|
Finding playbills for 19th century theatre
presentations can be difficult. I suppose because these
items are generally very fragile, not that many have
survived in reasonable shape.
Here are some examples. Determining the dates of some of
these is an ongoing effort.
July, 1884 Oakland Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Note that the managers were Rich and Harris. As noted
above these men were later sued by Peck and Atkinson.
After they were no longer associated with Atkinson's
Comedy Company, they attempted to produce their own
unauthorized play.
October 10-11, 1884 - New Haven Opera House
This playbill consists of four sides. Shown here is the
front and the back. Of great interest is the documentation
here of Peck's constant fight against the piracy of his
work. Note on the back page the "WARNING" regarding
authenticity. In particular on the back page Dan Sully is
specifically mentioned as a pirate.
Mid 1880's
This flyer describes an authorized production.
1880's-Grand Opera House
This is an Atkinson production and thus authorized.
1890's Unauthorized play
Here is a playbill from a play produced by Charles
Hassenforder. He was active in the theatre in the 1890's.
I have been unable to determine the exact site and date of
this play.
It was probably not authorized by George W. Peck since
neither Peck's name nor the name of the Atkinson Comedy
Company appear on this little ad.
It is 8.5 x 4.
1890's- Authorized play- Unknown location
This playbill is for a George W. Heath play.
Famous Peck performers, Willie McDermott and Fred Wenzel
star.
1890's - Albion Opera House
The Albion Opera House was located in Albion, Michigan.
This flyer advertises the Peck’s Bad Boy play.
Geo. W. Heath managed this play in the midwest in the
1890's.
January 10, 1895 - Boonville Opera House
This playbill moves into George W. Heath era.
Playbill - March, 1896
Here is another authorized play produced by the Atkinson
Comedy Company. Two of the more well performers, Dot
Karroll and Fred Wenzel were in lead roles.
Dot Karroll stars as the "Bad Boy" in this
production.
Flyer- October 15, 1898 - Theatre Saratoga
This program is from Theatre Saratoga in Saratoga Springs,
New York. The advertisements of local establishments
surround the information on the play. It is unclear
whether this play was authorized but because Atkinson
Comedy Co. is not mentioned, it probably was not.
April 28, 1902 - Third Avenue Family Theatre
Dixon's Third Avenue Family Theatre was located in New
York City.
Joe Madison along with Fred Wenzel starred in this play in
the early 1900's. Wenzel had been the Groceryman in
earlier plays as well. April 28th was a Monday in 1902 and
thus is the most likely year for the play advertised
below.
There is no mention of authorized producers on the
playbill. I suspect that this was an unauthorized
production.
November 11, 1904 - Lewisburg Opera House
This one page sheet (6.5 x 5.25) notes the play will be
performed at the Lewisburg Opera House on November 11,
1904. This facility in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania was the
site of a Peck's Bad Boy annual production for several
years at the turn of the century.
Since no production company is mentioned on the flyer, it
is most likely that this play was not authorized by Peck.
In addition, the musical numbers noted on the flyer are
not done in the authorized plays.
The Lewisburg Opera House was built in 1869. It burnt down
in 1908.
Approximate date 1888-1890
This play was produced by an unauthorized producer. I
believe the manager's name is actually Kusell not Kurell.
Chas. Guinness was an unauthorized producer of this play.
This playbill was printed in 1885 for a production in
Milford, New Hampshire. The three acts noted are different
from the three acts of the authorized play written by
Pidgin. The New York Mirror stated that "Guinness is
presenting a garbled version of Peck's Bad Boy in the
smaller New England towns. In December, 1886 Guinness
produced a take-off of the Peck's Bad Boy play called "Fun
in a Grocery Store".
|
