Tag Archives: The Academy of Music in St.John

May the best man win…best looking that is!

george t

                                                                                      HW HARKIN

                      George Ulmer    vs.     W.S. Harkins

Today’s soap operas have nothing on 19th century melodrama.  On March 14,1877 Lizzie May’s troupe performed a play titled Ben McCulloch or Sartin as Death.  It’s a strange title and after a week of research I have found no information about the play except a review from the Acadian Recorder newspaper from March 14,1907.

Ben McCulloch (1811-1862) was an actual person who lived a very colorful life. He was a  Texas Ranger, a Sheriff, a good friend to           Davy Crockett, a Prospector during the 1849 Gold Rush and finally a Confederate General killed during a Civil War battle in 1862. The play which I believe is based on his life certainly had enough drama to draw from!

According to The Acadian Recorder dated March 14, 1907, 30 years ago the play at The Academy was Ben McCulloch or Sartin as Death. The main character was played by Oliver Dowd Byron making his first appearance in Halifax.

The reviewer writes ” Ben McCulloch is practically one of Buffalo Bill‘s blood and thunder stories dramatized, and from the beginning to end there is no cessation of interest. the lynching mob, the burning swelling, the daring rescue, the villainous plot, the robbery, the state prison, the mad Ben, the churchyard in the storm with it’s premature graves, the attempted murder, the exciting recontre, the touching meeting after long years of wasting sorrow, were the composites of the play. “

George who fancied himself to be a looker must have been annoyed by the rest of the review regarding a young actor named W.S. Harkins.

“W.S. Harkins is alleged to be the best looking member of the Nannary Company. it has been said that several impressionable young women in the city have fallen in love with him, and that the Academy of Music audiences have been augmented in consequence“.

Sorry George, that’s got to hurt the ego! Lizzie May does not receive a specific mention but as this is a root ’em toot ’em masculine play her role was most likely a small one as damsel in distress or saloon girl.

You decide. Check out the photos of George and W.S. . Who do you think would make the girls swoon?

Caste

Caste

On January 25th,1877 , the Academy of Music presented the play “Caste” written by Thomas William Robertson. Caste is Robertson’s best known work. The primary theme within his works played off the differences between class levels within society. His writing was fluid and known to have a more natural feel than that of his contemporaries. Robertson felt that British drama needed plays to reflect the times without introducing artificial plots and forced passions.

Caste written in 1867 dealt with a poor dancer named Esther who falls madly in love with George D’Alroy the son of a Marquis. Of course many misunderstandings and heartaches ensue.  At one point Esther is devastated by the false reports of D’Alroy’s death in India. Esther although born of the lower classes somehow has the temperament and bearing of the upper class. She is eventually accepted as D’Alroy’s husband by society. Esther’s sister Polly is written as a high-spirited, crass type which ensures lot’s of comedic situations.

Lizzie May played the perfect supporting role as the vulgar Polly Eccles. Reviews were strong. She was said to have taken the honors for her role. Praised for her diversity and her operatic singing she received several rounds of applause.

Lizzie May’s husband George also received accolades for his role as Sam Gerridge. He was said to portray Sam with  good humor and had a great rapport with the audience.

Our little soubrette and the drummer boy were well on their way!

Back to January 1877

academyofmusicphotoA few posts back I wrote about the horrific fire that destroyed not only the lovely  Academy of Music in St.John, New Brunswick, Canada but also 200 acres of that city. Along with many businesses, 1,612  homes were also burned to the ground.

The St. John fire occurred in  June 1877, but back in January of the same year, William Nannary’s acting company with Lizzie May Ulmer as a young ingenue were blissfully unaware of the horrors that six months would bring.

According to the Acadian Recorder dated January 9,1913, in January of 1877, Nannary’ acting company played for a nine week engagement. Productions listed were: The Clouds, New Men and Old Acres, Don Caesar De Bazan, My Mother-in-Law, Home, Caste, Ingomar, Under  the Gaslight, School, The King’s Rival, Inshavogue, Flying Scud, Camilla’s Husband, Pique, Shadow Brook, Streets of New York, Lady of Lyons, The Shaughbran, Rosedale, Saratoga, Colleen Bawn and many farces.

How many roles Lizzie May played within all of these performances is unknown but even if she had mere background roles in many of them, it is mind boggling  to think of the sheer volume of lines and marks she had to learn. As a stock actor she would be expected to learn over 100 parts, rehearse 2-3 plays per day, and within a season possibly have  40-100 different roles.  She would have been responsible for her own makeup and costumes and who knows what other tasks.

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. To boost or even ensure a great box-office, many stock companies would bring in a well known star for a few performances. This “star” would bring in big crowds to the local stock theatre companies.

Even though the life of the traveling stock actor was by no means glamorous by today’s standards, 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.

Terror On Tour

The Academy of Music in St.John, New Brunswick, Canada was by all accounts a stunning late 19th century theater. Unlike our homogenous, spartan movie theaters of today, theaters of the 19th century were a thing of beauty.

The Academy of Music is the featured building in the photo to the left. While only three stories high, the ornate Italian style facade and the impressive 65 foot high entrance tricked the eye into thinking the building was much larger than its actual dimensions of  190 x 21 . The massive front doors were elaborately carved of solid dark walnut and weighed over 1600 pounds! The ornate interior featured broad low stairs leading to an impressive balcony while above was an even higher gallery for the VIP’s reached by a separate entrance with their own ticket office. The Academy was furnished with 600 opera chairs made of iron and the softest upholstered leather. The total seating capacity of the Academy of Music was 1200 and as patrons looked up at the ceiling they would see that all around the  interior of the theatre ran an elaborately designed cornice. The interior walls were all tinted a soft pink to complement the stage lights. The large stage was 48 by 52 feet,  equipped with four traps and the exquisite scenery was painted by the famed composer and musical director, Gaspard Maeder. When the building was finally completed it had cost the theater company $60,000 to build. Sadly it would only stand for 7 years before disaster struck.

The acting company built a fine reputation for their Shakespearean productions and for attracting some of the biggest names of the day to walk their stage. It was the jewel in St. John’s crown but unfortunately it was not to last. On Tuesday evening June 19th, the favorite actress Louise Pomeroy, an actress with William Nannary’s troupe, played the role of Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to a packed house.

The next evening, June 20,1877, the company was scheduled to perform Shakespeare‘s As You Like It with Louise Pomeroy to perform the lead role of Rosalind. Sadly, that day the most destructive fire to ever to hit Canada raged through the streets of St. John. In less than nine hours, two-fifths or 200 acres of the city were laid to ashes. One thousand six hundred and twelve homes were burned to the ground. The company under the leadership of William Nannary and George Waldron the stage manager all managed to escape with their lives but little else. Among the list of company names…LIZZIE MAY ULMER and GEORGE T.ULMER. This young couple escaped with their lives but all they owned…trunks, clothing, costumes etc… were all lost to the fire.

Donald Collins is a St.John freelance writer who wrote a great piece on the fire and the aftermath. Below is a small except:

The main business centre in what had been one of the most prosperous cities in North America was wiped out. More than 1,600 homes were destroyed, leaving 13,000 people homeless. 
   Eighteen people lost their lives – 12 from burns, four were struck by falling debris and two drowned while trying to save their property in boats. 
   The fire obliterated most public buildings and businesses, including the post office, city hall, customs house, five banks, 14 hotels and 14 churches, as well as theatres and schools. 
   The 1,500 commercial and industrial buildings that were razed included 10 retail grocers, 116 liquor dealers, 93 commission merchants, 80 law offices, 55 boarding houses, 55 shoemakers, 36 tailors, 32 flour dealers, 29 insurance agents, 29 clothing stores and 22 dry goods establishments. 
   Damage was estimated at $27 million in 1877 dollars, of which only $6.5 million was recovered from insurance. 

In 1877 Lizzie May and George were acting with William Nannary’s company. Was this also the time that Lizzie purchased the trunk that started it all? It would make sense that after losing everything, she would have purchased a new traveling trunk. Perhaps the trunk that started this blog is the trunk that she purchased from Likly, McDonald and Rockett  makers of some of the finest trunks of the day?

Next Up: Carry on?