Category Archives: Plays

Lizzie May takes the stage in 1875

This stage photo of Lizzie May in costume is owned by the George Stewart collection at the University of Calgary,a fantastic collection of photos of the stage in the late 19th century.

The University of New Brunswick Libraries is a treasure trove of antique theater posters. I was so excited to find playbills to two plays that Lizzie May acted in at the start of her career. In fact, these are the only mentions that I can find for the 1875 season as unfortunately so much from that time period has been lost. Tracing the steps of this young actress’ career in the late 19th century shows that Lizzie May led an extraordinary life

Lizzie May acted steadily throughout 1874  building a career in small roles and productions throughout the North East.  On September 11, 1875 she had a leading role in the play Divorce by Robert Reece at the Portland Museum Theatre in Portland, ME.  This was not a huge role in a huge production in a huge city but it did connect her with a well-known playwright of the day. Robert Reece (1838– 1891) was a British comedic playwright and librettist  (opera/musical theatre) popular through the 1870’s. He wrote flashy musical burlesques and the comic operas that were all the rage. Reece was also popular for his sarcastic farces and for adapting popular French operettas into English. Lizzie May was starting to act in bigger productions by well-known writers increasing her visibiliy greatly and advancing her career.

A month later on October 9,1875 Lizzie May was once again at the Portland Museum Theatre  appearing in a lesser known play by Dion Boucicault. Boucicault was a popular Irish actor and celebrated playwright. According to wikipedia:

Boucicault was an excellent actor, especially in pathetic parts. His uncanny ability to play these low-status roles earned him the nickname “Little Man Dion” in theatrical circles. His plays are for the most part adaptations, but are often very ingenious in construction. They have had great popularity.

Lizzie May was a traveling  actress, a mother to a 2 year old (baby George Jr. was born in 1873) and a wife. Somehow she managed to juggle it all. It is interesting to note that her husband/step-brother George was not listed on the playbills for these performances. Maybe he was taking care of the baby on the nights that Lizzie performed? Or perhaps her career was starting to take off but he had yet to find his niche.

 

Next Up: Terror On Tour

Lizzie May’s big break

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?

Next Up: New roles for Lizzie May

Choosing An Actor’s Life

For young newlyweds George and Lizzie May to choose acting as their professions in the late 19th century was a true leap of faith. There were probably many arguments on the subject in the Ulmer household but as we saw during the war, George had a mind of his own and the drive and determination to do as he saw fit. The life of an actor was always in flux and required incredible physical and emotional strength. There was certainly no stability in the life they chose but being together must have been all the support they needed.

The varied performance schedule must have been exhausting. Most actors rehearsed 2-3 plays per day on top of their actual performances. A season could consist of anywhere from 40 to over 100 different plays. Stock actors such as Lizzie May and George would be expected to learn over 100 parts, many times having to memorize a new role in a matter of hours. The life of a “celebrated” actor was no less rigorous. One famous actress of the day Charlotte Cushman, had over 200 roles in her repertoire making her a sought after commodity. Big names brought in big crowds to the local stock theatre companies.

Luckily,compensation for this grueling life was actually fairly good by late 19th century standards. According to an essay on 19th century American theatre from the University of Washington:

Beginning actors’ salaries ranged from $3 to $6 per week; utility players’ salaries from $7 to $15 per week; “walking” ladies and gentlemen, $15 to $30; and lead actors were paid anywhere from $35 to $100 per week. Traveling stars could command $150 to $500 per 7- to 10-day engagement, plus one or more benefits. Except for the lowest ranks of actors, these salaries were good for this period, especially for women, even though they were paid less than men in comparable roles.

From young Civil War drummer boy to stage actor, George was following his dreams and bringing Lizzie May along for the ride.

Would Lizzie May decide to go back home to the quiet corner of Maine or follow her George through the uncertain world of the theatre?

Next Up: Role reversal

The Stage

Koster & Bial’s Music Hall on 23rd street in Manhattan, the premier variety house of the late 19th century.

The second half of the 19th Century was an exciting time for the theatre. After the Civil War there was a huge influx of immigration and an enormous growth was seen in America’s cities, in particular cities on the East Coast such as Boston and New York. With the onstart of the Industrial Revolution, the growth of factories and increased productions, the continued hysteria around the Gold Rush, everything pointed to prosperity and growth for a class of people that became known as the Middle Class. Americans now had a better standard of living than ever before and with that, discretionary income to spend on entertainment.

Thanks to the expansion of the transportation system in the U.S., in particular the railroads which linked East Coast to West , actors were able to travel across America finally reaching towns that had never experienced any form of theatre before. Thousands of theaters popped up across the U.S. between 1850-1900. The growth of theatre brought an entire new cache of jobs from costumers to dramatic agencies to boarding houses and hotels who catered specifically to the trade.

Once no more than bare bones music halls soon morphed into beautiful, intricately designed theaters. The lavish productions against the backdrop of these elegant theaters became the ultimate from of entertainment.

Theater design and technology changed as well around the mid-19th century. Candlelit stages were replaced with gaslight and limelight. Limelight consisted of a block of lime heated to incandescence by means of an oxyhydrogen flame torch. The light could then be focused with mirrors and produced a quite powerful light. Theater interiors began improving in the 1850s, with ornate decoration and stall seating replacing the pit. In 1869, Laura Keen opened the remodeled Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, and newspaper accounts describe the comfortable seats, convenient boxes, lovely decorations and hangings, excellent visibility, good ventilation, and baskets of flowers and hanging plants.

Theater crowds in the first half of the 19th century had gained a reputation as unruly, loud and uncouth. The improvements made to theaters in the last half of the 19th century encouraged middle and upper class patrons to attend plays, and crowds became quieter, more genteel, and less prone to cause disruptions of the performance.

The lure of the theatre was too much for George. He spent all of his free time visiting the multitude of music halls and theaters throughout Boston. At the Selwyn Theatre on Washington Street George was able to charm his way into bit parts in small productions. It felt like home and this new home was heaven.

Next Up:  A Surprise