams came to La Crosse again in 1880 and once more attracted a full house. The paper said that Adams gave the best performance of Its class ever seen in the city. At the time of this performance, according to the Chronicle, Adams was only twenty-six and had already obtained a reputation as a clown second only to George Fox, of whom he was in some respects an imitator and successor. The Chronicle continued: Not only is he unequalled in respect to his amazing facial expression, but he possesses astonishing skill as an acrobat, which as especially exhibited in the stilt performance. 113 Adams played Humpty Dumpty again June 20, 1881. For that performance, the audience was so absorbed that they were leaning forward in their seats in order not to miss anything. Adams was constantly perpetuating something that seemed to be the climax of the ridiculous, and then just as often he would surprise the audience with something amazingly more absurd. 114 On Adams' last appearance in La Crosse, March 5, 1883, the 64 Chronicle complimented him saying: Adams is the greatest clown in the country beyond all doubt. . . New tricks and transformations by the score have been introduced, calling into play a dozen accessories to the familiar clown, columbine, pantaloon, and harlequin. 115 The Realistic Style Those who acted in the realistic style attempted to create the illusion of reality on the stage. They attempted to cause the audience to suspend their disbelief and accept what was taking place on the stage as reality. The stage was no longer a stage but a real place where real people were interacting. The realistic actor discarded flamboyant acting styles and used life as his model. According to Woodbury, the realistic style was introduced as early as 1857, but did not become popular until the last decade of the nineteenth century. ll6 Only one actor significantly influenced theatre in La Crosse using a realistic acting style. He was James A. Herne (1839-1901). Herne contributed to the development of American theatre in general both as a playwright and an actor. He started his career as an actor in 1859. He traveled from coast to coast and became the leading character actor and stage manager at Baldwin's Theatre in San Francisco. Herne began his playwriting with a successful adaptation of Hearts of Oak. which he and Mrs. Herne played for about ten years. His first original play to attract favorable critical attention was Drifting Apart, 1888. Two years later he wrote Margaret Fleming, a play that is considered to be a hallmark in the development of American drama in the nineteenth century Its subject matter, however, proved unacceptable to many theatre managers, and Herne lost several thousand dollars on the play. He recovered his loss with his highly successful Shore Acres, 1892. Herne's chief 65 66 influence both as an actor and a playwright was his emphasis on the faithful portrayal of the common man. Both as an actor and as a playwright, he helped promote the general trend toward realism in the nineteenth century. Both Mr. and Mrs. Herne acted in a simple realistic style. They were in the vanguard of the realistic movement. Wilson says that Herne is "perhaps better remembered as a dramatist than as an actor." 118 The same is true in La Crosse. Although Herne came to La Crosse twice, neither paper wrote much about his acting. Both papers were more interested in the play itself and its setting than they were in Herne's acting. In fact, little was written about Herne's acting style. Since La Crosse audiences were more accustomed to actors using a more emotional approach, the absence of lengthy comment may suggest that the La Crosse critics considered Herne's style as not really acting. Acting to them may have been more than the suggestion of real life. The only comment that either of the La Crosse papers made about Herne or his wife's acting was brief. The Chronicle said of Mrs. Herne: Her acting was not overwrought in any particular, and in the most difficult passages she was exceptionally free from the violence that tears passion to tatters. 119 The comments on James Herne's acting were even more brief. He was complimented for his "unusual naturalness and finish." 120 Although neither of the La Crosse papers wrote much about the realistic acting style, they mere interested in the realistic approach. The Chronicle wrote the following concerning the scenery and props in Hearts of Oak: 67 The scenery is quite elaborate, while all through the play realistic effects are wrought by means that many companies seem not to think worth their while. For example, the scene of Terry's home was really the interior of a humble dwelling; the food placed upon the table was smoking from the oven and looked so appetizing that the audience would have risen as one man and woman, if the players had kindly extended an invitation to supper. Those on the front row sniffed with a sort of 'yum-yum' air as the odor of baked beans permeated the atmosphere. 121 Conclusion La Crosse audiences and critics tended to like the same actors and the same acting styles as the country in general. Laura Keene, Joseph Jefferson, Dion Boucicault, and Julia Marlowe were as popular in La Crosse as they were throughout America. Similarly the acting styles that actors used in La Crosse were the same as those throughout the rest of the nation. There ware some notable differences though. La Crosse audiences and critics tended to like actors who used the more emotional style. Although they even applauded McKean Buchanan who acted in the outdated heroic style, La Crosse audiences and critics especially thrilled at the emotional performances of Thomas Keene and Alexander Salvini. Both actors were much more popular in La Crosse than they were in America at large. Toward the end of Fanny Janauschek's career, she was considered old fashioned by critics in parts of the nation, but in La Crosse, she was more popular in 1893 than she was in 1879. James Herne, as an actor, apparently made little effect upon La Crosse. La Crosse was just a little behind the times in the kind of acting styles it preferred. 68 FOOTNOTES 1 Garff B. Wilson, A History of American Acting (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966). 2 Lael Jay Woodbury, "Styles of Acting in Serious Drama on the Nineteenth Century American Stage" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Illinois, 1954). 3 Howard Paul and George Gebbie, The Stage and Its Stars, II (Philadelphia: Gebbie and Company), p. 50. 4 T. Allston Brown, A History of the New York Staqe From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, II (New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1903), pp, 381, 388, 408, 428. 5 Paul and Gebbie, p. 50. 6 Wilson, p. 39. 7 The La Crosse Republican and Leader, May 19, 1870, p. 1, col. 6. 8 La Crosse Evening Democrat, May 21, 1870, p. 4, col. 1. 9 La Crosse Weekly Democrat, July 27, 1866, p. 1, col. 3. 10 Ibid.. July 31, 1866, p. 1, col. 3. 11 Ibid., August 1, 1866, p. 1, col. 3. 12 Ibid., August 2, 1866, p. 1, col. 4. 69 70 13 Ibid. 14 Evening Democrat, May 21, 1870, p. 4, col. 1. 15 Republican and Leader, May 21, 1870, p. 1, col. 1. 16 Evening Democrat, May 22, 1863, p. 4, col. 1. 17 Woodbury, p, vii. 18 Paul and Gebbie, p. 109. 19 La Crosse Chronicle, April 7, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid., May 11, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid., June 3, 1884, p. 4, col. 2. 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid., December 17, 1885, p. 1, col. 2. 28 Ibid., September 18, 1887, p. 5, col. 1. 71 29 La Crosse Republican, September 19, 1887, p. 1, col. 4. 30 Chronicle, November 1, 1893, p. 1, col. 3. 31 Ibid., February 26, 1897, p. 1, col. 5. 32 George C. D. Odell, Annals of the New York Stage, XV (New York: University Press, 1949), p. 325. 33 Chronicle November 3, 1893, p. 3, col. 1. 34 Ibid. 35 Odell, XII, p. 440. 36 Chronicle October 11, 1894, p. 1, col. 4. (In La Crosse papers and in other area papers, the audience was referred to as auditors rather than viewers.) 37 Chronicle, March 1, 1896, p. 3, col. 1. 38 Arthur Hornblow, A History of the Theatre in America. II (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Company, 1919), pp. 229-230. 39 Chronicle, October 11, 1894, p. 1, col. 4. 40 Chronicle, January 22, 1897, p. 1, col. 2. 41 Brown, III, p. 104. 42 Odell, IX, p. 592. 72 43 Chronicle, February 4, 1897, - 3, col. 2. 44 Ibid., January 22, 1897, p. 3, col. 2. 45 Ibid., February 4, 1897, p. 3, col. 2. 46 Frederick Warde, The Fools of Shakespeare (Los Angeles: Time-Mirror Press, 1923), p. 227. 47 Chronicle, January 22, 1872, p. 3, col. 2. 48 Glenn Hughes, A History of the American Theatre 1700-1950 (New York: Samuel French, 1951), pp. 248-249. 49 Mary A. Clark, "Social Life in Early La Crosse," La Crosse County Historical Sketches, Series 6 (La Crosse, 1937), pp. 83-84. 50 Chronicle, October 19, 1879, p. 3, col. 1. 51 Wilson, p. 58. 52 Chronicle, April 22, 1893, p. 1, col. 4. 53 Wilson, p. 58. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid., pp. 110-111. 56 Ibid. 57 Oscar G. Brockett, History of the American Theatre (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1968), p. 497. 73 58 Evening Democrat, June 16, 1870, p. 4, col. 1. 59 Republican, June 16, 1870, p. 1, col. 3. 60 Evening Democrat, June 16, 1870, p. 1, col. 3. 61 Republican, June 17, 1870, p. 1, col. 3. 62 Ibid., June 28, 1870, p. 1, col. 3. 63 Chronicle, May 6, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 64 Bernard Hewitt, Theatre U. S. A. 1665-1957 (New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, 1959), p. 198. 65 Eugenie Paul Jefferson, Intimate Recollections of Joseph Jefferson (New York: Dodd, mead and Company, 1909), p. 189. 66 Hewitt, p. 198. 67 Joseph Jefferson, The Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson (London: Reinhardt and Evans, Ltd., 1949),p. 232. 68 Eugenie Paul Jefferson, p. 129. 69 Hughes, p. 249. 70 Hewitt, p. 198. 71 Republican. May 28, 1872, p. 4, col. 3. 72 Chronicle. May 6, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 74 73 "Among the Comedians," Atlantic monthly, XVIV (January, 1867), pp. 751-753. 74 Hornblow, p. 113. 75 Ibid., p. 284. 76 Hughes, pp 222-278. 77 Hornblow, p. 284. 78 Charles Edward Russell, Julia Marlowe, Her Life and Art (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1926), pp. vii-viii. 79 Chronicle January 22, 1889, p. 1, col. 2. 80 Ibid. 81 Republican, January 22, 1889, p. 4, col. 3. 82 Chronicle, October 5, 1892, p. 3, col. 2. 83 Ibid., September 28, 1895, p. 1, col. 2. 84 Hornblow, p. 285. 85 Wilson, p. 149. 86 Russell, p. v. 87 Ibid. 75 88 Hornblow, p. 205. 89 Ibid., p. 204. 90 Chronicle, October 7, 1884, p. 3, col. 1. 91 Ibid. 92 Ibid. 93 Wilson, p. 165. 94 Ibid. 95 Wilson, p. 168. 96 Nat C. Goodwin, Nat Goodwin's Book (Boston: The Gorham Press, 1914), p. 27. 97 Ibid, p. 30. 98 Chronicle. February 7, 1879, p. 3, col. 1. 99 Ibid. 100 Ibid. 101 Chronicle, April 10, 1891, p. 3, col. 2. 102 Wilson, p. 198. 103 Goodwin, p. 62. 76 104 Chronicle, April 28, 1889, p. 4, col. 1. 105 Ibid., April 11, 1890, p. 1, col. 4. 106 Ibid., September 29, 1894, p. 1, col. 6. 107 Ibid. 108 Chronicle, February 15, 1880, p. 3, col. 1. 109 Ibid., November 14, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 110 Ibid., September 26, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 111 Ibid., December 15, 1893, p. 3, col. 3. 112 Ibid., September 11, 1878, p. 3, col. 2. 113 Ibid., May 22, 1880, p. 3, col. 1. 114 Ibid., June 21, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 115 Ibid., march 6, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 116 Woodbury, p. viii. 117 Hughes, pp. 288-289. 118 Wilson, p. 128. 119 Chronicle, January 24, 1889, p. 1, col. 4. 77 120 Republican, January 24, 1889, p. 4, col. 3. 121 Chronicle, January 24, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. CHAPTER IV FREQUENTLY PRODUCED PLAYS This chapter enumerates and describes the reactions to plays frequently produced in the La Crosse area. By examining the number of performances, audience attendance, and critical opinion, one can get a good idea about the type of play that was most appreciated in La Crosse. La Crosse critics, typical of many critics of the-nineteenth century, were not literary minded. They wrote primarily about the play as presented, rather than about the play script. Occasionally, though, La Crosse critics commented succinctly [sic] upon the play script. One example was the popular play, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Uncle Tom's Cabin was the most frequently produced play in La Crosse during the last century, receiving no less than twenty-five performances between 1868 and 1900. The play always attracted a large audience, and the Chronicle did a commendable job of analyzing the reasons for the play's popularity: It always surprises the public and must sometimes astonish the players themselves to discover the unfailing popularity of this time-worn and in no sense meritorious apology for a drama. People who would go to no other theatrical performance may be relied on to patronize Uncle Tom. the real object probably being to see the theatre in some form, and the apology therefore, the moral character of this particular play. Thus, they quiet their conscience, and if the drama is really harmful, may depend on not getting enough of the genuine article to damage a seraph. 1 78 79 The first mention of a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin was in 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Langrishe had completed a series of performances in the city and promised to perform Uncle Tom's Cabin when they returned from up river. There is no record in the Democrat, however, of their returning. The first recorded performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin was July 28, 1869. The Democrat did not mention the name of the company that played this engagement, for Pomeroy was primarily interested in promoting his new Opera House and scenery. The first part of Pomeroy's critique appears to be praising the company, but the basic intent of the article is clearly revealed in the last sentence: At Pomeroy Opera Hall last evening, the entire audience was hushed for a moment as the scene was presented which showed Eliza and her child crossing the Ohio on the floating blocks of ice. It was as natural as life itself; the roaring water and swaying ice presented a picture that a La Crosse audience was little prepared for, and developed the magnificence of the scenery and capacity of the stage. When the curtain fell, the applause was unbounded. When the good Quaker knocked the lawyer Marks overboard. . . the children in the hall were fearful he would not be rescued, and for a moment it struck us that he was in for it. Such is good scenery. 2 For another production of Uncle Tom's Cabin, December 26, 1875, the Democrat reported that there was a crowded house and that the acting was good. What most impressed the critic, though, was the emotion and sentiment caused by the character of Eva. But to our mind the crowning glory was the sweet little fairy that took the part of "Eva." Her fair young face at once bespoke a welcome, while her kind actions and loving words given so naturally to those so far beneath her socially, and her earnest conversation with her 80 father, "Uncle Tom," and "Topsy," made her seem almost heavenly. And many fair listeners gave vent to their feelings in tears, while she sang that beautiful little song asking for the freedom of her dear "Uncle Tom," and it the bed scene even some of the sterner sex gave way. 3 Three years later, February 6, 1878, the Democrat, in a review of another production of Uncle Tom's Cabin, predicted that the play would probably draw good audiences long after contemporaneous American plays were played out and forgotten. 4 The Democrat's prediction was accurate for no other play in La Crosse received so many performances, or lasted for more years than did Uncle Tom's Cabin. The first recorded performance was in 1869 and the last recorded performance of the century was in 1899. In the 1880's, the style of production started changing. The emphasis was no longer on the sentiment; instead, acting companies introduced such gimmicks as trained bloodhounds to heighten interest. Smith's Double Mammoth Company, May 30, 1883, played Uncle Tom's Cabin with a double cast for everyone except Uncle Tom. The size of the audience in the Opera House had never been equaled. There were people there who used Uncle Tom's Cabin as an excuse to enjoy the "sinful pleasures" of the theatre, people who came because they liked the play, and people who came because of the novelty of a double company. The Chronicle thought that the double cast detracted rather than added to the production but the doubling did add to the fun, which was the intent. 5 The same company came to La Crosse again two years later, May 2, 1885, with the same double cast gimmick. The audience for both the matinee and evening performances was the largest that had been in the 81 Opera House for some time. Those in the audience who went for amusement got it. They laughed, rested, and then laughed again from the beginning until the curtain fell. 6 After a series of humorous productions of Uncle Tom's Cabin, a cheap show, Marie Wellsley's Company, June 13, 1895, presented the play with no dogs, mules, or other theatrical devices--more like it was intended to be presented. The Chronicle, however, did not critique this performance. The Wellsley's revival in style of presentation was not typical of most traveling companies. most companies continued to use gimmicks and specialty features. The Davis Company's production of Uncle Tom's Cabin, April 23, 1898, had the usual trained bloodhounds, trick donkeys, and a singing and dancing little Eva. The Chronicle reported that the theatre was filled and tie audience got exactly what they spent their money to see. 7 The last Uncle Tom's Cabin production of the century was November 8, 1899. The Chronicle did not review the production, except to say that the play was staged well and the scenery and the company were above average. Also, the theatre was packed. Uncle Tom's Cabin was presented in La Crosse twenty-five times to a total audience of about thirty thousand people. The opinions of La Crosse critics were mixed. Some thought it was an apology for a drama; others thought the crowning glory of the play was its ability to arouse the emotions of the audience time and time again. Although the purpose of this chapter, or of the entire study for that matter, is not to make a comparison between La Crosse theatre and theatre at large in the rest of the nation, some brief comparisons aid 82 in the understanding of theatre in La Crosse. In the nation at large, few, if any, plays have been presented as often as Uncle Tom's Cabin. Certainly no American play has been presented so frequently. The play first received success in Troy, New York, where it ran for one hundred nights. It was moved to the National Theatre, New York City, on July 18, 1853, and ran for more than a year. It received three hundred performances (a record) and toward the close of the run the actors were presenting eighteen performances a week. 9 After the original run, Uncle Tom was generally taken over by traveling troupes and played for half a century. The play had one hundred separate openings in New York alone. 10 Critical opinion in the nation at large was mixed 11 as it was in La Crosse. The second most frequently produced play in La Crosse was East Lynne, written by Mrs. Henry Wood. While many of the plays during the nineteenth century illustrate the progressive trend toward greater realism, East Lynne is an exception to that trend. Many of the incidents in the play are improbable, as are the actions of the characters. It is unlikely that Lady Isabel would suspect her husband of having an affair with Barbara as the result of seeing them walking together. It is also improbable that she would then run away with Levison, whom she had not liked previously. The most improbable action is Lady Isabel's return to her husband's house disguised as a governess. Shortly after she arrives, her son dies and then she, in lachrymose sentimentality, dies also. Furthermore, the story is structurally inconsistent for Act II is several years later than Act I, yet Barbara talks to Archibald about her brother as if their meeting had taken place only the previous day. Secondly, Act III, Scene 2, indicates no time passage, yet Isabel has had a child by Levison. It is not clear until several pages later that 83 three years have elapsed. Many of the critics of the period, such as William Winter, were severe in their criticism of East Lynne. Winters said that a "flimsy and stupid novel has been resuscitated into a flimsy, unnatural, incongruous, and feverishly sentimental play." l2 La Crosse critics would not have agreed with Winter, for East Lynne did not receive any adverse criticism in its thirteen presentations. On the contrary, La Crosse critics praised the play. Pomeroy said it was "indeed up to life--almost reality." 13 Pomeroy's favorite scene was: The scene where the former wife, Cornelia, Lady Isabel came back after years of abandonment, lost, and degraded. . . was impressive, and Mr. Miller, as Carlyle, when he saw the face bending over the boy that he had kissed so often, the changing of revenge and hatred to forgiveness, at her death, was so solemnly beautiful. All should have been there. 14 Pomeroy praised the play again when it was presented in 1870. Similarly, the Democrat (1875) complimented the play, saying of the Clark Clifford production: [Clifford] was all that the rascally, devil-may-care, yet fascinating character demanded. Miss Clare as Lady Isabel. . . proved to the audience that her conception of these difficult characters was excellent. 15 After the Clifford production, East Lynne was generally taken over by cheap shows and played until 1897, usually to good houses. To an audience that was relatively unsophisticated and that was thirsty for emotional involvement and escape, East Lynne was the play. With this 84 play the audience could pity; they could wallow with Isabel in grandiose sentimentality. Much like the radio soap opera of a latter day, it appealed to those who loved to weep over the anguish of others. In La Crosse, during the nineteenth century, East Lynne was presented thirteen times to a combined audience of about thirteen thousand people. East Lynne was a fairly popular play in New York also. During the period under study, East Lynne had forty-eight openings. The third most frequently produced play in La Crosse was Rip Van Winkle. It was presented eight times between 1869 and 1899, each time to a full or nearly full theatre. The Dates Burlesque Opera Troupe was the first to present Rip Van Winkle, September 1, 1869. Mr. Sheldon acted the character Rip, and the Democrat reported that he sometimes brought tears to the audience's eyes. Then again the house would be overcome with laughter at the lines of the quaint Dutchman, especially thn he had "sword off' and when he was "better mit out it." 17 The Oates Company was a well balanced and versatile group, for the Democrat said that each member was capable of taking the boards as a star. 18 In 1872, Rip was presented by none other than Joseph Jefferson. The Republican said that Jefferson had captured perfectly the trifling, drunken, lazy, yet shrewd Rip. The Republican continued: To say that all were pleased with it would be a feeble way of speaking of the way in which the audience was carried away, and the cheers and roars of laughter were fairly deafening at times. 19 The next person to play Rip was Robert McWade. The Democrat reported that McWade fully sustained the high reputation he had won in the 85 character Rip. The Democrat concluded its review by saying that Rip Van Winkle always seems new when given by a Jefferson or a McWade. The audience was generally pleased with the performance. 20 The next time Rip Van Winkle was presented in La Crosse, May 4, 1881, Joseph Jefferson was again in the leading role. The Chronicle wrote one of its longest and most favorable reviews for the production. 21 The Stuart Company, a ten- and twenty-cent show, presented Rip Van Winkle in 1887. The Chronicle said that the Stuart Company was better than most cheap shows, but made no specific comment in support of this statement. 22 Another cheap show, the Otis Turner Company, treated Rip Van Winkle, May 2, 1894, more as a farce than it had previously been treated. A large audience attended. 23 The Punch Robertson Company, another cheap show, presented Rip Van Winkle for their Saturday afternoon matinee, September 8, 1894. The paper did not comment on this production. The presentations of Rip Van Winkle illustrate the general pattern that was frequently used for plays that were presented more than twice. The play would be presented once or twice by prominent, well known companies. Then, cheap shows would put the play into their repertory and perhaps play it several more times at ten, twenty, or thirty cents. The La Crosse papers did not comment in any detail about the script of Rip Van Winkle. The overall critical opinion of the play as presented, however, was good. After all, the script, both in La Crosse and in America in general, was not so important to critics and audiences of the nineteenth century as the presentation, particularly when the presentation was by Joseph Jefferson. Jefferson, himself, was not 86 impressed with the play script for he stated: I was quite sure that the character was what I had been seeking, and I was equally satisfied that the play was not. The action had neither the body nor the strength to carry the hero. 24 Nevertheless, the play, Rip Van Winkle, was important to La Crosse. It had eight well attended presentations and served as a vehicle to bring a great actor, Joseph Jefferson, to town. The play was similarly popular in the New York area, having forty-six openings. 25 Tying with Rip Van Winkle for the third most frequently produced play in La Crosse was Humpty Dumpty. Actually, Humpty Dumpty was more a pantomime than a play, and its success depended largely upon the actor playing Humpty Dumpty. The first presentation, September 4, 1869, was by the Oates Troupe. They presented Humpty Dumpty not as a major feature, but as an after-piece. The Democrat did not comment on the production. The second, third, and fifth productions of Humpty Dumpty starred George Adams, and the description of these productions is covered in the section on George Adams in Chapter III. The fourth production of Humpty Dumpty featured Jay Rial. The Chronicle reported that the audience was satisfied, but it did not comment specifically. By inference, the production must have been inferior to that of Adams, because the Chronicle did not praise the style of presentation. Instead, it wrote several lines about a dog act incorporated into the show, saying that it was "worth double the price of admission." 26 87 Will Grover acted Humpty Dumpty for the sixth production. He had worked with Jay Rial previously, but now billed himself as the "survivor of the fittest." However, the Chronicle did not think the company had improved under the new management, for the first part of the program was "tiresome;" the entertainment was stale and flat. George Adams, back for the seventh production, March 5, 1880, had the largest audience of the season, and again received the highest praise. "Adams is the greatest clown in the country beyond all doubt." 28 The eighth production, June 14, 1883, was by Tony Denier. This time he did not have Adams to act Humpty Dumpty, so he acted the role himself. The Chronicle did not go into detail, but labeled the pantomime "inferior." 29 As was typical of most plays, Humpty Dumpty was finally taken over by cheap shows. The last production, January 18, 1896, was by the Jolly Delta Pringle Company. The Chronicle did not comment specifically on their production of Humpty Dumpty, but did say that the group was filling the house each night. 30 Humpty Dumpty was a different play from those discussed earlier in this chapter. Uncle Tom's Cabin and East Lynne are both emotional melodramas. Rip Van Winkle. although a comedy, still has an emphasis on the pathos. Humpty Dumpty, on the other hand, is a farce, the only farce that received more than five performances in La Crosse. Humpty Dumpty was similarly popular in other parts of the country. George Fox played Humpty Dumpty 1,268 times in New York alone. 31 The success of the presentations in New York as well as La Crosse depended primarily upon who was acting Humpty Dumpty. Another popular play to La Crosse audiences was Divorce, an adaptation of the Wilkie Collins novel by Augustin Daly. It had seven productions 88 in La Crosse, sometimes under a different title, such as Woman Against Woman. For the first production of Divorce, the Democrat said little about the play except that it was "excellent." The company was the Fifth Avenue Troupe and the gentlemen captured the ladies in the audience, just as the ladies captured the males. They attracted one of the largest audiences to that date, 1873. 32 Divorce was not presented in La Crosse again until 1887. This time it was presented under the title Woman Against Woman. The Chronicle, like the Democrat, said little about the play, but did comment that the house was filled, and that the A. R. Wilber Company made an honest attempt, without rant, to portray human emotions. 33 The last time Divorce was presented, 1896, the audience was much smaller. The Chronicle explained the small crowd by saying that people liked more fun when they go to the theatre. 34 By the mid-nineties, La Crosse audiences had grown tired of the typical "nineteenth century melodrama." In the Chronicle's words: People don't pay their money to be harrowed up. They want to laugh; and so it has come to pass that the emotional drama has fallen into desuetude.° Divorce was evidently more popular in La Crosse than it was in larger metropolitan areas, for Divorce had fewer opening performances in New York than any play discussed in this chapter except for Black Diamonds. It had twelve openings under the title Divorce 36 and six openings with the title Woman Against Woman. 37 Two Orphans was presented six times in La Crosse. The first production was by Plunkett's troupe in 1875. The play, by M. M. d'Ennery, 89 was called a moralistic play where the evil appears to win, but virtue in the end is triumphant. The Democrat did not say much about the production techniques except that the lack of special properties and scenery in the Opera Hall detracted from the fine stage effects that the same company had in Chicago and New York. 38 Kate Claxton was the next to present Two Orphans. She had her own scenery and the result was a much better production than that of the Plunkett Troupe. The Democrat did not say anything in its review about the play, but did praise Claxton's acting. 39 Germania Hall also presented Two Orphans. The Chronicle reported that some of the main characters were played with a skill that was not surpassed by professional groups, but that some of the actors of minor roles detracted from the overall effect by their poor acting. Mr. Bender should have known his lines better also. 40 Two Orphans was produced again in 1887 by A. R. Wilber's Lyceum Theatre Company. The Wilber Company was a low price company, playing for ten and twenty cents. The Chronicle said that the Wilber Companies had always ranked first among low priced companies, but unfortunately, neither the Chronicle nor the Republican commented on its presentation of Two Orphans. 41 The next production of Two Orphans was by the Wilson Company in 1888. The company was a cheap show charging ten, twenty, and thirty cents. Again, the Chronicle did not comment in detail except that the company was much above the average cheap show and was deserving of a larger audience. 42 The last production of Two Orphans was by Kate Claxton, who had acted in the same show fourteen years ago. This time neither she nor 90 the play received praise. The Chronicle said that although the acting was acceptable, the group presented a play of which La Crosse had grown weary. What was needed was less of "that tired feeling" on both sides of the footlights. 43 The production record of Two Orphans illustrates, as did the production record of Divorce, that La Crosse audiences and critics were tiring of the emotional melodramas by the 1890's. Two Orphans was also a popular play on the New York stage, having fifty-six different openings. 44 Its original presentation was at the Union Square Theatre, where it ran from December to June of the following year. 45 Another play which received a minimum of six performances in La Crosse was George Bulwer-Lytton's Lady of Lyons. This play was first performed in 1866 and had its last presentation of the nineteenth century in 1898 (a span of thirty-two years). Pomeroy did not say anything about the first performances of Lady of Lyons and little about the second except that it was an attractive and familiar bill. 46 The Clark Clifford Company presented Lady of Lyons to a fair audience in 1881. The play was not one of the main features of their repertory as the absence of appropriate wardrobe clearly illustrated. 47 The Chronicle and the Republican did not make a significant comment on any of the other productions. Interestingly though, the last production of Lady of Lyons was a reading by George Riddle. The house was full. 48 Since La Crosse critics did not comment on the script of Lady of Lyons and since the La Crosse papers did not mention how often the play 91 attracted a full theatre, the popularity of Lady of Lyons must be measured by the number of performances alone--six. Lady of Lyons was also a frequently presented play in New York. It had one hundred and sixty-six openings. 49 The only other play discussed in this chapter to have more openings was Hamlet. Another play that received at least six performances in La Crosse was Black Diamonds. Neither the Democrat nor the Chronicle evaluated the script of Black Diamonds, but the number of performances itself illustrates its popularity in La Crosse. Without exception, the groups that presented Black Diamonds were cheap shows. The Forbes' Dramatic Company presented it three times. Of their May, 1881 production, the Chronicle reported that a large audience of both men and boys saw Black Diamonds, and based upon their cheers and clapping, enjoyed it thoroughly. The performance was calculated to please the audience present and it was successful in doing so. 50 Black Diamonds may have been a play that was presented primarily by cheap shows in smaller cities, for Brown did not mention any productions of the play in New York. Hazel Kirke, like Black Diamonds, also received at least six performances in La Crosse, but unlike Black Diamonds, the Chronicle reviewed Hazel Kirke in considerable detail. The advance advertising for the Madison Square Theatre's presentation of Hazel Kirks labeled it "the great drama of human life which it so truly represents. . . composed in equal degree of joy and sorrow." 51 The La Crosse audiences were somewhat disappointed, however, for as a result of the advance advertising they expected something new or fresh in either the presentation or in the script. But the Chronicle said: 92 The fact is that the performance throughout its four lengthy acts was as familiar as a hundred time told tale in all its varied scenes and in the manner in which they were woven together. 52 The Chronicle continued by saying that if there was anything novel in the play it was the absence of the usual heavy or villain. Nevertheless, numerous character types were still present--the saintly Redling, the loving "pigheaded" parent, and the weak but well meaning husband. The Chronicle added to its adverse criticism of the script and said: The final scenes were not only antiquated but clumsy and ill contrived; happiness was restored by somebody bringing in a letter showing that oceans of harrowing trouble had been caused by an Irish valet's lie about a matter of which the whole party ought to have been perfectly well informed. . . Furthermore, the play is more then ordinarily artificial, unreal and absurd; if there was a touch--even a faint hint-- of real life, it escaped general notice. The general appraisal of Hazel Kirke by the Chronicle parallels the general conclusions that Hewitt draws. Hewitt says that Hazel Kirke was unique in that it had no villain; so does the Chronicle. Hewitt also says that critics of the period considered it old fashioned; 54 so did the Chronicle. The Chronicle concluded that the success of Hazel Kirke in New York was probably due to the marvels of the well equipped Madison Square Theatre. Also, a New York success was not necessarily an effective gauge for measuring the success with a western audience. 55 The next time Hazel Kirke was presented in La Crosse was April, 1882. The producing company was again the Madison Square Theatre, but 93 the actors were different from the actors in the Madison Square Theatre Company of the previous year; and they were not so good the second time as the first. They were considered to be not more than a "good average." 56 The above production had good audience attendance. The Madison Square Theatre Company presented Hazel Kirks for the third time in May, 1883. The production was evenly balanced and carefully presented, but the audience was small. 57 After these three productions, the play was taken over by cheap companies and put into their repertory. For Noell's Madison Square Theatre Company's production of Hazel Kirke, the audience applauded everything, and all classes attended. 58 Hazel Kirke continued to draw a good audience when it was last produced in La Crosse in 1895 by the Frank Lincoln Company. 59 Hazel Kirke was popular in other parts of the nation, too, for it had twenty openings in New York. 60 The original production achieved a long run record of 486 performances--a record which was not broken until 1921. It was also the first play to be presented simultaneously in various parts of the country. It continued to be popular for many years. Hughes said that Hazel Kirks has had more performances than any play ever written with the exception of Uncle Tom's Cabin. 61 Three plays had five presentations each in La Crosse--Hamlet, Ticket-of-Leave Man, and Chimes of Normandy. Hamlet was first presented in La Crosse in 1866 by the McKean Buchanan Company. Of this production Pomeroy said: The sublime tragedy of "Hamlet," the masterpiece of Shakespeare's wondrous intellect, was performed last evening by the Buchanan Star Company to one of the most refined 94 audiences ever assembled in a public hall in La Crosse. Mr. Buchanan gave a splendid representation of Hamlet, the soliloquies and more impassioned portions of the tragedy were rendered with a power and true conception of the text which enchained the attention of the listeners and drew forth frequent and well merited applause. 62 After that review one would think that nothing could be better, but Pomeroy was good at blowing his own horn. A good review would help fill his theatre in the future. One can only guess whether his reviews were honest or motivated by profit. However, since Buchanan was highly praised in the above production and since Pomeroy three years later referred to Buchanan's performance as having had too much "rant," one should suspect that the profit motive was at least a contributing factor. Of the next production of Hamlet, 1869, by the Miller Atheneum Troupe, Pomeroy said: The very best entertainment ever given in La Crosse was the rendering of the great tragedy Hamlet. . . . We were pleased to see so many in attendance too. Mr. Miller is certainly better in such parts than McKean Buchanan, for he does not rant so much--but is more life-like. The rendering of the soliloquies were particularly fine, and he was greeted with applause on every hand. 63 The Democrat said little about the next presentation of Hamlet, 1870, by McKean Buchanan, except that it had the largest audience of the season. 64 It was seventeen years before Hamlet was presented again. This time Edmond Keene was acting the role. The Chronicle said that there were few empty seats in the Opera House, and those who stayed away were 95 the losers, particularly if they liked Keene's unique interpretation of Shakespeare. The Chronicle said: "The play as presented last night as beyond the criticism of the ordinary critic." 65 The Republican commented in more detail about Keene's presentation. Keene's Hamlet was not traditional. His Hamlet, unlike some roles he had created, was not aimed merely for effect. His presentation was logical and sensible. The Republican explained: For instance, most actors deliver the great soliloquies at the footlights and addressed to the audience; Mr. Keene gives utterance to them while pacing restlessly the apartment or while setting [sic] abstractly at a table or on a couch, with the significant, nervous details of excited perplexity, thus depriving them of the air of set speeches, and making them appear the utterances of thought. 66 The last production of Hamlet was January 5, 1898, by the William Owen Company. The Chronicle did not comment on the production, except to say that it was a matter of regret that the Owen Company should receive such a small share of La Crosse patronage. 67 The main attraction of the play Hamlet was not the play itself but rather the actor playing the leading role. When Buchanan or Keene was acting Hamlet, the theatres were full or nearly full; when less prominent stars acted Hamlet, fewer La Crosse citizens attended the presentation. In the world at large, Hamlet has been a popular play for centuries and will probably continue to be. The primary appeal of the play now as was the case in La Crosse during the nineteenth century is the unique approach that a particular actor may use in his characterization. La Crosse papers had little to say about the presentations of Ticket-of-Leave Man. The first presentation was called an "old and 96 popular play" and played to a large house. 68 The Clark Company also played the play to a large house in 1886. About all that the paper said was that the presentation of Ticket-of- Leave Man had an even strength throughout. 69 La Crosse papers also had little significant to say concerning the five productions of Chimes of Normandy. Only one production was reviewed in any detail and that was the Hess English Opera Company, January 1, 1878. The Democrat said that the opera was much more pleasing, because the singing was in English rather than Italian. It was also pleasing because it was almost vaudeville in style. 70 The style of presentation continued to be generally vaudeville and specialty entertainment for the other four productions. In addition to the plays discussed previously, several plays received more than one or two performances in La Crosse: Ten Nights in a Barroom (4) Jane Eyre (4), Bunch of Keys (4), Pygmalion and Galatea (4), Othello (4), Richelieu (4), Lucretia Broqia (3), Streets of New York (3), Richard III (3) Coleene Bawn (3), Twelfth Night (3), The Octoroon.(3), and Franchion the Cricket (3). As one glances back over the list of the twelve most frequently produced plays in La Crosse, it is obvious that the most frequently presented play type was the emotional melodrama. In this group of twelve plays, there are eight melodramas, one tragedy, one musical, and two comedies; one of the comedies, Rip Van Winkle, contains many melodramatic elements. The same pattern emerges in the group of plays that had three and four presentations each: seven were melodramas, three were comedies, two were tragedies, and one was a musical. As one looks over the total list of plays presented in La Crosse, however, another pattern emerges. Although it is true that the most 97 frequently presented play type in the 1860's, 1870's, and first part of the 1880's was the melodrama, by the latter part of the-1880's and the 1893's, the trend had changed. Comedies were the most frequently presented type of play. Even some of the older melodramas were given comic presentations, such as the production of Uncle Tom's Cabin with a double cast. FOOTNOTES 1 La Crosse Chronicle, February 20, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 2 La Crosse Daily Democrat, July 29, 1869, p. 1, col. 3. 3 Ibid. December 22, 1875, p. 4, col. 3. 4 La Crosse Morning Liberal Democrat, February 6, 1878, p. 3, col. 2. 5 La Crosse Chronicle, May 31, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 6 Ibid., May 3, 1885, p. 3, col. 2. 7 Ibid., April 24, 1898, p. 3, col. 2. 8 Ibid., November 9, 1899, p. 3, col. 3. 9 Glenn Hughes, A History of American Theatre 1700-1550 (New York: Samuel French, 1951), p. 177. 10 T. Allston Brown, A History of the New York Stage, III (New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1964), p. 654. 11 Bernard Hewitt, Theatre U. S. A. 1665-1957 (New York: McGraw- Hill, 1959), pp. 171-179. 12 Ibid., p. 187 98 99 13 Daily Democrat, July 24, 1869, p. 4, col. 1. 14 Ibid. 15 Liberal Democrat, November 9, 1875, p. 4, col. 3. 16 Brown, III, p. 630. 17 Daily Democrat, September 2, 1869, p. 1, col. 3. 18 Ibid. 19 La Crosse Republican Leader, May 28, 1872, p. 3, col. 2. 20 Liberal Democrat. July 11, 1877, p. 3, col. 2. 21 Chronicle, ay 6, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 22 Ibid., ay 17, 1887, p. 3, col. 2. 23 Ibid., May 3, 1894, p. 3, col. 2. 24 Joseph Jefferson, "Rip Van Winkle," The Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson (London;: Reinhardt and Evans, Ltd., 1949), p. 175. 25 Brown, III, p. 649. 26 Chronicle November 19, 1880, p. 3, col. 2. 27 Ibid., October 28, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 100 28 Ibid., March 6, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 29 Ibid., June 15, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 30 Ibid., January 17, 1896, p. 3, col. 2. 31 Hewitt, p. 208 32 Liberal Democrat, October 6, 1873, p. 4, col. 2. 33 Chronicle, January 4, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 34 Ibid., April 3, 1896, p. 3, col. 2. 35 Ibid.. February 20, 1892, p. 1, col. 3. 36 Brown, III, p. 629. 37 Ibid., p. 629. 38 Liberal Democrat, August 4, 1875, p. 4, col. 3. 39 Ibid., may 13, 1877, p. 3, col. 3. 40 Chronicle, may 15, 1883, p. 3, col. 2. 41 Ibid., January 4, 1887, p. 3, col. 2. 42 Ibid., June 1, 1888, p. 3, col. 1. 43 Ibid., October 22, 1891, p. 3, col. 2. 101 44 Brown, III, p. 654. 45 Ibid., p. 152. 46 Daily Democrat, November 5, 1867, p. 4, col. 1. 47 Chronicle, November 26, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 48 Ibid., April 11, 1898, p. 3, col. 3. 49 Brown, III, p. 638. 50 Chronicle, May 8, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 51 Ibid., August 31, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 52 Ibid., September 1, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 53 Ibid. 54 Hewitt, p. 237. 55 Chronicle, September 1, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 56 Ibid., April 18, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 57 Ibid., may 3, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 58 Ibid., June 25, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 59 Ibid., March 12, 1895, p. 3, col. 2. 102 60 Brown, III, pp. 634-635. 61 Hughes, p. 236. 62 Daily Democrat, August 2, 1866, p. 1, col. 4. 63 Ibid., July 27, 1869, p. 4, col. 2. 64 Ibid., may 24, 1870, p. 4, col. 2. 65 Chronicle, September 18, 1887, p. 4, col. 1. 66 Republican, September 19, 1887, p. 1, col. 4. 67 Chronicle, January 8, 1898, p. 3, col. 3. 68 Liberal Democrat, march 23, 1876, p. 4, col. 3. 69 Chronicle, July 25, 1886, p. 3, col. 1. 70 Liberal Democrat. January 2, 1878, p. 3, col. 4. CHAPTER V CHEAP SHOWS Some traveling troupes that came to La Crosse during the nineteenth century were able to attract as much as five to ten per cent of the entire La Crosse population to the theatre nightly for as long as two weeks. If a traveling troupe were to come to La Crosse in 1972 and attract the same percentage of the La Crosse population, La Crosse would need to have a theatre seating three to six thousand people. It probably could not be done. Certainly no group could fill such a theatre nightly for two weeks as some of the "cheap shows" did during the nineteenth century. The "cheap show" was the term that the La Crosse papers used to refer to popular traveling troupes that played at reduced admission prices, usually ten, twenty, and thirty cents. Most of the theatre groups that came to La Crosse charged seventy-five cents to one dollar for admission; some charged as high as one dollar and fifty cents, but this admission was not typical. To understand what a dollar admission price meant in terms of buying power, here are a few comparisons. One dollar would buy about four dozen eggs, or four chickens, or ten pounds of bacon, or four pounds of butter, or add another dollar and get a hotel room. Naturally, when a few companies reduced the admission price, La Crosse audiences showed their appreciation by going to the productions. Most of the cheap-show companies played 103 104 for ten, twenty, and thirty cents--ten cents for seats in the gallery, thirty cents for seats close to-the stage, and twenty cents for the seats in between. Later cheap shows charged ten and twenty cents. The ten-cent seats were in the gallery, and any seat in the remainder of the house sold for twenty cents. A few companies even played for ten cents admission to any seat in the house. More often this low admission price would follow a week played at ten and twenty cents, and then either because the company did not have another booking or because La Crosse audiences had crowded the theatre, they would reduce their rates to ten cents for any seat in the house and play another week. The cheap shows sometimes advertised a lady's night. Any woman could get in free if she were accompanied by a person with a paid ticket. As an added attraction some companies occasionally gave away merchandise to a lucky ticket holder. The cheap shows did not come to La Crosse until the mid-eighties. One of the first groups to play a long engagement at cheap prices was Nowell's Madison Square Theatre Company. Like most of the cheap-show companies, there were no well known stars, the companies specialized in touring small cities and towns, and the players' names were never mentioned in La Crosse papers. For their first production, Hazel Kirke, June 22, 1885, there were eight hundred people in the Opera House. The Chronicle commented that it was more agreeable for a company to play to eight hundred people at ten and twenty cents per person than to charge fifty cents to a dollar and get the same amount of cash, but play to fewer people. The Chronicle cautioned that the people must remember that the same standards of criticism that one uses for regular priced shows could not be fairly applied to cheap shows. 1 105 Another cheap show, the Clark Comedy Company, came a year later, July, 1886. Their repertory was typical of most similar companies and included Galley Slave, Hidden Hand, Shaughraun, Banker's Daughter. Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Ticket-of-Leave man. Of the performance of Ticket-of-Leave Man, the Chronicle suggested a reason besides low admission prices for the group's popularity: The play was presented throughout with the even strength which has characterized the work of the company through the week. No low priced company that has visited the city presents better entertainment and many companies playing at 'regular' prices do not give as much for the money. 2 The Nowell Comic Opera Company immediately followed the Clark Company with another cheap show, giving La Crosse two weeks of continuous theatrical entertainment. The Nowell Company's presentation of Girofle-Girofla played to standing room only. The following evening they presented the Mikado. The Nowell Company was the first cheap-show group to specialize in musical presentations. The Chronicle said that it did not have a word of complaint about the production of the Mikado. It was not just a good show for the money, but a good show at any price. Three cheap shows came to La Crosse in 1887. The first, the Wilber Theatre Company, was guilty of overacting. For their presentation of Two Orphans, the Chronicle reported that a few specific flaws marred the production. When the character, Devaudray, tore the page from the police records implicating his friend, there was no reason for him to draw his sword upon his unarmed old uncle--except as a theatrical device to end the act with a sensational tableau. Also, as Henrietta fell unconscious when she was arrested, what reason was there for the soldiers 106 to level their guns at her? Even more noticeably out of place, one of the actors made a pitiable burlesque of the character Pickard. Their next production, Streets of New York, was better, but still showed an absence of high artistic standards, for the last act was obscured by smoke left from the scenic effects in the preceding act. Even though the presentations of the Wilber Company would probably be labeled 'amateurish" now, they attracted fairly large audiences, nine hundred for Streets of New York. Since they were not filling the theatre, during their matinee they had a drawing for a ten dollar prize; one had to be present to win. The Wilber Company returned in April with a repertory including Franchion the Cricket, Galley Slave, The Virginian. Shadows of a House, A Celebrated Case, and East Lynne. The Chronicle did not comment on any of the productions in detail. One can infer that the tour was successful, for the opening night presentation of Franchion the Cricket attracted a full house plus one hundred standing. 7 Probably the main difference in the audience size for this tour as compared to their previous tour earlier in the year was the weather. Their first tour was in January, and the second was in April. Three cheap shows came to La Crosse in 1888. The first was the Basye and Davis Ideal Company with a repertory that included Hidden Hand. Woman Against Woman (another name for Divorce), Called Black. Prisoners of Russia, and Gypsy Jack. The theatre was filled for each performance. 8 They were followed by the Wilson Company, which did not attract as large an audience as the Basye and Davis Company, possibly because they had some of the same repertory. 9 107 The last cheap show during 1888 was the Pathfinder Company, whose audiences were considerably larger than those of the Wilson Company. Neither the Chronicle nor the Republican mentioned their repertory and neither reviewed the presentations, except to say that they were considerably better than most. 10 For the next three years, fewer cheap shows came to La Crosse than previously. No reason was mentioned in the La Crosse papers for the decline. Certainly it was not because of poor audience attendance. There were no cheap shows in 1889, only one in 1890, and only one in 1891. Activity picked up in 1892, however, when four cheap shows came to La Crosse. The number of shows increased to six in 1894 and eight in both 1895 and 1896. The number declined after 1896, for only six cheap shows came in 1897, two in 1898, and three in 1899. In 1897, the cheap shows became even cheaper. The price was reduced to ten cents for any seat. The Marie Wellsley Company opened May 27 for one week, but stayed over for another week because of the response of La Crosse theatre-goers. On June 12, the company presented the Octoroon to an audience of fifteen hundred. They closed with a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin without such usual trimmings as trained bloodhounds and mules. The Chronicle said of the Marie Wellsley Company: "It gives the best entertainment for the money this town ever saw." 11 The Villars-Owen Stock Company opened for a week July 29, (all seats ten cents). The Chronicle praised their presentation of Bleak House as better than that of the regular priced Jane Coombs Company. 12 The company stayed for a second week and played to a full theatre each night. On June 4, 1896, the Columbia Opera Company opened for one week, and the Chronicle, in considerable detail, explained why cheap-show 108 companies of its type were so popular: Any man, woman or child who cannot get 'good value,' as the merchant says, at the theatre any night this week is beyond pleasing at any price. The Columbia Opera Company is an organization of ladies and gentlemen who have been a long time associated in the pleasant task of entertaining the people; they work well together and are ambitious and earnest in their profession. Such a company not subject to frequent changes, is able to give an even, well balanced rendition of such operas as are within Its scope, often more pleasing than the work of companies led by one or two people of greater fame. 13 The above comments by the Chronicle indicate that a more "even" production with greater ensemble playing satisfied the La Crosse audiences more than did companies that had less ensemble but were led by stars. The large crowds the above company and similar companies drew also gives credence to that conclusion. The cheap shows were popular, not only because they were inexpensive, but because they were often as good as the regular priced shows. In 1897, some of the cheap shows added another attraction, either as an afterpiece or as between act entertainment--a type of moving picture referred to as the cinematograph. The Sutherland Company which opened for four nights February 10 at ten cents with Jack of Diamonds received only a short paragraph comment about the play, but received a three paragraph comment about the cinematograph shown between acts. One scene showed babies quarreling, another was the march of a French regiment, and another was the demolition of an old building. The added attraction helped draw a full house each night. 14 By 1897 La Crosse audiences were beginning to tire of the usual repertory presented by the cheap shows. After all, for ten years 109 La Crosse audiences had been receiving an almost steady diet of emotional dramas such as Hidden Hand, Two Orphans, and East Lynne. The Ferris Comedians which opened September 9 presented a different type of repertory-- musical farces. The Chronicle wrote that the musical farce comedies satisfied the audience better than the dramas which the repertory companies usually presented. 15 For a period of more than ten years, La Crosse audiences had generally crowded the theatre to see the cheap shows with their usual repertory of emotional dramas. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, however, La Crosse audiences desired a change from emotional dramas, such as Galley Slave, Banker's Daughter, and Divorce. In this respect La Crosse was typical of the nation. The only difference was that La Crosse audiences tired of the emotional dramas more slowly than did audiences in larger metropolitan areas. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, even La Crosse audiences were generally weary of the emotional dramas. Nevertheless, one emotional drama, Uncle Tom's Cabin, was still popular. The play was the usual mixture of comedy and pathos with all the customary accessories--bloodhounds and trick donkeys. The Chronicle said that the performance furnished the audience with exactly what they had spent their money to see. 16 During the nineteenth century, the cheap show was La Crosse's most popular type of entertainment. Few touring stars had the drawing power of a reduced admission price, particularly when the touring stars and their companies were often little better than some of the more successful cheap repertory shows. FOOTNOTES 1 La Crosse Chronicle, June 23, 1885, p. 3, col. 2. 2 Ibid., July 25, 1886, p. 3, col. 1. 3 Ibid., July 28, 1886, p. 3, col. 1. 4 Ibid., January 5, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 5 Ibid., January 6, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 6 Ibid., January 8, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 7 Ibid., April 26, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 8 Ibid., April 13, 1888, p. 3, col. 1. 9 Ibid., June 1, 1888, p. 3, col. 2. 10 Ibid., June 5, 1888, p. 3, col. 2. 11 Ibid., June 16, 1895, p. 1, col. 1. 12 Ibid., July 31, 1895, p. 3, col. 2. 13 Ibid., June 2, 1896, p. 1, col. 4. 110 111 14 Ibid., February 11, 1897, p. 3, col. 2. 15 Ibid., September 10, 1897, p. 3, col. 4. 16 Ibid., April 24, 1898, p. 3, col. 2. CHAPTER VI GERMANIA HALL During the 1880's, about a third of the La Crosse population was German, resulting in a community greatly influenced by German culture. The plays that were presented at Germania Hall were a specific example of the German cultured influence. These presentations provided a contrast as well as a supplement to the professional companies that appeared at Pomeroy's Opera House and later at the La Crosse Theatre. The plays presented at Germania Hall contrasted with the professional companies appearing at the Opera House or at the La Crosse Theatre because they were presented in the German language. Additionally, the plays at Germania Hall were different from the professional companies because they were basically amateur productions. Usually, however, a resident professional director, who also acted the leading role, directed the amateurs. Since the amateurs frequently acted in several different plays working under professional directors, Germania Hall functioned both as a community theatre and similar to a resident stock company. Professional groups provided practically all of the other productions in the city, except for a few amateur church presentations. Germania Hall, therefore, added an interesting supplement to the city's general diet of professional touring companies. 112 113 During the period of 1878 to 1888, Germania Hall was the home of about fifty plays, or an average of five plays per year. Since the general community theatre movement in America did not start until around 1900, 1 Germania Hall was an early community theatre. Apparently though, German community theatres prior to 1960 were fairly ordinary in German areas. Madison, Wisconsin, had a German community theatre as early as 1860. 2 Dubuque, Iowa, had a German theatre, for one of the Germania Hall directors left La Crosse to manage in Dubuque. Larger cities such as Milwaukee, rather than having a German community theatre, had a German resident stock company. In fact, according to an article in Theatre Arts, German theatre flourished wherever there was a large German settlement. 3 The professionals who came to La Crosse were native German actors and directors. The first of these directors were Mr. and Mrs. Bender. Frequently the directors were husband and wife teams. They left La Crosse supposedly for a month, but they did not return until four years later. The amateurs attempted a production by themselves, but according to the Liberal Democrat, the production was not so successful as those under the direction of the Benders. 4 The German actor, Carl Franzmueller, and his wife, were the next directors of Germania Hall. 5 Their first production was successful, for the Chronicle commented favorably on the acting of the Franzmuellers and the amateurs. The Chronicle concluded by saying: Everyone rent home very well satisfied as to the ability of the new management, and the promise of excellent amusement during the next season. 6 114 The Chronicle continued to be satisfied with the Franzmuellers, reviewing their performances with great favor. The Chronicle did not mention any productions by the German theatre from March 2, 1879, to November, 1879. Since the Chronicle reported German productions prior to March, 1879, and then again after November of that year, one may infer that there were no productions during this period. For the November 9 production, A Glass of Water, the amateurs did not have a professional director. The result was less than satisfactory, for the Chronicle ended its comments on the production with: The only feature which marred the playing of the evening was the fact that most of the actors knew their parts, but indifferently; the consequence being that the man in the prompter's box did more of the speaking than ought reasonably to have fallen to his share. 7 A Glass of Water, like most productions at Germania Hall, was in German. The La Crosse papers did not mention where the German theatre obtained their scripts or who translated them. Presumably by 1879, most of Scribe's plays had been translated into German. Perhaps the unfavorable criticism of A Glass of Water discouraged the amateurs, for their next production, He Must Go into the Country, had professional directors, Mr. and Mrs. Franzmueller. They directed two plays in the spring of 1880 and one play in the fall of 1880. In this production, the Franzmuellers' last presentation, the daughter of the directing team received applause each time she appeared on the stage. 8 Mr. and Mrs. Nietmann conducted the remainder of the 1880 season. 9 Neither the Chronicle nor the Republican mentioned productions of the 115 Nietmanns. In fact, there was no mention of any production at Germania Hall until October 8, 1882. At this time, the managers were once again Mr. and Mrs. Bender, who chose as their first production, Honest Labor. The Chronicle praised the acting in the production and concluded by saying: "If Mr. Bender continues in this direction, the dramatic season will be a good one compared with some former ones. 10 The above statement implies that there were productions in 1881, but neither the Chronicle nor the Republican reported them. The Chronicle continued to laud the Benders, for in their production of From Step to Step, November 7, 1882, the Chronicle said that the Benders "discharged" their roles admirably. Additionally, the Chronicle said: Mr. Bender deserves praise for his untiring zeal to produce something worthy and educate the amateurs to become good actors. The Benders directed three more plays, for which they received highly favorable notices. Next, they produced Franchion the Cricket, in German as usual, a play usually associated with Maggie Mitchell who toured with it for several years. Concerning this production, the Chronicle said that the amateur, Mrs. Guenther, played the old witch Fadet with an understanding that would have received applause on the best stages of the land. As usual the paper complimented the Benders. 12 For Mrs. Bender's benefit, Germania Hall presented the Banker's Daughter on April 17, 1883. The Chronicle did not mention whether or not the managers received a salary in addition to the beneficiary. 116 Mrs. Bender had a good house for the above production; and as an added attraction, first. Bender's sister had come from Prussia to act in the show. The Chronicle said that she was young but showed considerable experience. Again, the paper generally praised the acting, but it found fault with the script, because it too closely followed the exact wording of the English. 13 The Chronicle did not mention who translated Banker's Daughter, but since the paper made a point of the translation, it is logical to conclude that either the Senders or another member of the La Crosse German theatre was the translator. The last presentation of the season was Two Orphans. This production must have been uneven, for the Chronicle said: Some of the main characters were given with a skill that is not surpassed by professional troupes, some of the minor characters detracted from the effect by their indifferent or insufficient acting. . . Mr. Bender should have known his lines better, but since he played two roles and managed the production, this speaks greatly in his excuse. 14 The Benders presented one more play in La Crosse on October 25, 1883; the name of the play was not given. They then moved to Dubuque, Iowa, and became directors of a German theatre there. The paper mentioned that the amateurs were going to attempt productions alone for the rest of the 1883-1884 season. The Chronicle cautioned, however, that the amateur season of two years ago was not completely successful. 15 The amateurs did not attempt productions alone though, for Lutricia Franzmueller returned to play the leading role in Jane Eyre. The Chronicle commented favorably on the amateurs Guenther, Kurtenocker, and Linker, but it pointed out where some could improve: 117 Some of the amateurs should take an example of Mrs. Franzmueller in proper and distinct pronunciation, and the prompter should never be as loud as the actors. 16 Based upon the evidence above, the productions at Germania Hall were no doubt uneven--sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes a mixture of both. The La Crosse papers did not mention the scenery that Germania Hall used. Since the papers wrote exclusively about the scenery at the Opera Hall and at the La Crosse Theatre, the scenery surely played a relatively unimportant role at Germania Hall. This practice may have been typical of the German theatres of the period, for the German theatre in Milwaukee often had sub-standard costumes and scenery. 17 For the remainder of the season, Germania Hall hired Mr. and Mrs. Oeser as directors. They presented four plays and closed the season in April. The Chronicle did not comment in detail on the artistic merits of the Oeser's direction, but it did say that the Oesers were growing in popularity with the amateurs as well as with the general public. 18 For the 1884-1885 season, Germania Hall did not have a professional director. Their first production was Love in the Corner. According to the Chronicle, the ladies acted their roles well, but the men's roles were beyond the male actors' capacity; consequently, the presentation of their characters was imperfect. The paper advised that amateur actors need a professional teacher just as any aspiring artist needs professional guidance. 19 The amateurs were still in need of a professional director when they presented Stiftunqfest. The Chronicle said: 118 It was tolerably well presented.... If the amateurs will work with a good will for the art's sake, and not for individual exaltation, which easily leads to over-estimation, they will 20 steadily improve and be able to give some good representations. The amateurs may have heeded the advice of the Chronicle, because the production of Anna Liece, January, 1885, was called the best of the season. 21 Unfortunately, the Chronicle did not comment in detail. If the amateurs had heeded the advice of the Chronicle for Anna Liece, they forgot it for The Banished Students a month later. Some scenes suffered from poor memorization; others suffered because of loud talking below the stage. 22 The March 15, 1885, production of Marianne was typically uneven. Some of the roles, according to the Chronicle "were in good hands, some mediocre, and some poorly represented." 23 The April 5, 1885, production of Preciosa was generally praised, but the next production was not. According to the Chronicle, the amateurs "reached too high." 24 Both actors and audience grew tired toward the end; the nuisance of slamming doors had not been abolished. For the last production of the 1884-1885 season only two hundred fifty people attended, even though Mr. Oeser returned to act in the play One Hundred Thousand Dollars. The usual audience size was about four hundred. The decline in the size of the audience indicates the comparatively poor season. Additionally, of the above production, the Chronicle said that the cast resorted to clowning to get the desired comical effect. Even worse, actors were not always in their correct places. 25 Germania Hall opened the 1885 fall season with English and From Love of Art. Camello Lundt was the director. The Chronicle, although 119 not commenting in detail, did say that both plays went smoothly. 26 The next production, One of Our People, drew a full audience. The Chronicle generally complimented the production, but it added: It is not amiss to draw the attention of the manager to a little bad habit on the stage: that is the showing of faces and hands of some not in action behind the curtains and scenery during the play and intermission. 27 The Chronicle also praised the next production, Rief von Reiflinqer, but reserved the highest praise for the production of The Caris Scholars by H. Laube. The play, showing the life of Schiller, was evidently one of the best performances for several years: Mr. Carl Lundt, for whose benefit the performance was given, represented Schiller in a manner which is not easy to excel. Form, bearing and language were captivating and a facsimile of the celebrated poet. 28 Likewise, the amateurs did their best and deserved praise for their efforts. For the March 14, 1886, production of Kactchen of Heilbonn, the Lundts rented costumes and armor from Milwaukee. The Chronicle generalized that the production was well done. The paper finished the article by saying: The Lundt family tries hard to please the audiences and deserves credit for their exertions. 29 Neither the Chronicle nor the Republican mentioned other performances at Germania Hall until The Knights of Labor, March 13, 1887. The papers 120 gave no reason for the long absence of Germania Hall theatrical presentations. The Knights of Labor. written by E. Wichert, shows how labor organizations are easily misled by selfish leaders to make unreasonable demands, thus destroying their source of employment. The Chronicle congratulated the directors; it said that Mr. and Mrs. Langkanner-Kolberh combined merit with courtesy and patience, the result being: "The performance was in every way a great success." 30 On March 20, 1887, Germania Hall presented two short plays, a tragedy and a farce. The tragedy was so filled with horrors and misery without a trace of human goodness that the director decided to change the ending where the father murders his unrecognized son to that of a dream. The Chronicle praised the production and the season in general: "The best season of the German boards was without a doubt that of the past winter under the Langkanner-Kolberg combination." 31 Germania Hall was filled for the March 27, 1887, production of Three Pair of Shoes, a benefit for Mrs. Langkanner-Kolberg. The Chronicle had reviewed the play before and thought it poor. On this occasion, however, the paper found it amusing, praising all performers. 32 The following fall Germania Hall had a new director, Alexander Varena. His first production was A Lark Not a Quail. For this production, Varena and his wife interspersed songs between the acts, which the Chronicle called a treat. The La Crosse actors, Linker, Scheid, Longstadd, and Kroner assisted the Varenas in the presentation. 33 The Varenas were successful as directors because the next two productions were generally complimented. The last production of the year was The People as They Weep and Laugh, December 4, 1887. It was a benefit for the La Crosse actor, William Linker; the house was full. 34 121 The Chronicle did not mention that The People as They Weep and Laugh was to be the final locally produced play at Germania Hall. But since the Chronicle and Republican did not mention any other performances, La Crosse probably had no German language theatre after 1887. For a period of ten years Germania Hall had provided an opportunity for local actors, entertained La Crosse audiences with about fifty plays, and perhaps more importantly helped retain the customs, culture, and language of the La Crosse residents that were German immigrants; for in 1880, La Crosse had 5,380 foreign born residents. most of them were from Germany. Since the total population in 1880 was only 9,125, the percentage of residents with German background and ancestry was high. 35 From an artistic point of view, based upon the reviews in the La Crosse papers, productions at Germania Hall were generally inferior to the traveling professional companies. Germania Hall productions tended to be uneven. In a given production, there might be a few outstandingly effective actors. In that same production, there probably would be a few equally outstandingly ineffective actors. This mixture of good and bad was the main drawback at Germania Hall productions, and it is probably the principle disadvantage in community theatres across the country now, a century later. The newspapers wrote little about the scenery or costumes used during the productions. Occasionally, the journalists criticized the amateurs for peeking out through the scenery or the curtains, much as amateurs are inclined to do in any age. Although Germania Hall hired professional directors to help improve the artistic quality of their presentations, apparently the primary purpose 122 of the theatre was to preserve the German language and culture. German language plays presented at Germania Hall accomplished the primary purpose and provided entertainment as well. FOOTNOTES 1 Oscar Brockett, History of the Theatre (Boston: Allyn and Bacon), p. 631. 2 Henry C. Youngerman, "Theatrical Activities: Madison, Wisconsin, 1839-1906" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1940), pp. 119-123. 3 German Theatre in Milwaukee," Theatre Arts, XXVIII, April, 1944, p. 466. 4 Morning Liberal Democrat, September 24, 1878, p. 3, col. 3. (Throughout this chapter, the main source of information on Germania Hall is from either the Democrat or the Chronicle. No other information or records are available in the English language. It is possible, however, that one could find additional information in the German language newspaper, Nord Stern, published from 1856 through 1910.) 5 La Crosse Chronicle, September 25, 1878, p. 3, col. 4. 6 Ibid., October 22, 1878, p. 3, col. 4. 7 Ibid., November 11, 1879, p. 3, col. 2. 8 Ibid., September 17, 1880, p. 3, col. 1. 9 Ibid., October 6, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 10 Ibid., October 10, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 123 124 11 Ibid., November 7, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 12 Ibid., February 27, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 13 Ibid., April 19, 1883, p. 3, col. 2. 14 Ibid., may 15, 1883, p. 3, col. 2. 15 Ibid., August 24, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 16 Ibid., October 9, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 17 "German Theatre in Milwaukee," Theatre Arts, XXVIII, April, 1944, p. 471. 18 Chronicle, January 15, 1884, p. 3, col. 2. 19 Ibid., October 28, 1884, p. 3, col. 1. 20 Ibid., December 16, 1884, p. 3, col. 1. 21 Ibid., January 27, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 22 Ibid., February 16, 1685, p. 3, col. 1. 23 Ibid., march 17, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 24 Ibid., April 21, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 25 Ibid., may 12, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 26 Ibid., November 10, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 125 27 Ibid., November 24, 1885, p. 3, col. 1. 28 Ibid., January 19, 1886, p. 3, col. 1. 29 Ibid., March 16, 1886, p. 3, col. 1. 30 Ibid., March 15, 1886, p. 3, col. 1. 31 Ibid., March 22, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 32 Ibid., March 29, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 33 Ibid., October 18, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 34 Ibid., December 6, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 35 Albert H. Sanford and H. J. Hirshheimer, A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin 1841-1900 (La Crosse: La Crosse County Historical Society, 1951), pp. 206-208. CHAPTER VII OTHER PHASES OF LA CROSSE THEATRE Some facets of the theatre in La Crosse do not fit neatly into the previous discussion. Nonetheless, they were important in their own way. Some of these aspects, such as spectaculars and transvestism, are similar to what one would expect to find in a theatrical history of a small city. Other aspects, such as showboats and prominent producer-directors, however, are the opposite of what one might expect. Since La Crosse is on the river, one would expect that many showboats would have played here. Also, since the producer-director became the dominant force in the theatre during the latter part of the nineteenth century, one would expect the same thing might happen in La Crosse. Neither expectation would be fulfilled. Finally, there were aspects of the theatre in La Crosse that were unique: treatment of black entertainers, mayors acting in wild west shows, Indian drama in the area, and shows that bombed. 126 Spectaculars The last years of the eighties and the nineties showed an increase in the interest and in the number of spectaculars that came to La Crosse. One spectacular, called Sinbad, April 21, 1892, was reported to be "the most brilliant, lavish and complete presentation of its class ever attempted here." 1 The show had seven scenes: a Winter Ballet, Pageant of Nations, Realistic Shipwreck, Island of Palms, Frozen Palace, and an Idylic Transformation. Additionally, the costumes were brilliant, the music was pleasing, and one of the chief fun makers was Eddie Foy. 2 Later the same year, on June 28, Lincoln J. Carter produced The Fast Mail. Of one scene in this production, the Chronicle wrote: It was realism carried to its extremity. The heavy train climbing grade missed none of the motions or noises, even for the slipping wheels on a wet track. . . . Some will say what is the point of this since one can see the real thing on the street. Let the applause answer those. 3 The Fast mail returned September 7 with a different cast; the scenery was the same. Since the scenery and settings provided the principal attractions, they were applauded more than the actors. 4 Apparently The Fast Mail was efficiently and artistically presented, which was not true of some other spectaculars. The Bottom of the Sea spectacle, January 17, 1893, may have amounted to something, the Chronicle reported, if the machinery had worked properly. Apparently, 127 128 however, more than just the machinery needed improvement in the production: The octopus looking like a string of bloated link sausages was foolish enough, but the crowning triumph of sillyism was when one of the divers came in dragging the Atlantic cable over his shoulders. 5 Another bad production was A. Y. Pearson's The White Squadron. April 1, 1893. The show had one hundred fifty people, four carloads of scenery, and was advertised as being a $30,000 production. The Chronicle's criticism was brief, writing that except for the stage settings, the show was bad, the last act being nothing but "howling nonsense." 6 The spectacular that should have ended all spectaculars was the Last Days of Pompeii. July 20, 21, and 22, 1896. The show was so large, it used fifteen cars of scenery, that it had to be given outside on the corner of Twelfth and Green Bay Streets. The Chronicle had the following to say about the show: It may be that Pompeii never saw a dance with a quaze frill for a petticoat; or a frog man that could swallow himself up to the knees; or acts on the parallel bars or a clown. ... or wire walking, juggling or any of that sort of thing. If not so much the worse for poor old Pompa. 7 [Pompa is what the boys selling the programs called it] The Last Days of Pompeii was the last lavish spectacular of the nineteenth century. Although a few of the spectaculars in La Crosse were artistically presented, most were not. Nevertheless, the spectaculars offered La Crosse audiences variety and a taste of the visual aspect of the 129 theatre, for most of the traveling troupes that toured La Crosse brought little scenery with them. Transvestism Women playing men's roles was a particular phenomenon of the nineteenth century. Since 1900, women playing men's roles have been rare; however, Judith Anderson came to La Crosse in 1970 to play Hamlet. The general opinion of critics now toward women acting male roles does not differ significantly from those of the Chronicle a century earlier, for in a review of Anna Dickinson as Hamlet the Chronicle reported: The dramatic representation of male characters by females is almost a field of exploration and adventure. With here and there an exception, this is exclusively the dominion of the burlesquer who assumes some extravagant imitation of male attire and characteristics, not for the purpose of disguising her own sex, but of emphasizing it. Whatever women of character, therefore, enters with gravity this field, cannot fear and need not desire comparison with other women; neither can she hope to be judged entirely upon her own merits. She must stand or fall by comparison with men who have undertaken the same personation. It will be seen, therefore, that she enters upon her task against heavy odds. First of all, to put herself upon the plan of her compeers, she must successfully simulate the opposite sex. . . . That being done, she is prepared to enter upon a study of the particular male character to be reproduced upon the stage. Some say the first task includes the second; that it is as easy to personate one man as another. Male actors have not found it so. There have hardly been two successful Hamlets in the same generation from the time of Shakespeare to the present hour. . . . Just criticism of Anna Dickinson's personation of this character should take into account these various conditions; that is to say, she should be judged as a woman acting a man's part. . . . Unfortunately this is not possible. The sex is not to be forgotten. Miss Dickinson is a remarkable woman but it is not certain that she would have been an equally remarkable man. . . from the first speech to her 130 131 last, the speaker is a woman in voice, manner, gesture, and emphasis. What is more, she is a woman imitating a man and not getting beyond imitation. . . . 8 Women acting men's roles was not common in the La Crosse area. Anna Dickinson was the only actress that came to La Crosse during the nineteenth century who seriously attempted a male role. Several women acted men's roles in burlesque style, but in that case the intent was different. Showboats Since La Crosse sits on the bank of the Mississippi River, one would expect that the showboat would have played an important role in the development of theatre in La Crosse. This conclusion seems logical and probable, but it is wrong. There are only three recorded occasions when showboats played in La Crosse. Several other troupes traveled by boat but presented their shows in the Opera Hall or La Crosse Theatre. The first showboat to come to La Crosse, August 3 and 4, 1857, was Spalding and Roger's steamer Banjo. The entertainment they presented was Davis' Olio Minstrels. The Democrat did not comment on the quality of the presentation. 9 The second showboat, June, 1858, was again Spalding and Rogers, but there were no minstrels. Instead, it was an exhibition of trained monkeys, dogs, and goats, the bearded woman and giantess, the Italian bird warbler, the steam caliope, and ladies saxophone band. The National Democrat predicted that this would be the greatest show ever seen in these waters. 10 The next showboat on record (thirty-one years later) that came to La Crosse was Eugene Robinson's Three Mammoth Floating Palaces, July 11, 1889. One "palace" was a museum, one an exposition of wonders, and one a grand opera house. The showboat docked at the foot of Main Street and charged fifty cents admission for adults and twenty-five cents for 132 133 children. The Chronicle described the boat and the entertainment: The Robinson show outfit was quite an interesting thing to look at from the outside. It consisted of a good-sized stern wheeler of the raft boat pattern to tow the two showboats which were painted in quite an attractive way. The museum occupied one boat and contained many if not quite all the curiosities advertised, some dead and stuffed and some living. In the theatre boat, a show is given that is rather too long if anything and like everything of that sort has some good points and some not so good. The trained birds were about the best features and the most interesting thing about that was the inimitable Spanish accent of the exhibitor. . . . But there was such a variety of features that everybody could find something to suit--rifle shooting, slight of hand, . . . . The audience was fair in the afternoon and large in the evening. 11 There is no further evidence of showboats docking in La Crosse during the nineteenth century. Famous Producer-Directors The dominant force in the American theatre in 1860, 1870, and 1880 was the actor. By the early 1880's, the producer-director was challenging the actor's authority, and by 1900 the control had changed hands. During the nineteenth century, the producer-director was not so influential in La Crosse as he was in the rest of the country, but two nationally prominent directors, Augustin Daly and Steele MacKaye, sent notably successful road shows to La Crosse. MacKaye's Madison Square Theatre Company came to La Crosse five times. Their first appearance with Hazel Kirke, August 31, 1881, was advertised as the original New York cast. Because of the advance publicity, La Crosse audiences expected something new and fresh, but according to the Chronicle's review: "The performance throughout its four lengthy acts was as familiar as a hundred time told tale." 12 Most of the review criticized the script rather than the presentation; however, once the Chronicle finished with its evaluation of the script, it praised the actors, saying that they brought out whatever was best in the play. 13 The Madison Square Theatre Company came again with Hazel Kirke, April 17, 1882. A good audience attended, although the acting was generally not so good as that of the previous presentation. 14 The Madison Square Theatre Company came to La Crosse with Hazel Kirke again May 2, 1883. Since this was the third presentation of 134 135 Hazel Kirks in less than three years, the audience was small. The Chronicle briefly praised the production saying that it was a well-balanced cast and a carefully presented show. 15 The Madison Square Theatre Company returned to La Crosse later the same year, December 15, with a different play, Esmeralda. The Chronicle's review was again brief: "Esmeralda is a dramatic love poem, well represented, beautifully dressed, and put on the stage as prettily as we have ever seen anything in La Crosse." 16 The Chronicle was more brief in its evaluation of the Madison Square Theatre Company's last appearance in La Crosse, May 14, 1884, in Young Mrs. Winthrop: "No company under the above management has ever visited this city that did not give a meritorious performance." l7 Augustin Daly's production of An Arabian Night with Roland Reed and Alice Hastings, January 8, 1881, received a laudatory review: Everyone of the ten people in the company played well. Mr. Reed was an unusually natural performer in a difficult role. Miss Alice Hastings as Rosa maybloom, the circus girl, played her part to perfection and Mr. Beers as Lafayette Noodle, the brainless fop, was inimitable in his line of foolery. . . the fest of the company was as good as their roles demanded. 18 Hastings and Reed returned in An Arabian Night a few months later, March 17, 1881. Since the same company and the same play had been reviewed only two-and-a-half months previously, the Chronicle failed to comment on the presentation. Daly's company did not come to La Crosse again until October 18, 1888, with A Night Off. Unfortunately, the Chronicle missed reporting this performance. 136 Managers of cheap shows such as Nowell, Clark, Wilber, Wilson, Turner, Robertson, and Villars-Owen influenced the theatre in La Crosse more than such directors as MacKaye and Daly. The reason is simple. MacKaye's group came to La Crosse five times and Daly's group two times. The cheap shows played more frequently in one week than did MacKaye and Daly's productions between 1858 and 1900. Black Entertainers The Hyers sisters rate special consideration because they were black. Except for occasional black minstrels, few black entertainers came to La Crosse. The Hyers sisters presented Out of Bondage, a semi-musical drama, in three acts. The first act showed life under slavery, the second act the coming of Union troops, and the third act life in the North after the war. The Democrat said little about the entertainment except that it was excellent and gave universal satisfaction. 19 Unfortunately, the treatment that the Hyers sisters received at the International Hotel was less than satisfactory. The servants at the hotel refused to wait upon them. They had to make their own beds. And they did not get the usual reduced rates accorded to most traveling companies. 20 La Crosse citizens should not be judged too harshly for the above incident, for it reflected the prejudices of a few--not necessarily the opinion of the entire town. The Hyers sisters returned about four months later with the same production, and played to a crowded house of about seven hundred people. The Democrat explained: "It was a rebuke to those who had endeavored to shamefully abuse the Hyers sisters." 21 The Hyers sisters returned in November in Urilina (a type of burlesque called opera bouffe). The audience in the Opera Hall was one of the largest ever--a tribute to the Hyers sisters' popularity. 137 138 The Democrat said that their production ranked high among similar productions, and the richness of costume and scenic effects made the time-worn old relics of the Opera House stage look like "cull lumber" in comparison. 22 The Democrat explained that the play amounted to nothing--opera bouffe never did. Moreover, the Democrat continued, to enjoy opera bouffe requires a taste and a familiarity for the class of entertainment that is being burlesqued. Finally, the paper concluded that those who are slow to see the point of a joke or expect music with perfect harmony would not appreciate opera bouffe. 23 Wild West Shows William Cody came to La Crosse twice. Of his first appearance, September, 1880, the Chronicle wrote that the entertainment was a trifle gory, and there was the smell of burned powder scattered throughout the production. This type of entertainment, however, was exactly what the audience wanted. The Chronicle continued: The accessories of pretty scenery, fine costumes, and a trio of Indians whose genuineness is beyond question, completes an entertainment which the public will make no mistake in patronizing liberally. 24 The second time Cody came to La Crosse, September, 1881, he acted in the play, Prairie Waif, written especially as a vehicle for him. The audience was large and attracted "all sorts." The Chronicle said that the show might be similarly described; there was plenty of variety. The performance was anything but slow, for all action proceeded with a rush; knives flashed and guns fired at any moment. Interestingly, this forerunner of the "shoot-em-up" western filled a need that had been heretofore unexplored. Special features in the program included Cody's trick shooting, Indians' dancing, and the smart donkey, Jerry. Consistent with his last appearance, the costumes and stage accessories were bright, clean, and appropriate. The Chronicle's conclusion: "A guaranteed money maker." 25 Appearing with Cody in this production was David Frank Powell, who preferred to be called by his Indian name 139 140 "White Beaver." He was a medical doctor who sold a patent medicine, and he was also Medicine Chief of the Winnebagoes. After running a skillfully managed program of self-advertisement, he became the mayor of La Crosse for 1885 and 1886. He was later elected for a second two-year term in 1893 and for a third in 1895. 26 Indian Drama What kind of theatre, if any, existed in the La Crosse area prior to settlement by the white man? Probably, the Indians had some form of primitive theatre. At any rate, a group of Indians performed their native dances in 1868. These performances may illustrate the theatre of the region before its settlement by white men. In addition, the reactions of the La Crosse citizens, and particularly, the reactions of the editor of the Democrat may be revealing. In July of 1868, several hundred Indians returned from a reservation near Omaha where they had been sent seventeen years before. Their return called for a celebration, and local Winnebagoes joined the returning group on an island south of the city, swelling their number to several thousand. They performed the Green Corn Dance, the War Dance, the Scalp Dance, the New Moon Dance, and the Wild Goose Dance. Many La Crosse residents were spectators at the festivities. The performance was free, but there was one catch. The Indians, pre-empting a trick made famous by P. T. Barnum, charged ten cents for rowing passengers across to the island. The approximately two thousand La Crosse citizens who attended the Indian dances prompted the Editor of the Democrat, M. M. Pomeroy, to write: 141 142 Last night about two thousand of our citizens, both male and female, went down. . . to see the Indian dance . . . We noticed a great many church members there, who are so conscientious they never attend a theatre here, but who seemed perfectly delighted to look at these almost naked savages. . . . We confess never having seen a sight as immoral as these Indian dances. Many of the Indians are minus "breech clouts" this hot weather, while in turn the squaws are almost shirtless. Why, if a white man or a nigger attempted to go about in that way they would be at once arrested for "indecent exposure of person," and lodged in jail. Yet this is permitted and winked at by church members and our people in general. Lots of persons who would not think of attending a circus, even were they greatly pleased, and many young ladies so modest that they would faint at the sight of a "gentleman cow" were the last to leave this worse than vulgar sight. The idea of a lot of "buck and she" Indians, nearly naked, furnishing amusement for the respectability of this city is truly surprising. . . don't let us hear you berate any one [sic] for attending a circus or theatre. 27 Pomeroy criticized the monotony of their dances: "Its the same monotonous hopping and yelling, Big Injun, bigger humbug." 28 The editor found more "humbug" in the crowning of the medicine woman: The beautiful daughter of the chief will be crowned "The Great Medicine Woman." The ceremony will be noted for its great superstition. She is first "mock killed," and then by two Indians taking the character of an otter and a bird, and upon the otter's whining and the bird's chirrup, she is restored to life, and the spirits guide her in administering medicines all her life. A sham battle will also be fought and the finale will be a great Medicine Dance. Heap fun. Ugh! 29 Although the above ceremony was probably not an artistic form of theatre, it is certainly theatrical and it illustrates the type of indigenous performance that may have existed in the La Crosse area for decades, perhaps centuries before being settled by the white man. The 143 Indian theatre may even illustrate a ritualistic and imitative theatre similar to what our ancestors practiced thousands of years ago. Perhaps Pomeroy was actually seeing a glimpse of history rather than mere "humbug." Shows That Bombed Often one can learn as much about people by looking at what they do not like as by looking at what they do like. This is true of religion, politics, sports, movies, and theatre in La Crosse during the last century. Most of the plays presented in La Crosse received favorable reviews; others received reviews that were moderately favorable; some were panned. None were panned, though, for the first twenty years of the period under study. The first theatrical presentation in La Crosse was in 1858 by Mr. and Mrs. Langrishe and Company. The next was McKean Buchanan and Company, 1866. After 1866, producing groups came with regularity, and by the mid-seventies La Crosse was averaging almost four productions a month. Yet, the first unfavorable review was not printed until 1877. Understandably, there were no unfavorable reviews when Pomeroy was editor of the Democrat and owner of the Opera House. But it is unusual that there were no adverse criticisms between 1871, the year Pomeroy sold the paper and the Opera House, and 1877. Generally, La Crosse audiences of the last century disliked the same things audiences dislike now--boring presentations, acting that shows little control and is unbelievable, plays with overly familiar or poorly unified plots, and shabby sets. A boring production was William Grover's Humpty Dumpty. Jay Rial and Company with Grover in a supporting role had played Humpty Dumpty 144 145 in 1880. A year later, Grover had his own company and was billing himself as the survivor of the fittest. The Chronicle said that the company was "tiresome." The necessary elements-which keep an entertainment from being stale and flat were absent. No details were given. 30 Several actors were guilty of acting without the proper restraint and control. The Chronicle illustrated that point and at the same time gave some good advice concerning acting in a production of Othello featuring the ex-lawyer, J. L. Burleigh, as Othello and the ex-reverend, George Miln, as Iago. Burleigh was adequate in his role as Othello even though his movements were often amateurish and he needlessly expended energy. In spite of these shortcomings, his performance sometimes had great power. 31 Miln, however, was less effective. He made the character Iago sufficiently wicked, but it lacked the dignity which even wickedness requires of a tragedy like Othello. The Chronicle advised that, as any experienced actors knows: The personation of villainy is a more exacting matter than rolling forth pious melodramatic sentiment, no matter from what rostrum. 32 The group that apparently won first prize for overacting was the Lewis Morrison Company in a presentation of Faust. Even though the company had fine scenery, handsome costumes, and adequate special effects, the Chronicle said of the acting: "There never was a more thorough-going outfit of ranters on the stage." Only one actress was satisfactory in some scenes. But when it came time for her to show agony, she ranted as much as the rest. 33 146 Some actors were criticized for introducing improperly motivated business. One of these was Ada Gray in a production of East Lynne. The Chronicle said that Miss Gray held her own as well as most stars of twenty years ago; however, the funny business that she and other actors introduced could well have been omitted. 34 Gray and Company returned the following year still playing East Lynne. They had not improved, for the Chronicle said that the weather was bad, and so was the production. There was no orchestra between acts; the acting was "wooden"; in general, the performance was infinitely below that given by the same company a year ago. 35 The worst panning that La Crosse papers gave to an individual performer was given to Frank Mayo on his first performance in the city. Mayo acted in Van the Virginian, a role similar to Davy Crockett which he usually played. The Chronicle did not like Mayo's performance: Frank Mayo has never played anything but some such as Davy Crockett or Van the Virginian, both of which are merely dramatic absurdities. They serve to assist Mr. Mayo in his purpose of traveling 'on his shape.' The plots are nil; the acting is necessarily extravagant and unnatural. 36 The Chronicle continued by saying that Mayo represented a class of actors who depended too much on his trappings. He would have been far better off to have depended more on himself and less on his dressmaker. Mayo was a handsome man, one who affected young women and made them "wildly ecstatic"; however, he was one of those men who knew it. 37 The Chronicle commented on Mayo and upon acting in general: 147 The little artifices to show to best advantage points of physical excellence are as provoking to one who loves a genuine, unaffected representation of nature, as the finicky follies of Mr. Siddons, and are calculated to please only such people as would prefer her undaunted manner of putting a necessary pin in her gown after she has gone on stage, to the sterling merit of a Cushman or the commanding talent of a Davenport. 38 The Chronicle concluded the review by again referring to Mayo and suggesting that he choose a new field for his "undoubted brain and abilities." 39 In addition to not liking acting that was out of control, La Crosse critics did not like plays that had plots with little unity; for of Jay W. Carner and Company in Uncle Reuben Lowder, the Chronicle said: The play is mere stuff--a lot of incidents, some of them good, flung together at long range, incongruous, disconnected, absurd It is without the smallest pretention to literary merit. 40 Critics did not like plays that were old fashioned either, for when Lewis James brought a production of Bird's Spartacus to La Crosse, the Chronicle censured it for being fully fifty years behind the times. The Chronicle said that it was no wonder that an audience accustomed to realism had difficulty in accepting a scene in which one sword thrust represented a whole battle. 41 Sometimes now, people go to the theatre to see spectacle and scantly clad actors. The same was true of La Crosse audiences during the nineteenth century. They usually liked spectacles and variety entertainment such as the Black Crook, but those who went to the September, 1887, performance of that entertainment expecting fine settings, fast changes 148 of scenery, and excellent ballet were disappointed. The Chronicle elaborated: Even the bald heads who went to see a leg show were not charmed with the exhibition of beefy extremities and bedaubed dames who posed before the footlights. 42 Two productions that came to La Crosse apparently were boring, had bad acting, inadequate scenery, and poor scripts. One was Pearson's spectacular production of Midnight Alarm. The Chronicle reported that the play was not worth talking about; the scenery was in no respect remarkable; there were only three competent people in the cast; and the rest of the actors were dull and amateurish. 43 Charles H. Gardner received an equally bad review. Gardner was known for his portrayal of German accent characters. He acted in Faderland four times and Carl once. Tired of the same character over and over again, the Chronicle wrote of Gardner in Karl the Peddler: Whether Mr. Charles A. Gardner comes as Karl the mountain guide, Karl the immigrant, or Karl the peddler, it is pretty much the same old story, and not a first rate story either. His plays are all of the same piece and really it is hardly worthwhile to change them in case any expense is involved. Mr. Gardner is not much of an actor and takes care not to have anyone among his company that outshines him. 44 FOOTNOTES 1 La Crosse Chronicle, April 22, 1892, p. 1, col. 3. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid., June 28, 1892, p. 1, col. 2. 4 Ibid., September 8, 1892, p. 3, col. 2. 5 Ibid., January 18, 1893, p. 3, col. 2. 6 Ibid., April 2, 1893, p. 5, col. 3. 7 Ibid., July 21, 1896, p. 1, col. 2. 8 Ibid., February 10, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 9 National Democrat, August 4, 1857. 10 Ibid., June 8, 1858, p. 3. 11 La Crosse Chronicle. July 12, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 12 Ibid., September 1, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 13 Ibid. 149 150 14 Ibid., April 18, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 15 Ibid., May 3, 1883, p. 3, col. 1. 16 Ibid., December 11, 1883, p. 3, col. 2. 17 Ibid., may 14, 1884, p. 3, col. 1. 18 Ibid., January 9, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 19 Liberal Democrat, October 14, 1877, p. 3, col. 2. 20 Ibid., October 19, 1877, p. 3, col. 3. 21 Ibid., January 30, 1878, p. 3, col. 3. 22 Ibid., November 2, 1878, p. 3, col. 1. 23 Ibid. 24 La Crosse Chronicle, September 9, 1880, p. 3, col. 1. 25 Ibid., September 23, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 26 Albert H. Sanford and H. J. Hirshheimer, A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin 1841-1900 (La Crosse: La Crosse Historical Society, 1951), pp. 214-215. 27 La Crosse Democrat, July 17, 1868, p. 4, col. 1. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid., July 20, 1868, p. 4, col. 1. 151 30 La Crosse Chronicle, October 28, 1881, p. 3, col. 1. 31 Ibid., November 15, 1882, p. 1, col. 4. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid., January 30, 1895, p. 3, col. 2. 34 Ibid., January 20, 1882, p. 3, col. 1. 35 Ibid., February 4, 1883, p. 3, col. I. 36 Ibid., January 4, 1881, p. 3, col. 2. 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid., April 19, 1884, p. 3, col. 1. 41 Ibid., September 2, 1897, p. 3, co. 4. 42 Ibid., September 13, 1887, p. 3, col. 1. 43 Ibid., August 4, 1892, p. 3, col. 2. 44 Ibid., October 11, 1897, p. 3, col. 3. CHAPTER VIII CONCLUSION A person living in La Crosse during the nineteenth century, and who enjoyed attending theatrical presentations, would have indeed been fortunate. Since La Crosse was on a railroad line between Chicago and the Twin Cities, it was a convenient stop for prominent stars and touring companies. Prominent stars and companies played La Crosse, not only because it was convenient, but also because La Crosse was a theatre-going town. It was fashionable to go to the theatre. 1 Those who were important citizens of the town, or those who wanted to be, purchased seats close to the stage and wore their finest after-five attire. La Crosse theatre-goers attended in large numbers, too, often filling the theatre. In fact, upon occasions, the theatre would be filled, two hundred would be standing, and two to four hundred more would have been turned away. La Crosse theatre-goers of about one hundred years ago, saw, without having to leave the city, many of the prominent actors of the nation and of the world. They saw America's favorite actor, Joseph Jefferson, acting in Rip Van Winkle. They saw Fanny Janauschek, who traveled in her own private railroad car. They also appreciated her, even toward the turn of the century when some other parts of the nation were tiring of her. La Crosse liked emotional presentations later in the century than did people in the larger metropolitan areas. A very favorite serious actor to La Crosse was Thomas Keene, who was indeed more popular in La Crosse than he was in the nation at large. La Crosse thrilled to his emotionally 152 153 charged presentations; Keene had a style that was unique and he often applied it to such great roles as Hamlet or Richard III. La Crosse audiences liked comic presentations, too, particularly toward the end of the century when comedy became more popular than melodrama. They laughed at the world famous Dion Boucicault acting Con in his own play, The Shaughraun, amazed at the apparent youth of the sixty-two year old veteran. Other favorite comic actors of theirs were Stuart Robson, Sol Smith Russell, John Dillon, and George Adams. Adams, especially, caused audience members to sit on the edge of their seats so as to not miss any of the fun, for no sooner would he do something that was a peak of humor than he would immediately do something else that was even more incongruous. During the nineteenth century, La Crosse was fortunate to have a well equipped, comfortable, and safe theatre building. There was little fear of fire in the La Crosse Theatre, because it could be emptied in a matter of seconds and because it had large holding tanks of water on the roof connected to hoses in various parts of the theatre. Besides that, it was lighted with electricity, which was not only safer than gas, but also better illuminated the stage. The electrically lighted stage was a matter of pride for the local citizens, for many other smaller cities did not have electrically lighted theatres until much later. The neighboring city of Madison, for instance, did not have electricity in its theatre until the twentieth century. 2 The plays seen in La Crosse during the period under study were generally the same plays that the rest of the nation were seeing. Uncle Tom's Cabin was presented in La Crosse more often than any other play, and it was also presented in other parts of the nation more frequently than any other play. Other popular plays were Divorce, Two Orphans, 154 Lady of Lyons, Black Diamonds, Hazel Kirke. and East Lynne. Emotional melodramas topped the lists of favorites, but toward the end of the century, La Crosse audiences tired of the melodrama and became more interested in comedy. In this respect, they may have been somewhat slower than other areas of the nation, but not much. Nevertheless, even as late as 1899, they enjoyed an emotional presentation of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Since La Crosse was a German community, it, like many other German communities, had amateur theatricals presented in the German language. In one respect it was different from many German communities though, for the amateurs had professional directors. The German theatre, therefore, functioned much as many community theatres do now, a century later. They gave the community an opportunity to see amateurs perform and to hear plays in the German language rather than English. Of course, it also gave a few the chance to act in the presentations; even more important, it helped retain the language and culture of the La Crosse residents of German ancestry. Sometimes, toward the end of the month, some who wanted to attend the theatre but who were short of funds and could not afford the regular prices that companies offering prominent stars received, could go to a cheap show. If one is to believe the reviewers, these traveling repertory companies were often as good as more famous companies, especially those who featured a star but had rather inferior actors in supporting roles. The cheap shoes tended to display better ensemble than many of the more prominent stars and their companies. And, they were cheap--only ten to thirty cents at most. The show would often stay a second week and play for only ten cents for any seat in the house. 155 Looking back on the theatre in La Crosse during the nineteenth century from a vantage point of 1972, one is led to an unmistakable and sad conclusion: The La Crosse citizen of the nineteenth century, like his counterpart nearly everywhere in America, could see more live theatre in five years than a current resident can see in a lifetime. FOOTNOTES 1 Statement by Mrs. Gysbert Van Steenwyk, personal interview, March 10, 1972. Mrs. Van Steenwyk is ninety-two years old. She is sharp, alert, and has personal knowledge of part of the nineteenth century, something that few persons have. 2 Henry C. Youngerman, "Theatrical Activities: Madison, Wisconsin, 1836-1907" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1940), p. 33. BIBLIOGRAPHY The bulk of the reference material for this study came from the La Crosse newspapers. 1. Newspapers La Crosse Chronicle, January 25, 1879-December 31, 1899. La Crosse Daily Democrat, November 5, 1867-May 24, 1870. La Crosse Morning Liberal Democrat, October 6, 1873-November 2, 1878. La Crosse Republican and Leader, May 28, 1872-December 31, 1899. 2. Books Brown, T. Allston. A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. 3 vols. New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1903. Brockett, Oscar G. History of the American Theatre. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1968. Bryant, Benjamin F. memoirs of La Crosse County. Madison: Western Historical Association, 1907. Clark, Mary A. La Crosse County Historical Sketches, Series 6. La Crosse County Historical Society, 1937. Cusberg, Selma S. The Lumbering Industry of La Crosse, Wisconsin 1841-1905. Madison: State Historical Society, 1953. Goodwin, Nat C. Nat Goodwin's Book. Boston: The Borham Press, 1914. 156 157 Hewitt, Bernard. Theatre U. S. A. 1665-1957. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, 1959. Hirshheimer, H. J. La Crosse Historical Sketches, Series 3. La Crosse: La Crosse County Historical Society, 1937. Hornblow, Arthur. A History of the Theatre in America, II. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Company, 1919. Hughes, Glenn A. A History of the American Theatre 1700-1950. New York: Samuel French, 1951. Jefferson, Eugene Paul. Intimate Recollections of Joseph Jefferson. New York: Dodd, mead and Company, 1909. Jefferson, Joseph. The Autobioqraphy of Joseph Jefferson. London: Reinhardt and Evans, Ltd., 1949. Odell, George C. C. Annals of the New York Stage. 15 vols. New York: University Press, 1927-1949. Paul, Howard and George Gebbie. The Stage and Its Stars. 2 vols. New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1903. Sanford, Albert H. and H. J. Hirshheimer. A History of La Crosse. Wisconsin 1841-1900. La Crosse: La Crosse County Historical Society, 1960. Wards, Frederick. The Fools of Shakespeare. Los Angeles: Time-Mirror Press, 1923. Wilson, Garff 8. A History of American Acting. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966. 3. Unpublished Studies Brady, Donald Vincent. "History of El Paso Theatre 1881-1908." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Tulane University, 1965. 158 Edwards, John Cornwall. "A History of Nineteenth Century Theatre Architecture in the United States." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Northwestern University, 1963. Jones, Kenneth Lee. "The Theatrical History of Greely, Colorado 1870-1908." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Denver, 1967. West, Francis William, Jr. "The Legitimate Theatre in Rural Missouri from the Beginning of the Civil War Through 1872." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Missouri, 1964. Woodbury, Lael Jay. "Styles of Acting in Serious Drama of the Nineteenth Century American Stage." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Illinois, 1954. Youngerman, Henry C. "Theatrical Activities: Madison, Wisconsin 1836-1907." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1940. 4. Articles "Among the Comedians," Atlantic Monthly, XVIV, January, 1867, pp. 751-753. "German Theatre in Milwaukee," Theatre Arts, XXVII, April, 1944, pp. 466-471. 5. Interviews Van Steenwyk, Mrs. Gysbert. Personal interview. March 10, 1972. APPENDIX The following is a chronological listing of theatrical activities in the La Crosse area as reported by the La Crosse newspapers. 1857 July 14 and 15 Major Brown's Monster Coliseum and Great American Circus. August 3 and 4 Spalding and Rogers and the Ned Davis Olio Minstrels. 1858 June 13 Spalding and Rogers exhibition of bearded woman, Italian bird warbler, steam caliope, and saxophone band of women. June 15 Messrs. Langrishe and Company closed a series of performances. The names of the performances were not given. On their way down river, they have promised to perform Uncle Tom's Cabin. 1863 July 15 Castello and Van Leck's Mammoth Show, featuring Monitor, the trained horse, and Don Juan, the educated bull. 1864 May 21 Above Co., featuring the Prussian horse, Czar, and the double trapeze. August 6 Old Carey's Great World Circus. October 10 Yankee Robinson's Big Show, featuring trained animals and the Danish Giant. 159 160 1865 May 17 George W. Dehaven and Company's United Circus. 1866 July 9 Dan Castello and the Great Show. July 19 Mike Lipman's Circus. July 30 McKean Buchanan and his daughter, Virginia Buchanan, in Boucicault's London Assurance. It was performed at Singers' Hall. July 31 The Buchanan Star Company in Katzebue's The Stranger. August 1 Above Co. in Hamlet. August 2 Above Co. in Marble Heart, or The Disappointed Love. August 3 Above Co. in Merchant of Venice. August 4 Above Co. in The Octoroon (matinee) and Richard III. August 13-24 Plunkett's Star Dramatic Troupe with Susan Denin, Mr. Plunkett, and Carroll Hecks. Their repertory was: 1. Lucretia Brogia, the Prisoner, and the afterpiece, Sketches in India. 2. The Woman in Red, and the afterpiece, In and Out of Place. 3. Camille, or The Fate of a Coquetta and Youth Who Never Saw a Woman. 4. East Lynne, played for Susan Denin's benefit, and Objects of Interest. 5. Honey moon, or How to Rule a Wife, and Toodles. 6. Lost in London and Contentment vs. Riches. 7. The Dead Heart, afterpiece was not clear enough to read. 8. Macbeth. 9. Lady of Lyons, or Love and Pride. 10. Romeo and Juliet, benefit for Susan Denin, and The Spectre Bridegroom. 11. Uncle Tom's Cabin. September 27 Ellenger and Toots Grand Combination, featuring the three smallest humans. 161 October 20 Above Co. 1867 January 14 The McFairland Consolidation in Camille, or The Fate of a Coquette, and the farce, The Linerick Boy. May 6 Minstrel and Burlesque Opera Troupe. May 18 Great Consolidation Circus. May 30 George W. Dehaven's Imperial Circus. June 5 Great Consolidation Circus. August 2 Emile Melville and C. F. DeVere in an opera. The name of the opera was not given. August 9 Haight and Chambers Grand Colossal Circus. September 8 Prof. A. Metz magic performance. October 29 Miss Tyson and Company in maid of Craussey, and the afterpiece, Four Sisters. October 30 Above Co. in The Stranger. November 11 Plunkett's troupe in the Lady of Lyons. 1868 March 10, 11, and 12 The Black Crook. Name of acting troupe not given. March 19 The Black Crook. Same troupe as above. April 30 Dupry and Benedict's Minstrels. June 3 Dehaven's Imperial Circus. June 17 and 18 New Orleans Minstrels. July 3 John Robinson's Circus. July 16 Two thousand persons attended the Indian dance on Goose Island. August 29 Harty's magic act. September 1 Cotton and Sharpley's Minstrels. 162 September 22 The opera, Martha, was presented in German. The name of the group was not mentioned. October 26 Plunkett's Star Troupe in Franchion the Cricket. October 27 Above Co. in The Chimney Corner and the afterpiece, Dead Shot. November 1 Estelle Potter and Co. in Lucretia Borqia. November 2 Above Co. in Hunchback. November 3 Above Co. in Ingomar. November 5 Above Co. in Ten Nights in a Barroom. November 6 Above Co. in Fajio. November 7 Above Co. in Black Eyed Susan. November 8 Above Co. in The Stranger. November 10 Above Co. in Streets of New York. November 13 Above Co. in Leah the Forsaken. November 14 Above Co., name of play not given. 1869 January 4 Marble's Theatrical Troupe in Under the Gas Light. January 5 Above Co. in Lost Will and Jumble Jum. March 11 Sharpley's Minstrels. July 22 The Miller Atheneum in Don Caesar de Bazan. July 23 Above Co. in East Lynne. July 24 Above Co. in The Hidden Hand. July 26 Above Co. in Hamlet. July 27 Above Co. in The Hidden Hand. July 28 Uncle Tom's Cabin. Name of troupe not given. 163 August 31 Oates Burlesque Opera Troupe in Poor Tim O'Brien and Pocahontas. September 1 Above Co. in Rip Van Winkle. September 2 Above Co. in Daughter of the Regiment. September 3 Above Co. Name of play not given. September 4 Above Co. in The Field of the Cloth of Cold and Humpty Dumpty. November 22 Female Minstrels and Occidental Burlesque Opera Company, title not given. 1870 April 18 The Kingsley Theatrical Troupe, starring Miss Jean Hosmer, opened for a week with Lucretia Borgia. April 19 Above Co. in Queen Elizabeth. April 20 Above Co. in The Wife's Secret. April 21 Above Co. in Ingomar. April 22 Above Co. in Jealous Wife. May 20 McKean Buchanan and Company in Richelieu. May 21 Above Co. in Richard III. May 23 Above Co. in Hamlet. May 24 Above Co. in Merchant of Venice, and a matinee, Uncle Tom's Cabin. June 15 Laura Keene and Company in Hunted Down. June 16 Above Co. in Our American Cousin. June 17 Bradey's Theatrical Troupe with Josie Booth and William Marble in The French Spy. June 18 Above Co. in Flowers of the Forest. June 20 Above Co. in Kathleen Mavourneen, or St. Patrick's Eve. June 21 Above Co. in Under Gaslight. 164 June 22 Above Co. in East Lynne. June 23 Above Co. in Coleene Bawn. July 19 McKean Buchanan in London Assurance. July 27 and 28 Laura Keene in She Stoops to Conquer. November 10 Josee Booth and Company with William Marble, son of Dan Marble, in The Marble Heart. November 12 Above Co. in Frou Frou. November 13 Above Co. in Nick of the Wood and Handy Andy. December 16 and 17 Elwood's Female Ministrels. 1871 April 27 Simmonds and Buck's Theatrical Troupe (former members of Josee Booth's Company) in La Tour de Neale. April 24-27 Lisa Weber's Burlesque Troupe of British Blonds in short farces and variety entertainment. May 29 and 30 Above Co. in Laughing Hyena and Black Eyed Susan. June 26 Forrester Troupe in Don Caesar de Bazan. June 27 Above Co. in Coleene Bawn. June 28 Above Co. in Rosedale. June 29 Above Co. in Under Gas Light. June 30 Above Co. in Satin in Paris. July 4 Above Co. in the Lady of Lyons and a farce, Trouble in La Crosse. July 5 Above Co. in All Is Not Gold That Glitters. August 11 Carl Wagner's Minstrels. September 5 A magic act. October 9 Mortino, the magician. 165 1872 April 22 Carl Wagner's Minstrels. May 1 Miss Virginia Richmond in Mazeppa. May 9 Carl Wagner's Minstrels. May 15 Callender's Famous Georgia Minstrels. May 27 Joseph Jefferson in Rip Van Winkle. June 20 Sydney Cowell combination in Checkmate. September 3 Hooley's Minstrels. October 24 Bidwell and Macdonough's Black Crook. November 5 Harry Robinson's Minstrels. 1873 July 26 Carl Wagner's Minstrels. September 5 Newcome's New Orleans Minstrels. October 5 Fifth Avenue Troupe in Divorce. October 17 Above Co. in Article 47. October 22 The Lingard Cast in New Madlen. December 4 Jane Coombs and Company in London Assurance. December 5 Above Co. in Romeo and Juliet. December 15 Haverly's Minstrels. 1874 April 19 Lawrence Barett Combination in Richelieu. 1875 May 3 McVicker Troupe in Guy Mannering. 166 July 16 and 17 Redpaty Opera Company in Martha. Name of second opera not given. August 3 Plunkett's Troupe in Two Orphans. August 10 Frank E. Aiken and Company in Van the Virginian. November 7 Clark Clifford and Company in Griffin Gaunt (a dramatization of a contemporary novel). November 8 Above Co. in East Lynne. November 13 Wallace Sisters Company in Rinnie's Luck. December 26 Lottie Theatrical Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. 1876 January 28 Richengs-Bernard Company in Rose of Tyrol. March 22 Frank Aiken and Company in Ticket-of-Leave man. April 16 Maggie Mitchell and Company in Franchion the Cricket. 1877 May 12 Kate Claxton and Company in Two Orphans. May 25 The Wellack Theatre Combination in Lemons. July 10 Robert McWade and Company in Rip Van Winkle. October 8 Sardanapalus, company name not given. October 12 Hyers Sisters in Out of Bondage. November 21 Stevens Shaughraun Company in Boucicault's Shaughraun. December 16 Leonard Grover Comedy Combination in Our Boarding House. 1878 January 1 and 2 Hess Opera Company in Chimes of Normandy. 167 January 5 Our Cousin German Fritz, name of company not given. January 18 Charlotte Thompson and the Wallace Combination in Jane Eyre. January 19 Above Co. in Miss Mullon. January 29 Hyers Sisters in Out of Bondage. February 5 Lottee and Uncle Tom Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. March 13 McVicker Company with John Dillon in All the Rage. April 14 The Pearl of Savoy at Germania Hall. May 25 Marian at Germania Hall, under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Bender. September 11 Tony Denier Pantomime Troupe with Grimaldi in Humpty Dumpty. September 22 Amateur performance of two plays at Germania Hall. October 6 Der Goldbauer at Germania Hall under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Franzmueller. October 20 Deines Nachsten Hausfrae (Thy Neighbor's Housewife) at Germania Hall under the direction of the Franzmuellers. November 1 Hyers Sisters in Urilina, a burlesque called opera bouffe. November 10 The Poor and Rich of New York at Germania Hall. November 17 Ein Schlechter Mensch (A Bad Man) at Germania Hall. December 1 Die Valeantine at Germania Hall. December 14 The Clifford Dramatic Company in Lucretia Borgia. December 16 Above Co. in Ingomar, the Barbarian. December 17 Above Co. in The Sea of Ice. 1879 January 5 Farma Opera Company in Il Trouvatore. 168 February 6 Charles Forbes Dramatic Company with Yankee Robinson in a version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. February 7 Above Co. in Asa Whitcomb. February 8 Above Co. in Black Diamonds. February 16 At Germania Hall, Mathilde of a German Woman's Heart. March 2 At Germania Hall, The Mansions of Berlin. March 14 H. M. S. Pinafore, name of company not given. April 21 Kate Claxton's Company in The Double Marriage. October 5 A Woman Who Had Done Paris at Germania Hall under the direction of the Franzmuellers. October 17 Janauschek Company in Mary Stuart at Germania Hall. October 18 Above Co. in Macbeth. November 9 A Glass of Water, all amateur performance at Germania Hall. November 23 Three Lengthy Johns at Germania Hall under the direction of the Franzmuellers. December 30 Naiad Queen at opening of New Opera House, company name not given. 1880 February 2 The Graves Combination in Queen's Evidence. February 3 Above Co. in Soldier's Trust. February 15 John Dillon and Company in Our Next President. February 18 Maggie Mitchell and Company in The Pearl of Savoy. February 28 He Must Go Into the Country at Germania Hall under direction of the Franzmuellers. March 12 Forbes Dramatic Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. March 13 Above Co. in Black Diamonds. April 6 Haverly Church Choir Pinafore Company in H. M. S. Pinafore. 169 April 25 Sodom and Gcmorrah at Germania Hall. Benefit for Carl Kartemacker. May 5 Nellie Harris and Company of female minstrels. May 13 Haverly's Juveniles in H. M. S. Pinafore. May 21 Tony Denier's Humoty Dumpty Troupe, starring George H. Adams. June 4 Goreck's Love starring Lawrence Barrett. June 15 Murrey's Company in Around the World in Eighty Days. June 27 Doyle Carte's Pirates of Penzance Company. July 4 P. T. Barnum show. September 5 Miss Franzmueller's final appearance at Germania Hall, play title not given. September 8 Buffalo Bill Company. September 21 The Nat Goodwin Froligue in Hobbies. October 4 Mr. and Mrs. Nietmann, new directors of Germania Hall; name of play not given. October 5 Leadville Minstrels. October 30 Denman Thompson in Joshua Whitcomb. November 8 Nip and Tuck with George A. Fair. November 16 Hop Scotch, a musical oddity. November 17 John T. Raymond in Colonel Sellers, a dramatization of The Golden Age. November 18 Jay Rial's Humpty Dumpty. November 23 Litt Coneut Company, name of play not given. November 24 Uncle Tom's Cabin, company name not given. December 6 Shannon Edison Company in Golden Game. 1881 January 3 Frank Mayo as Van The Virginian. 170 January 8 Augustin Daly's Company in An Arabian Niqht with Roland Reed and Alice Hastings. February 19 Boston Ideal Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. February 28 Miss Annie Pixley in M'Less Child of the Seerras. March 17 Augustin Daly's Company in An Arabian Night. March 29 Charlotte Thompson in The Planter's Wife. April 7 Above Co. in Jane Eyre. April 9 Mr. Bishop in Widow Bedott. April 16 Haverly's Colored Minstrels. April 19 Strokosch Hess Grand Opera in Faust. April 30 The Galley Slave, company name not given. May 4 Joseph Jefferson in Rip Van Winkle. May 6 Forbes Dramatic Company in Our Boarding House. May 7 Above Co. in Uncle Tom's Cabin (matinee) and Black Diamonds. May 16 The Tennesseans, a colored troupe presenting musical entertainment. June 3 Rose Wood and Company in Camille. June 20 Tony Denier Company with George H. Adams in Humpty Dumpty. July 4 Haverly's Minstrels. August 31 Madison Square Company in Hazel Kirke. September 13 Mitchell Company in Our Goblins. September 22 Buffalo Bill in Prairie Waif. October 18 Billy Arlington's Minstrels. October 20 Charles L. Davin Company in Alvin Joslin. October 27 Will Grover in Humpty Dumpty. November 5 Anthony and Ellis Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. 171 November 12 Templeton Opera Company in The Mascotte. November 15 Denman Thompson in Uncle Joshua Whitcomb. November 18 Forbes Company in True Devotion. November 19 Ben Cotton in Black Diamond. November 23 Clifford Company in Banker's Daughter. November 24 Above Co. in Ingomar; the Barbarian. November 25 Above Co. in Lady of Lyons. November 26 Above Co. in Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl. December 7 Leavitti's Minstrels. December 24 Emma Abbott Company in Chimes of Normandy. 1882 January 19 Ada Gray in East Lynne. February 9 Anna Dickinson in Hamlet. February 23 Rose Eytinge in Felicia, Or a Woman's Love. March 5 Hess Opera Company in Fra Diavolo. March 25 Louis Aldrich and Charles Parsloe in My Partner. March 28 Fanny Davenport and Company in Sheridan's School for Scandal. April 5 B. McAuley in A Messenger from Jarvis Section. April 8 Thomas I. Keene in Richard III. April 17 Madison Square Theatre Company in Hazel Kirke. May 5 McFarland and Gilbert Company in The Octoroon. May 8 Madame Rentz's minstrels. May 11 Marie Litta and Company. Play title not given. May 13 Frank Mayo in Davy Crockett. August 16 Jo Emmet in Fritz in Ireland. 172 September 17 Charles Gordon and Patti Rosa in Karl. September 18 Variety entertainment, Mirror of Ireland. September 19 Rice and Hooley's Minstrels. October 4 Haswin-Stephany Company, starring Clotilde Stephany in Oudarde. October 8 Mr. and Mrs. Bender, directors at Germania Hall in Honest Labor. October 12 Jessie James Show, burlesque. October 22 An Angel at Germania Hall. October 28 Briggs Boston Operatic Minstrels. November 1 Denman Thompson in Joshua Whitcomb. November 5 From Step to Step at Germania Hall. November 7 Margaret Mather in Romeo and Juliet. November 12 The Village Barger at Germania Hall. November 13 John Dillon in Scott Marble's State's Attorney, with Mr. Marble. November 14 George C. Miln and John L. Burleigh in Othello. November 24 Chamois King at Germania Hall. November 25 Rose Eytinge in The Princess of Paris. November 30 Charles Fostelle in Charles Hoyt's Mrs. Partington. December 6 Thatecher, Premose, and West's Mammoth Minstrels. December 10 The Parson of Kirchberg at Germania Hall. December 31 You Kiss in the Dark at Germania Hall. 1883 January 5 Only a Farmer's Daughter, name of group not given. January 23 James A. Herne's Hearts of Oak, starring James Herne. January 25 Leavitt's Minstrels. 173 January 28 The Three Vagabond Journeys at Germania Hall. February 2 Maggie Mitchell in The Little Savage. February 3 Ada Gray in East Lynne. February 8 Madison Square Theatre Company in Esmeralda. February 7 A moral play, title not given, at Germania Hall. February 25 Franchion the Cricket at Germania Hall. February 27 M. W. Hanley's Company in Ed Harrigan's Squatter Sovereignly. March 5 George H. Adams in Humpty Dumpty. March 12 Mestayer's Company in Tourists in a Pullman Palace Car. March 18 The Gypsy at Germania Hall. March 21 Newell and Scott's Company in Muldoon's Picnic. April 3 Frederick Warde in Damon and Pythias. April 4 Jolly Pathfinders Company in Scraps. April 17 The Banker's Daughter at Germania Hall. April 17 Ida Lewis Company in Jane Eyre. April 18 Above Co. in Sea of Ice. April 23 Kiralfy Brothers in Black Crook. May 2 Madison Square Theatre Company in Hazel Kirke. May 10 Thomas Keene in Macbeth. May 13 Two Orphans at Germania Hall. May 25 Haverly's Minstrels. May 30 Smith's Double Mammoth Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. June 14 Tony Denier in Humpty Dumpty. June 16 Borlow and Welson's Company of minstrels. August 13 Ideal Opera Company in Iolanthe. 174 August 14 Above Co. in The Sorcerer August 25 Last performance of Benders at Germania Hall; name of play not given. September 6 Louis Aldrich and Charles Parsloe in My Partner. September 22 Scott Marble's State's Attorney, starring John Dillon. September 28 Margaret Mather and Salvini in Leah the Forsaken. October 2 Charles A. Gardner in Karl. October 7 Jane Eyre at Germania Hall. October 12 and 13 Union Square Theatre in Lights of London. October 15 The Sam Lucas colored variety entertainers. October 20 The Girl of the Village. October 21 Josephine Reily in The Hunchback. October 22 Above Co. in Twelfth Night. October 28 A comic opera, name not given, at Germania Hall. October 29 The Hanlaus in Le Voyage En Euisse, variety performance. November 1 W. J. Ferguson in A Friendly Tip. November 5 Ida Siddons Minstrels. November 25 Gold-Uncle at Germania Hall. December 10 Madison Square Theatre Company in Esmeralda, written by W. Gillette and F. Hodgson. December 11 Cold Uncle at Germania Hall. December 30 Rice's Fun on the Bristol, name of company not given. 1884 January 8 Silver King, name of company not given. January 13 Robert and Bertram at Germania Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Oeser, directors. 175 January 16 A Mountain Pink, name of company not given. February 17 Dr. Faust's Magic Cup at Germania Hall. February 18 The New York Opera Company in The Green Lace Handkerchief. February 25 M. B. Curtis and Company in Sam'l of Posen. February 26 Ed Harrigan's McSorley's Inflation, name of company not given. March 9 Hopfenrath's Heni at Germania Hall. March 24 Roland Reed and Company in Cheek. April 3 A Kingdom for a Child at Germania Hall. April 14 Gus Williams in One of the Finest. April 18 Jay W. Carner in Uncle Reuben Lowder. April 19 Above Co. in French Spy. April 20 Farewell performance of Mr. Oeser in William Tell at Germania Hall. April 30 Andrews Opera Company in Girofle Girofla. May 1 Above Co. in Chimes of Normandy. May 14 Madison Square Theatre Company in Young Mrs. Winthrop. May 31 Little and Morris Company in The World. June 2 Thomas Reene in Julius Caesar. June 18 John L. Raymond in For Congress. August 5 Sol Smith Russell in J. E. Brown's Edgewood Folks. September 23 Carl Wagner's New Minstrels. October 6 Dion Boucicault and Company in his play, Shaughraun. October 18 Hattie Anderson in Bunch of Keys. October 24 and 25 Mattie Vickers in Jacquine. 176 October 26 Love in the Corner House at Germania Hall. October 31 Newton Gotthold in Micaliz. November 4 Margaret Mather in The Honey moon. November 23 Lenore at Germania Hall. December 14 Stiftunofest at Germania Hall. 1885 January 1 A Rag Baby by Charles Hoyt, author of a Bunch of Keys. Name of company not given. January 15 J. C. Stewart Company in The Two Johns. January 25 Anna Liece at Germania Hall. January 29 Fanny Janauschek in My Life. February 5 Alice Oates in a burlesque entertainment. February 14 The Banished Students at Germania Hall. February 20 and 21 The Wilber Opera Company in Girofle-Girofla. March 3 Zelda Seguin in The Little Duke. March 15 Marianne at Germania Hall. March 28 Jo Emmet in The Strange Marriaqe of Fritz. March 29 Benefit for Mr. and Mrs. Wallburg in The Daughter of Hell at Germania Hall. April 5 Preciosa at Germania Hall. April 16 Kate Claxton in Sea of Ice. April 19 Night and morning at Germania Hall. May 2 Abbey's Double Mammoth Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. May 10 One Hundred Thousand Dollars at Germania Hall. May 19 Mile Rhea in Sardou's Dangerous Ground. June 22 Nowell's Madison Square Theatre Company in Hazel Kirke. 177 June 23 Above Co. in Esmeralda. June 24 Above Co. in Silver King. June 25 Above Co. in The Hidden Hand and East Lynne. June 26 Above Co. in Queen's Evidence. July 20 A. R. Weber's Lyceum Theatre Company in Galley Slave. July 21 Above Co. in My Partner. July 22 Above Co. in Coleene Bawn. July 23 Above Co. in Two Orphans. August 24 People's Theatre in Divorce. August 25 Above Co. in Black Diamonds. August 26 and 27 Above Co., play title not given. August 28 Above Co. in Ten Nights in a Barroom. August 29 Above Co. in Ticket-of-Leave Man. August 31 Harry Miner's Original New York Company in Silver King. September 11 Patti Rosa in Zip. October 22 Couldoc Company in Boucicault's Willow Corpse. October 23 Almo Opera Comedy Company in Box and Cox. November 5 A Messenger, name of company not given. November 8 English and From Love of Art at Germania Hall. November 10 Peaks Opera Company in Mikado. November 22 One of Our People at Germania Hall. November 25 John Dillon in New State's Attorney. November 26 Above Co. in Toby the Conjurer. December 2 Haverly's Minstrels. December 16 Thomas W. Keene in Richard III. 178 1886 January 10 Reif von Reiflinger at Germania Hall. January 17 The Caris Scholars at Germania Hall. January 20 Ida Siddons Burlesque Company. January 26 Alice Oates Burlesque Company. February 5 The Juvenile Mikado. March 14 Kactchen of Heilbronn at Cermania Hall. May 15 Chicago Home Opera Company in Mikado. May 19 Mammoth Minstrels. May 24 Fielding Comedy Ideals in Confusion. May 25 Above Co. in Joshua Whitcomb. May 26 Above Co. in The Private Secretary. May 28 Above Co. in Muldoon's Picnic. June 15 Haverly's Minstrels. July 19 Clark Comedy Company in Queen's Opportunity. July 20 Above Co. in Galley Slave. July 21 Above Co. in The Hidden Hand. July 22 Above Co. in Shaughraun. July 23 Above Co. in The Banker's Daughter. July 24 Above Co. in Uncle Tom's Cabin (matinee) and Ticket-of-Leave Man. July 26 Newell Comic Opera Company in Girofle-Girofla. July 27 Above Co. in the Mikado. July 28 Above Co. in Pirates of Penzance. July 29 Above Co. in La Mascotte. July 30 Above Co. in H. M. S. Pinafore. July 31 Above Co. in Chimes of Normandy. 179 August 10 Sol Smith Russell in P. A. September 27 Wages of Sin, name of company not given. October 6 Joshua Whitcomb in Here We Go Fresh. October 9 Fielding Comeday Ideals' bill included Muldoon's Picnic, Capitola, and 2:15; date of each play was not given. October 16 Sparks Company in a Bunch of Keys. October 23 Nights of London, name of company not given. October 24 Nate Salsbury in The Brook. October 27 Adelaide Moore in Romeo and Juliet. November 11 Charles H. Hoyt's A Tin Soldier. November 19 Grismer Davis Dramatic Company in Called Back. December 3 Bartley Campbell's White Slave. December 4 Lily Clay's Eden Without an Adam. December 9 Kate Bensburg and English Opera Company in The Sleeping Queen. December 31 James Niell in Ranch 10. 1887 January 3 Wilber's Lyceum Company in Divorce. January 4 Above Co. in Two Orphans. January 5 Above Co. in Streets of New York. January 6 Above Co. in Pearls of Savoy. January 7 Above Co. in Danites. January 8 Above Co. in The Hidden Hand (matinee) and Ticket-of-Leave Man. January 10 Original New York Company in Prince Karl. January 12 Kate Castleton in Crazy Patch. January 19 Ten Nights in a Barroom, name of company not given. 180 January 22 Clio, name of company not given. February 1 and 2 Uncle Tom's Cabin, name of company not given. February 12 John Dillon in The Lightning Agent. February 14 Lillian Lewis and Company in Cora. February 15 and 16 Above Co., names of plays not given. February 17 Above Co. in Lady of Lyons. February 18 Above Co. in Article 47. February 19 Above Co. in Camille (matinee) and Lady of Lyons. March 8 Rice's Evangeline. name of company not given. March 13 The Knights of Labor at Germania Hall. March 16 Michael Stroyoff. name of company not given. March 20 A tragedy and a farce, names not given, at Germania Hall. March 21 Clark Comedy Company in The Planter's Wife. March 22 Above Co. in Galley Slave. March 23 Above Co. in The Hired Hand. March 24 Above Co. in The Shaughraun. March 25 Above Co. in Danites. March 26 Above Co. in Ten Nights in a Barroom (matinee) and Queen's Evidence. March 27 Three Pair of Shoes at Germania Hall. April 11 George C. Miln and Company in Othello. April 12 Above Co. in Richelieu. April 25 Wilber's Madison Square Company in Franchion the Cricket. April 26 Above Co. in Galley Slave. April 27 Above Co. in The Virginian. April 28 Above Co. in Shadows of a Home. April 29 Above Co. in a Celebrated Case. 181 April 30 Above Co. in East Lynne. May 4 Louise Rial in Fortune's Fool, by William Marion. May 16 Stuart Company in Rosedale. May 17 Above Co. in Our Bachelors. May 18 Above Co. in Queens. May 29 Above Co. in Rip Van Winkle. May 21 Above Co. in Black Diamonds. May 27 Charleton Opera Company in Nanon. May 28 Above Co. in Ermine. May 29 Above Co. in The Merry Way. May 30 Refined Minstrels. August 5 French actress Rhea in Pygmalion and Calatea. August 30 Haverly's Minstrels. September 15 Kate Castleton in Crazy Patch. September 17 Thomas Keene in Hamlet. September 22 The Black Crook, name of company not given. October 16 A Lark Not a Quail at Germania Hall. October 28 Minnie Maddern in Caprice. November 5 Gus Williams in Keppler's Fortunes. November 7 Cora Tanner in Alone in London. November 13 Rosa and Roeschen at Germania Hall. November 14 W. J. Scanlan in Shane-na-Lawn. November 17 Robert Downing in Spartacus. November 30 and December 1 Lillian Olcott in Sardou's Theodora. December 4 The People As They Weep and Laugh at Germania Hall. 182 1888 January 2 Eagan and Wall's Model Comedy Company in The Private Secretary. January 3 Above Co. in Kathleen Mavourneen. The paper does not mention the rest of the week's performances. January 16 Gorman's Spectacular Minstrel Company. January 24 Minnie Iaddern in In Spite of All. March 21 Effie Ellsler in A Daughter of Egypt. March 22 Evans and Hoey in Parlor Match. April 9 Bassye and Devis Ideal Company in The Hidden Hand. April 10 Above Co. in Woman Against Woman. April 11 Above Co. in White Dies. April 12 Above Co. in Called Back or Prisoners of Russia. April 13 Above Co. in Gypsy Jack. April 17 Frederick Warde in Vircinius. April 19 John Dillon in Wanted The Earth. April 23 Beach and Bowers Famous Minstrels. April 24 Charles Hoyt in Bunch of Keys. May 4 Nellie Walters in Silver Spur. May 5 Above Co. in Nerve. May 12 Haverly's Minstrels. May 26 Colored Minstrels. May 28 Wilson Company, name of play not given. May 29 Above Co., name of play not given. May 30 Above Co., name of play not given. May 31 Above Co. in Two Orphans. June 1 Above Co. in Woman Against Woman. 183 June 2 Above Co. in A Great Wrong Righted. June 4 Pathfinder Company opened for a week; the name of the plays was not given. July 26 Deshon Opera Company, name of play not given. July 27 Above Co. in Chimes of Normandy. July 28 Above Co. in Mikado (matinee) and Black Cloaks. July 29 Above Co. in Ermine. August 16 Haverly's Minstrels. August 28 Daniel Sully in Daddy Nolan. Septenber 6 Mattie Vickers in Jacquine. September 18 and 19 Sisson and Brady's Company in Little Nugget. September 27 and 28 A Chip O' the Old Block, name of company not given. October 12 George Adams in a Speaking Pantomime. October 18 Augustin Daly's Comedy Company in A Night Off. October 24 Murrey and Turphy in Our Irish Visitors. October 30 Aiden Benedict's Company in Monte Christo. November 29 Grismer-Davis Company in Called Back. December 27 Lilly Clay Minstrel and Burlesque Company. 1889 January 4 Thomas J. Farron in Help. January 10 Boston English Opera in Dorothy. January 11 Charles Erin Verner in Shamus O'Breen. January 18 Helen Barry and Frank Mardount in Woman's Stratagem. January 21 Julia Marlowe in Twelfth Night. January 23 Katherine C. Herne and James A. Herne in Drifting Apart. January 25 and 26 David the Shepherd Boy, name of company not given. 184 February 5 Davis Company, name of play not given. February 12 Margaret Mather in The Honeymoon. February 19 and 20 Archibald C. Gunter's Mr. Barnes of New York. February 22 She, name of company not given. March 2 Robert Buchanan's Alone in London. March 4 Kate Castleton in Paper Doll. March 8 J. S. Murphy in The Kerry Cow. March 12 John Dillon's Company in Skyscraper. March 18 Cora Tanner in R. Buchanan's Fascination. March 19 Horse show and series of pictures thrown on a scene. March 28 Levy's Operatic Concert Company in Martha. April 2 Palmer's Company in Jim the Penman. April 9 A Postage Stamp, name of company not given. April 27 Sol Smith Russell in Bewitched. May 9 Dan'l Sully in Corner Grocery. May 14 J. B. Polk in Mixed Pickles. June 3 Karl Gardner in Fatherland. July 11 Eugene Robinson's Mammoth Floating Palaces, Museum, Exposition of Wonders, and Grand Opera House. July 15 Newton Beers in Lost in London. August 12 Cleveland-Haverly Minstrel Company. September 21 Jane Coombs and Frederick Clark in Bleak House. October 7 Edward Harrigan's New York Company in Old Lavendar. October 11 Scott and Mills in Chip O' the Old Block. October 17 Helen Blythe in Mother's Love. October 21 Hattie Harvey and E. D. Lyons in A Little Tramp. November 14 The Stowaway, name of company not given. November 30 Dan McCarthy's Dear Irish Boy. 185 December 11 FrankDaniels in Little Puck. December 17 Patti Rosa in Margery Daw. 1690 January 3 Seid Paska, name of comic opera company not given. January 8 Minnie Maddern and Company in Featherbrain. January 10 A. M. Palmer in Jim the Penman. January 16 Frederick Warde in The Mountebank. February 4 Henry Lee in The Suspect. February 17 Surrey and Murphy in Our Irish Visitors. February 19 Bostonian English Opera Company in Pygmalion and Galatea. February 28 Frank Mayo in Davy Crockett. March 12 Evans and Hoey in a Parlor Match. March 20 Pat and Katie Rooney in Asana Banad. April 1 Cleveland's minstrels. April 10 Sol Smith Russell in A Poor Relation. April 15 John S. Murphy in Shaun Rhue. April 21 A Social Session, name of company not given. April 25 Aiden Benedict in Fabio Romani. May 7 Ezra Kendall in a Pair of Kids. May 16 Rilton Nobles in From Sire to Son. May 24 Nellie Henry in Lady Peggy. June 24 Rice's Evangeline. July 8 Rhea in A. R. Haven's Josephine. August 5 Stoddard's Modern Minstrels. August 13 C. D. Hess Grand Opera Company in La Traviata. 186 September 6 Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth. September 11 Cleveland's Minstrels. September 16 Mattie Vickers in Edelweiss. September 20 The Hustler, name of company not given. September 27 McCarthy and Reynolds in Dear Irish Boy. September 29 Baker Comic Opera in Olivette. September 30 Above Co. in Boccaccio. October 1 Above Co. in Chimes of Normandy. October 2 Above Co. in La Mascotte. October 3 Above Co. in The Beggar Student. October 4 Above Co. in Boccaccio (matinee) and Ermine. October 8 Barry and Fay in Edgar Seldon's McKenna's Flirtation. October 10 Hoyt's A Bunch of Keys, name of company not given. October 14 Frank Daniels in Little Puck. October 15 Farce Comedy Company in The Faker. October 17 Nat Goodwin in Brander Mathew's The Gold Mine. October 23 Jane Coombs in The Dressmaker. November 6 George Adams in He, She, Him, Her. November 11 W. J. Scanlan in Myles Aroon. November 13 The Boy Tramp, name of company not given. December 2 Boston Ideal Opera Company in Fauvette. December 3 Peck and Fursman's Dan'l Boone. December 5 William J. Gilmore's 12 Temptations. December 6 Frank Mayo in Davy Crockett. December 11 J. C. Stewart's Company in The Two Johns. December 12 Roland Reed in Lend Me Your Wife. 187 1891 January 7 Charles Gayler's Lights and Shadows. January 13 The Great Metropolis, name of company not given. January 21 Maggie Mitchell in Ray. January 24 Joseph Jefferson and W. J. Florence Comedy Company in The Rivals, with Mrs. John Drew. January 27 Duncan Harrison and J. L. Sullivan in Honest Hearts and Willing Hands. January 28 Frank I. Frayne's Kentucky Bill. February 4 Held by the Enemy, name of company not given. February 14 M. B. Leavett's spectacular Spider and Fly. March 2 Margaret Mather and Otis Skinner in As You Like It. March 11 Vernona Jurbeau in Starlight. March 14 Donnelly and Girard in Natural Gas. April 2 Evans and Hoey in A Parlor Match. April 9 Stuart Robinson in The Henrietta. April 16 The American Extravaganza Company's The Crystal Slipper. April 18 Dan'l Sully in The Millionaire. April 21 Marie Wainwright in Twelfth Night. May 1 Charles Gardner in Fatherland. May 4 and 5 A Dark Secret, name of company not given. May 8 Frederick Warde in Henry VIII. May 14 Hallen and Hart in Later On. May 16 Uncle Tom Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. June 1 Eunice Goodrich and James McCann Company in Pearl of Savoy. 188 June 2 Above Co. in Wages of Sin. June 3 Above Co., name of play not given. June 4 Above Co. in Little Em'ly. June 5 Above Co. in Three Wives to One Husband. August 7 Robinson's Three Floating Palaces. August 18 Sol Smith Russell in Peaceful Valley. August 31 Baldwin-Melville Combination in Linwood. September 1 Above Co. in A Messenger from Jarvis. September 2 Above Co. in Wells Fargo Messenger. Play titles for remainder of week were not given. September 8 Frederick Warde in Carleston's The Lion's Mouth. September 10 Howard's Shenandoah, company name not given. September 17 Charles Frohman in Men and Women. September 22 Gus Huge in Yon Yonson. September 29 Emerson-Haverly Minstrels. October 9 Katie Emmell in Waifs of New York. October 16 Miss Gale in Romeo and Juliet. October 21 Kate Claxton in Two Orphans. November 2 Frank Deshon and Company in Mikado. November 3 Above Co. in Ermine. Names of other four performances not given. November 7 Dan McCarthy in Cruisleen Lawn. November 13 John C. Rice in Knotty Affair. November 19 Russel's Comedians in City Directory. November 21 Charles Dickson and Company in Incog. December 7 Madison Square Theatre Company in The Burglar. 189 1892 January 4 Jesse Crocker Comedy Company opened for one week at Park Theatre with A Mother's Crime. January 11 The Bostonians in Robin Hood. January 13 Charles Frohman and Company in Gillette's All the Comforts of Home. January 20 Cleveland's Consolidated Minstrels. January 28 Brady's production of Boucicault's After Dark. February 15 Wilson Company in The Diamond Mystery. February 16 Above Co. in Only a Farmer's Daughter. February 17 Above Co. in Ranch King. February 18 Above Co. in The White Slave. February 19 Clara Morris in Odette. February 20 Bill Nye and A. P. Burbank, name of play not given. February 23 Frederic Bayton and Ralph Denmore in Forgiven. February 25 A. M. Palmer's Company in Alabama. February 29 Dan Sully in The Millionaire. March 1 Above Co. in The Story Teller. March 3 Maggie Mitchell in The Little Maverick. March 4 Above Co. in Two Old Cronies. March 5 and 6 Above Co., play titles not given. March 7 Above Co. in Uncle Tom's Cabin. March 9 Above Co. in Pocahontas. March 14 Weston's Comedians in Strategy at Park Theatre. March 15 Above Co. in Jesse. March 16 Above Co. in Uncle Dan'l. March 17 Above Co. in American Girl. March 18 Above Co. in East Lynne. 190 March 24 Bobby Gaylord in Sport McAllester. April 5 Stuart Robson in The Henrietta. April 9 Sol Smith Russell in The Country Fair. April 16 Spracues Comedians in A Social Session. April 21 Eddie Foy in Sinbad, a spectacular. April 29 O'Dowd Combination, name of play not given. May 10 Felix and Eva Vincent Combination in Foggs Ferry. May 11 Above Co. in Queen's Evidence. May 12 Above Co. in Inshavogree. May 13 Above Co. in Our Boys. May 14 Above Co. in Fanchon (matinee) and Factory Girl and The Happy Pair. May 20 Effie Ellsler and C. W. Couldock in Hazel Kirke. June 13 Eunice Goodrich Company, Myrtle; for one week. June 14 Above Co. in Hoop of Gold. Other play titles not given. June 27 Lincoln J. Carter's production of The Fast Mail. July 11 Baldwin-Melville Combination for one week, playing Galley Slave, Michael Strogoff, East Lynne, and others. July 18 Above Co. (stayed for an extra week) in Michael Strogoff. July 19 Above Co. in The Danites. July 20 Above Co. in Pique. July 21 Above Co. in Streets of New York. July 22 Above Co. in Esmeralda. July 23 Above Co. in Uncle Tom's Cabin (matinee) and The Vagabond. 191 August 3 A. Y. Pearson s production of Midnight Alarm. August 12 Donnelly and Girard novelty entertainers. August 17 Annie Lewis in A Nutney Match. August 24 Kate Emmett in Waif of New York. August 29 The Dazzler, name of company not given. September 6 Haverly's Minstrels. September 7 Fast Mail, Carter production. September 12 Frank M. Willis in Wait Till the Clouds Roll By. September 15 John Rice and Sally Cohen in A Knotty Affair. September 20 Fowler and Warnington Company in Skipped by the Light of the Moon. October 4 Julia Marlowe as Rosalind in As You Like It. October 7 Charles Frohman's Company in Gloriana, and a one act, The Major's Appointment. October 13 Our Boarders, name of company not given. October 22 Charles Frohman's Jane. October 28 Charles Frohman's production of Lost Paradise. November 12 T. C. Lewis in Si Plunkard. November 29 Barney Ferguson in McCarthy's Mishaps. December 20 Yon Yonson, name of company not given. December 26 Washburn's Company of Comedians in Uncle Josh Spruceby. December 30 Modjeska and Otis Skinner in Mary Stuart. 1893 January 2 and 3 Sam Jack's Female Minstrels at Park Theatre. January 11 Friends, directed by Harry Lee. 192 January 17 Bottom of the Sea, spectacle. January 26 Rosina Vokes in three one-act plays. February 2 Tuxedo, name of company not given. February 11 and 12 Show Company of Dumb Hero at Park Theatre. February 21 Hanlan Brothers Spectacular Pantomine, Fantasma. February 24 Louise Leslie in Miss Helvell. March 8 I. Fleron's Clemenceau Case and French Novelty Dancers. March 18 Charles Schelling's Modern Minstrels. March 23 Oliver Byron in The Plunger. April 1 The White Squadron, company name not given. April 3 George Hamler Company in Marie Duboise. April 6 Charles A. Gardner in Fatherland. April 8 Hamler Company in Little Lord Fantleroy (matinee) and That Precious Baby. April 11 Niobe, name of company not given. April 12 Hattie B. Chase in an Alaskan play. April 13 Boston Ideal Company in Pygmalion and Galatea. April 21 Madame Janauschek in Macbeth. April 22 Leavette's production of Spider and Fly. April 25 Robert Gaylor in Sport McAllister. April 26 Nat Goodwin in A Gilded Fool. May 1 Hamler's Players return for one week. May 2 Above Co. in Lord Fauntory. May 3 Above Co. in Zip the Child of the Mountain. May 9 Ezra Kendall in A Pair of Kids. May 30 A Fair Rebel, name of company not given. September 2 E. S. Willard in The Middleman. 193 September 4 Friends, directed by Henry Lee. September 7 Kate Emmett in Waifs of New York. September 15 Mr. Kernell in Hustler. September 26 Mr. and Mrs. Oliver in The Dark Continent. October 9 Wilber Opera Company in Ermine. October 10 Above Co. in Black Hussar. October 11 Above Co. in Diavolo (matinee) and Grand Duchess. October 12 Above Co. in Bohemian Girl. October 13 Above Co. in Boccaccio. October 14 Above Co. in Falka (matinee) and Indiana. October 17 By Wits Outwitted, name of company not given. October 18 Willie Collier presented Hoss and Hoss. October 24 Mile Rhea in The Queen of Sheba. October 27 Soudan, name of company not given. October 31 Charles Gardner in The Prize Winner. November 2 Thomas Keene in Othello. November 6 Modjeska and Otis Skinner in Merchant of Venice. November 10 J. K. Emmett in Fritz in Poverty. November 14 Barney Ferguson in McCarthy's Mishaps. December 1 Katie Emmett in Kellarney. December 4 Primrose and West's Opera Company in Monte Carlo. December 14 John Dillon in Model Husband. December 18 Julia Marlowe in The Love Chase. December 30 Blue Jeans, name of company not given. 1894 January 11 Charles Yales in New Devils Auction. 194 January 15 George Marion in A Brass Monkey. January 23 M. B. Leavitt's production of Spider and Fly. February 2 Promise and West's Minstrels. February 23 Robert Gaylor in Sport McAllister. February 28 Augustine Thomas in The Burglar. March 8 Emily Bancker in Gloriana. March 13 Fanny Rice in a Jolly Surprise. March 23 Agnes Herndon in The Country Girl and Woman of the World. March 28 Richard Mansfield and Company in Beau Brummel. March 30 Edward Abrams scenic production, The Danger Signal. April 9-12 Naid Queen, amateur spectacular. April 13 Brothers Byne in Eight Bells. April 18 Henshaw and Brocket in New Nabobs. April 24 White Squadron, name of company not give. April 30 Otis Turner and Company in Brother Against Brother. May 1 Above Co. in Little Blossom. May 2 Above Co. in Rip Van Winkle. May 3 Above Co. in Happy Pair. May 4 Above Co. in Heroine in Rags. May 5 Above Co. in Old Homestead. May 14 Corse Payton Company in Paresa Princess. May 15 Above Co. in The Plunger. May 16 Above Co. in My Old Kentucky Home. May 17 Above Co. in Rose Cottage. May 18 Clemencean Case. 195 May 19 Above Co. in Ten Nights in a Barrom. May 20 Above Co. in Paresa Princess. May 25 Lady Wandemare's Fan, name of company not given. May 28 Harrison's New York Company in Wanted a Husband. May 29 Above Co. in Monte Christo. May 30 Above Co. in Caprice. May 31 Above Co. in Golden Giant. June 1 Above Co. in Fabio Romani. June 2 Above Co. in Wanted a Husband (matinee) and Caprice. June 8 Frederick Warde and Louis James in Julius Caesar. July 2 Pearl Melville Company in Black Flag. July 3 Above Co. in Davy Crockett. July 4 Above Co. in Michael Strogoff. July 5 Above Co. in Inside Track. July 23 Sharpley's Lyceum Theatre Company in Faust. July 24 Above Co. in Royal Slave. July 26 Above Co. in Forget-Me-Not. July 27 Above Co. in Ole Olson. September 3 Punch Robertson and Company in Man of the World. September 4 Above Co. in Olga Van Braase. September 5 Above Co. in A Woman's Revenge. September 6 Above Co. in Polly and I. September 7 Above Co. in Master and Man. September 8 Above Co. in Rip Van Winkle. September 18 Ezra Kendall in The Substitute. 196 September 24 Rush City, name of company not given. September 29 Sol Smith Russell in April Weather. September 29 Rose Coghlan in Diplomacy. October 10 Alexander Selvini in Duma's The Three Guardsmen. October 20 Hoyt's A Trip to Chinatown. October 22 Wilber Company for one week. Repertory not given. November 10 Cleveland's Minstrels. November 17 Davis Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. November 22 Cosgrove and Grant's Comedians in The New Dazzler. November 24 Nat Goodwin in Augustus Thomas' In Missouri. 1895 January 10 Alice Carlile in Railroad Ticket. January 11 Charles Frohman's Company in Charley's Aunt. January 17 Carrie Turner in The Crust of Society. January 25 Neil Burgess production of County Fair. January 29 Lewis Morrison Company in Faust. February 5 Wang, comic opera; name of company not given. February 13 James Corbett in Gentleman Jack. February 21 Frohman's The Girl I Left Behind Me. February 25 New Boy, name of company not given. February 28 Rice's extravaganza 1492. March 2 John A. Coleman in Old Glory. March 11 Frank Libdon in Hazel Kirke. March 12 Above Co. in Count of Monte Christo. 197 March 16 Above Co. in Lady of Lyons. Play titles for March 13, 14, and 15 not given. March 18 Barney Ferguson in Duffy's Blunders. March 22 Otis Skinner in His Grace De Grammont. March 23 Above Co. in The King's Jester. March 25 Alabama, name of company not given. April 3 Eight Bells, a variety show. April 4 Eddie Foy in Off the Earth. April 15 Ferris Comedians in Greased Lightning. April 16 Above Co. in Over the Garden Wall. April 19 Shore Acres, name of company not given. April 29 Marie Jansen in Delmonicos at Six. May 9 Nat Goodwin in David Garrick and Lend me Five Shillings. May 24 Stelson Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. May 27 Marie Wellsley and Company for two weeks. Repertory for first week not given. June 4 Above Co. in Jo the Waif. June 5 Above Co. in Sparkles. June 6 Above Co. in Lady Audley's Secret. June 7 Above Co. in Kathleen Mavourneen. June 8 Above Co. in The Black Flag. June 9 Above Co. in On the Swanee River. June 12 Above Co. in The Octoroon. June 13 Above Co. in Uncle Tom's Cabin (matinee and evening). June 17 George Paige's Company in Carmenata. June 18 Above Co. in the Private Secretary. 198 June 22 Above Co. in East Lynne (matinee) and Mrs. Partington. June 9 Alabama Vaudeville for two weeks. July 29 Villars-Owen Company for two weeks. Included in their repertory was: Bleak House, A Husband in the City, Romeo and Juliet, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Ticket-of-Leave Man, Kathleen Mavourneen, Lady of Lyons, Bonnie Fishwife, and Pygmalion and Galatea. August 12 Orole Comic Company for one week. Among their repertory was Said Pasha, Pinafore, and Olivette. August 20 Louise Hamilton Company for one week. Their repertory included Arabian Nights, Cinderella, and Little Treasure. September 2 Punch Robertson and Company for six performances. Repertory included Gold King. Ben Bolt, Midnight Ball, and Man in the Iron Mask. September 10 Charles H. Hopper in A Vale of a Voice. September 23 Leslie Davis Stock Company in Is Marriage a Failure. September 24 Above Co. in Hearts of Oak. September 25 Above Co. in Editha's Burglar. September 27 Julia Marlowe and Robert Tabor in Twelfth Night. October 9 Down on the Swanee River, black variety show. October 11 For Fair Virginia, name of company not given. October 17 Cook Twin Sisters in Uncle Tom's Cabin. October 28 Tompson's Comedians in Golden Giant Mine. October 29 Above Co. in Dad's Girl. October 30 Above Co. in Pawn Ticket 210. October 31 Above Co. in Maude Muller. November 1 Above Co. in Lancashere Lass. November 2 Above Co. in Cast Upon the World. 199 November 6 Tim Murphy and Company in Hoyt's A Texas Steer. November 11 Pearson's Stock Company for one week; names of plays not given. November 18 Eddie Foy in Little Robinson Crusoe. November 21 Donnelly and Girard in The Rain Makers. November 28 A. G. Fields White Minstrels. December 2 Oriole Opera Company in The Oalah. December 20 Charles Yale's Devil's Auction. December 25 Conary and Lederer's The Passing Show. December 28 Bostonians Comic Opera in Prince of Ananeas. 1896 January 2 Wang, name of company not given. January 11 Salter and Marten's Uncle Tom's Cabin. January 13 Jolly Delta Pringle in Jane. January 14 Above Co. in Down on the Farm. January 15 Above Co. in Pawn Ticket 210. January 16 Above Co. in Eccles Girls. January 17 Above Co. in Shadows of a Great City. January 18 Above Co. in Humpty Dumpty. January 20 Tomkin's Black Crook. January 23 Wilson Theatre Co. in Mabel Heathe. January 24 Above Co. in The Hidden Hand. Last title unkown. January 28 A Railroad Ticket, name of company not given. February 3 Charley's Aunt, name of company not given. February 11 Shore Acres, name of company not given. February 13 Leroy and Lyon Company in Solomon Issacs. 200 February 14 Above Co. in Irish Congressman. February 19 Canary and Leder's Burlesque The Merry World. February 26 Murray and Mack in Finnegan's Ball. February 29 Alexander Salvini in Don Caesar de Bazan. March 11 Fanny Rice in At the French Ball. March 14 Palmer's Company in Trilby. March 20 Old Kentucky, name of company not given. March 30 A. T. Gordon's Comedy Company in Alone in London. March 31 Above Co. in Sea of Ice. April 2 Above Co. in Divorce. April 6 Corinne and the Kimball Opera Company, name of production not given. April 14 Charles Frohman's Company in Sowing the Wind. April 21 Charles A. Gardner in Faderland. April 28 Dan Sully in The Corner Grocery. April 30 Eugene O'Rourke in The Wicklow Postman. May 2 Stuart Robinson in Mrs. Ponderbury's Part. May 5 More and Livingston Company played one week. Repertory included Lost Paradise, White Slave, Stowaway, and Cotton King. May 18 Hubert Labadies Company in Faust. May 22 and 23 J. C. Lewis in Sy Plunkard. June 1 Columbian Opera Company in Black Hussar. Repertory for remainder of week not given. July 20, 21, and 22 The Last Days of Pompeii. August 20 A Bowery Girl, name of company not given. September 14 Wilkes Company for two weeks. Among their repertory was The Sheriff, Caprice, Silver Spur, Devil's Auction, and Midnight Bell. 201 October 23 Chauncey Olcott in Irish Artist. October 27 Eddie Foy in Off the Earth. November 18 Dazzler, name of company not given. November 27 Mattie Vickera in Jacquine. November 31 J. N. Todd Company for one week. Name of plays not given. December 7 Eunice Goodrich in Captain January. December 8 Above Co. in My Wife. December 14 Southerland Theatre Company for one week. Name of plays not given. December 25 Ferguson and Emerick in McSorley's Twins. December 31 Bankson and Lambert Players. December 31 Above Co. in Ranch King. 1897 January 1 Above Co. in Jane (matinee) and Streets of New York. January 2 Above Co. in East Lynne (matinee) and The Plunger. January 13 Frohman's Lyceum Theatre Company in The Prisoner. January 21 Frederick Warde in King Lear. February 3 Above Co. in Merchant of Venice. February 9 Frohman Company in The Fatal Cord. February 10 Sutherland Company in Jack of Diamonds. February 11 Above Co. in The Phoenix. February 12 Above Co. in Noble Outcast. February 13 Above Co. in Davy Crockett. February 15 Columbian Comedy Company in The Cashier. 202 February 16 Above Co. in The Celebrated Case. February 17 Above Co. in O'Rafferty's Luck. February 25 Edmond Keene in Louis XI. March 1 Repertory Company, name not given, for one week. Cinematograph after Act One. Names of plays not given. March 22 Stuart Robinson in The Jucklins. April 12 Mary Wellsley Company for two weeks. Names of plays not given. May 3 The Crow Sisters for one week. Repertory included Euchered, Golden Plough, His Excellency, Two Orphans, The Pious Fraud, The Golden Cliff, and Celebrated Case. May 5 Gilbert Opera Company for one week. Repertory included Mascot, Said Pasha, Olivette, Chimes of Normandy. May 21 and 22 Beach and Bowers Minstrels. June 3 Giffen and Neil Company in A Social Highwayman. June 4 Above Co. in The Amazons. June 23 Salter and Marten's Uncle Tom's Cabin. June 28 The Gibney Company in Angie the Country Girl. June 29 Above Co. in The Gypsy Dancing Girl. June 30 Above Co. in Plum Tree Farm. July 1 Above Co. in Camille. August 2 Lloyd and Lorraine Company in The Octoroon. August 3 Above Co. in Marble Heart. Stayed two weeks. August 13 Above Co. in East Lynne. August 14 Above Co. in A Celebrated Case. August 17 William Roberts in Faust. August 20 Heart of Chicago, name of company not given. 203 August 30 Frank Lane in A Trip to Chinatown. September 1 Louis James in Bird's Spartacus. September 8 Clay Clement in Southern Gentleman. September 13 Ferris Comedians for one week. September 30 Charles H. Gardner in Karl the Peddler. October 5 and 6 Sherman and Morrissey vaudeville. October 15 Otis Skinner in Prince Rudolph. October 19 A Hired Girl, name of company not given. October 20 Capt. Impudence by above company. October 27 Charles Frohman's Never Again. November 1 A. C. Field's Minstrels. November 4 Joseph Holland and Cretchen Lyons in Mr. Bugle. November 8 Pulse of New York, name of company not given. November 17 The Magic Kiss, name of company not given. November 27 Stuart Robinson in The Henrietta. December 2 and 3 Railroad Jack, name of company not given. December 10 David Higgins in At Piney Ridge. December 13 Prisoner of Zenda, name of company not given. December 18 Frederick Warde in Iskander. December 24 Lincoln Carter in Under the Dome. December 29 Smith and Rice production of Man From Mexico. 1898 January 1 William Lackaye production of Royal Secret. January 3 William Owen and Company in Richelieu. January 4 Above Co. in Othello. 204 January 5 Above Co. in Hamlet. January 6 Above Co. in Merchant of Venice. January 7 Above Co. in Romeo and Juliet. January 8 Above Co. in David Garrick. January 12 Charles Hoyt's A Black Sheep. January 18 Donnelly and Girard in The Gazer. February 10 Charles Loder in Row of Flats. February 15 The Cherry Pickers, name of company not given. March 1 The Gusha, name of company not given. March 5 Cissy Fitzgerald in The Foundling. March 8 Clay Clements in New Dominion. March 19 Royal Opera Company from Italy. Name of opera not given. March 31 George Riddle, dramatic reading of Lady of Lyons. April 23 Davis Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. May 15 Glibney's Vaudeville Show. August 11 Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. September 5 Olga Lorraine and Company in That Girl. September 17 Mattie Vickers in The Gay Matinee Girl. September 26 The Commodore, a spectacular. September 29 The Span of Life, name of company not given. October 4 Allen Benedict in Fabio Romani. October 8 Stowe's Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. 1899 January 24 Stranger in New York, name of company not given. February 8 Rip Van Winkle, name of company not given. March 11 Howard Could in Prisoner of Zenda. 205 Newspaper is making only short statements about companies--one or two lines under local affairs. No advertisements. May 7 Hi Henry's All Atar minstrels. May 9 Mattie Vincent Company for one week. Repertory not given. June 28 Maud Muller, name of company not given. July 24 Morgan and Nellie, Gibney and Company for one week. Repertory included Forgiven, Her Husband Si, The Woman in Black, A Celebrated Case. August 1 Above Co. opened second week with Ten Nights in a Barroom. Remaining plays not listed. August 9 Bell Opera Company for one week. Repertory included Boccaccio, Girafle-Giraflo, Paul Jones, and Cavelleria Rusticanna. August 14 National Theatre Company in Chick. August 15 Above Co. in Inside Track. August 16 Above Co. in Henpecked. August 17 Above Co. in The Police Alarm. August 18 Above Co. in Comrades. August 23 Hoyt's spectacular, A Milk White Way. August 28 Jeanette Lewis and Company for one week. Repertory not given. September 8 Edison Vitascope Pictures of Fitzsimmons-Jeffries fight. September 13 and 14 Mathews and Bulger in the vaudeville opera Sad Sea Wives. September 18 Scott's Minstrel Company. September 25 Pay Train Company for one week. Repertory not given. October 2 Warren Noble's Company for one week. Repertory included Cold King, Monte Christo, Gay Mr. Tompkins. Uncle Daniel, and Dad's Angel. 206 October 9 Will Nollitor, manager, Just Before Dawn. October 26 Robert Montell in The Daqger and the Cross. October 28 The Black Patte Vaudeville. November 2 Jefferson De Angelis in The Jolly Musketeer. November 8 Martin Company in Uncle Tom's Cabin. November 13 Ferris Comedians for one week, played My Jim. November 14 Above Co. in An Innocent Sinner. November 15 Above Co. in Three Musketeers. Title of play for following date not given. November 17 Above Co. in Cyrano de Bergerac. November 21 Kelly's Kids, name of play not given. December 14 A Trip to Chinatown, name of company not given. December 15 Tim Murphy in The Carpetbagger. December 25 A Day and a Night, name of company not given. VITA James M. Siefkas James M. Siefkas was born in Marshall, Missouri, in 1935. He graduated from Marshall High School in 1953, and then enrolled at Missouri Valley College, 1953-1955. In 1955, he transferred to the University of missouri and received the A. B. degree in 1957. A brief tour in the United States Army followed, 1957-1958, and he then returned and became a graduate student at the University of Missouri and a part-time instructor at Christian College, Columbia, Missouri. He received the M. A. in 1960, and then taught for one year at Northwest Missouri State Teachers College, Maryville, Missouri. Another tour in the United States Army followed, and then he became an Assistant Professor at Central Methodist College, Fayette, Missouri, 1962-1967. From 1967-1972, he was Assistant Professor at Wisconsin State University-La Crosse, and part-time graduate student at the University of Missouri.
Murphy Home | Library Catalog | Send Us Feedback | About Murphy | Contact Us | Hours | UW- La Crosse Home Copyright © 1999-2006, The University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Last updated: 10/28/08