Based on this playbill from 1874 Lizzie May chose the exciting life of acting over a quiet life with her family in Maine.
Lizzie May has third billing in this musical production of Pippins “a musical variation on an old theme”. This is the earliest playbill that I could find with Lizzie May in a credited role. I am assuming that this is one of her first big roles. The musical ran in July of 1874 when Lizzie May was a 19 year old wife, mother to a one year old and ingenue. It couldn’t have been a more exciting time for her!
Once I researched the names on this playbill, I realized that this was definitely a big break for Lizzie May. There are some very important players in the theatre world listed on this playbill such as the lessee John Stetson who was one of the most successful theatrical managers of the late 19th century. Stetson owned and /or managed some of the most important theaters in New York and Boston. Not one to rest on his laurels he later expanded his empire by becoming a financier and real estate developer.
An interesting side note: Stetson married the love of his life an actress named Kate Stokes who had grown up in the circus as a bare-back equestrian and later became an actress after a crippling fall. John Stetson died unexpectedly when a bad cold quickly turned to pneumonia. His broken hearted wife fell ill soon after and sadly died less than three weeks later.
Listed as proprietor on the playbill is Edward Everett Rice (1847-1924) one of the pioneers of the American musical. Also listed is J. Cheever Goodwin whom Rice joined forces with in 1874 to write Evangeline, the hugely popular burlesque musical based upon a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
I bring up these important men of the theater because they saw something in young Lizzie May to bring her out of the background and into a credited character role. In this poster for the musical “Pippins” Lizzie May has third billing playing the role of Cupid. This is a big step up from the chorus. Unfortunately George did not seem to have a role in this production unless it was as an uncredited background player or perhaps he was in a different production at the time. Was George’s career already waning while Lizzie May’s was on the rise?
me and lizzie may 