 |  | |
 |
|  |
 |  | |
| | |
|
| |
| | |
|
|
Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
The first shower of stars burst upon the State's playhouses in the mid
1880's. Booth and Barrett in Shakespeare, Joseph Jefferson in Rip Van
Winkle, and the Salvinis in Greek tragedy all played Newark, Trenton,
Hoboken, and other towns later scorned by touring companies. This
galaxy simultaneously dignified the one-night stand and broke the cold
grip of social disapproval of the theater. After mayor, minister, and
banker had received Edwin Booth as an artist, it was a little more difficult
on general principles to run Mrs. Jarley and her "celebrated galvanic,
man-unmotive, non-suspension wax works" out of New Brunswick as a
menace to public decency.
Actors of smaller stature followed in the wake of these great names of
the American theater. Annually eight horses galloped down the main
streets of Bordentown and Burlington to announce the arrival of Uncle
Tom's Cabin; pictures of chorus ladies in tights revealed that the boyhood
musical delight, The Black Crook, had come back to Perth Amboy; and
posters flamed from every wall in Paterson to rekindle the town's interest
in The Still Alarm.
As serious American playwrights gradually developed, more and more
troupes turned after 1890 to the work of Augustus Thomas, Charles
Klein, Clyde Fitch, and William Gillette for respite from the earlier
blood-curdling histrionics. Companies in New Brunswick, Morristown,
Newark, Passaic, and Trenton used their new problem plays to train actors
for the greater stock companies in New York.
A new group of American stars accompanied the maturing of the
American drama. Minnie Maddern Fiske, Maude Adams, Otis Skinner,
and Walker Whiteside gave Newark and other large towns. their first real
opportunity to see excellent native actors in native plays. To these greatest
days of the road, the State contributed Robert B. Mantell (1854-1928)
of Atlantic Highlands, one of the hardiest and most traveled Shakespeareans of the century. For more than 50 years Mantell not only played
the large stands but also carried Shakespeare to high schools, churches,
and other groups unable to afford Henry Irving and Elleri Terry. Often
he was the only important actor playing the classics outside New York.
While the road still lived, New Jersey became a genuinely important
factor in the American theater as a try-out center. The gay resort life of
Atlantic City seemed to Belasco, Frohman, and Brady an ideal setting for
testing shows prior to Broadway first nights. After Ziegfeld had succeeded there with the world premiere of his first Follies in 1907, Atlantic
City built three theaters to appease the squabbling Broadway managers.
Shortly afterward, Newark joined the "subway circuit," giving New
Jersey many more genuine "first nights" than those enjoyed across the
Hudson. Producers later booked Asbury Park and Long Branch for summer openings.
|
|
|
Return To |
|
|
