For the other theatre known by this name, see Chatham Garden Theatre

Chatham Garden Theatre

The Chatham Garden Theatre or Chatham Theatre was a playhouse in the Chatham Gardens of New York City. It was located on the north side of Chatham Street on Park Row between Pearl and Duane streets in lower Manhattan. The grounds ran through to Augustus Street...

.

The Chatham Theatre or Chatham Street Theatre was a playhouse

Playhouse

Playhouse is a common Elizabethan term for a theatre, especially those built in London such as The Globe and The Rose.It is also used as the name for theatres today:- Australia :* Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre...

 on the east side of Chatham Street in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. It was located between Roosevelt and James streets, a few blocks south of the Bowery

Bowery, Manhattan

Bowery , commonly called "the Bowery," is a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan...

. At its opening in 1839, the Chatham was a neighborhood establishment, which featured big-name actors and drama. By the mid-1840s, it had become primarily a venue for blackface

Blackface

Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...

 minstrel show

Minstrel show

The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....

s. Frank S. Chanfrau restored some of its grandeur in 1848.

The playhouse's most successful period was under the management of A. H. Purdy. He staged productions of Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...

's Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....

beginning in 1852, the success of which prompted him to advertise heavily and to create a special section where African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 patrons could sit. Following Purdy's departure in 1857, the theatre entered its final decline. It flip-flopped many times between a standard melodrama

Melodrama

The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...

 house and a concert saloon

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

 before finally being demolished in 1862.

Early management

Thomas Flynn

Thomas Flynn

The Most Reverend Thomas Flynn is an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as Bishop of Achonry from 1976 to 2007.Born in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, Ireland, on 8 July 1931, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Achonry on 17 June 1956. He was appointed Bishop of Achonry by the...

 and Henry Willard financed the construction of the Chatham Theatre in 1839. Under Flynn's management, the playhouse opened on 11 September 1839 with a production of A New Way to Pay Old Debts

A New Way to Pay Old Debts

A New Way to Pay Old Debts is a play of English Renaissance drama, the most popular drama of Philip Massinger. Its central chararacter, Sir Giles Overreach, became one of the more popular villains on English and American stages through the 19th century.-Performance:Massinger most likely wrote the...

starring John R. Scott and Mrs. Thomas Flynn. It was essentially a neighborhood theatre at this time, and the effects of the Panic of 1837

Panic of 1837

The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...

 were still being felt, so the establishment lost money. Nevertheless, Flynn and Willard kept it open for another year, staging comedies

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 and drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

s that starred popular actors, including James Anderson

James Anderson (actor)

James Anderson is a British actor.After graduating with first class honours from Warwick University, Anderson trained at the Actors' Studio in New York City. He has since had roles for TV, the stage and independent film...

, William Rufus Blake

William Rufus Blake

William Rufus Blake was a stage actor.-Biography:Blake was of Irish parentage. When only seventeen years old he went on the stage at Halifax, N. S., taking the part of the Prince of Wales, in Richard III with a company of strolling players...

, Junius Brutus Booth

Junius Brutus Booth

Junius Brutus Booth was an English actor. He was the father of John Wilkes Booth , Edwin Booth , and Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., an actor and theatre manager...

, and Mademoiselle Celeste. The theatre finally closed in January 1840 due to differences between the two owners.

Charles R. Thorne bought Willard's stake and joined Flynn as manager for two weeks in February 1840. Still, the theatre saw little success. Thorne then bought out Flynn's stake for $500. As sole manager, Flynn led the playhouse to a profitable four years, featuring popular talents such as James S. Browne, Mary Duff

Mary Duff

Mary Duff is an Irish singer. She is best known as Daniel O'Donnell's singing partner.-Personal life:Duff is married to her manager Paul McKenna...

, Edwin Forrest

Edwin Forrest

Edwin Forrest was an American actor.-Early life:Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Scottish and German descent. His father died and he was brought up by his mother, a German woman of humble origins. He was educated at the common schools in Philadelphia, and early evinced a taste...

, Thomas D. Rice

Thomas D. Rice

Thomas Dartmouth Rice was a white performer and playwright who used African American vernacular speech, song, and dance to become one of the most popular minstrel show entertainers of his time.-Background:...

, John Sefton, Henry Wallack, and Bill Williams

Bill Williams

-People:* Bill Williams , American film actor* Bill Williams , original member of The Lockers* Bill Williams Designer and programmer of Atari 8-bit and Amiga games...

.

In 1844, Thorne sold the theatre to his stage manager, a Mr. Stevens, and to A. W. Jackson, who managed for one season. During this time, the theatre was mainly a blackface

Blackface

Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...

 minstrel

Minstrel show

The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....

 house. On 8 April 1845, Ben De Bar became stage manager, but he soon partnered with William S. Deverna to lease the building. De Bar ceased active management on 5 October. M. S. Phillips was the next lessee, followed by J. Fletcher, who bought the theatre in 1847.

By this time, the Chatham Theatre was performing poorly. It became a circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 for a time before eventually reopening as a playhouse. Admissions were low for the time: 25¢ for the boxes, one shilling for the pit, and six pence for the gallery. The audience now consisted of the lower classes, who on holidays "used to talk, shout, and scream so that the actors went through their parts in dumb show . . . ."

Frank S. Chanfrau and W. Olgivie Ewen became joint lessees on 28 February 1848 with Chanfrau as manager. They renamed the building Chanfrau's National Theatre and tried to reclaim some of the theatre's lost prestige. This lasted until 8 July 1850.

Purdy's tenure

A. H. Purdy took over operations in 1850 for what would prove the theatre's most successful period. He renamed the building Purdy's National Theatre. He renovated in April 1852, reopening on 19 April. On 23 August 1852, Purdy produced the first non-comedic stage adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...

's Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....

in the United States. This version, written by Charles Western Taylor, ran for 11 nights but saw little success.

Most of the 1853 season was devoted to a much more successful dramatization of Stowe's novel. The production ran almost non-stop from 18 July 1853 to 19 April 1854, when performances were cut back to three nights weekly until 13 May. The play proved so popular with African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 audiences that Purdy created a special black-only section of the theatre on 15 August. No unaccompanied women were allowed there, and the entrance was separate from the main doors. Purdy expanded the section on 29 October. Despite the great success of the Uncle Tom's Cabin production, Purdy still lost money from advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 too heavily and by splurging on too many gifts for Cordelia Howard, the young actress who was starring in the drama.

Despite this one overzealous blunder, Purdy had a flair for advertising. On 1 September 1856, he began his sixth season at the Chatham by erecting a statue of George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 atop the playhouse while the New York Brass Band played and fireworks were launched. Purdy left during the Panic of 1857

Panic of 1857

The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...

.

Later management

The theatre then entered a long period of decline. The new owners redecorated before the 1858-9 season. Early on 10 July 1859, part of the theatre caught fire, apparently from gunfire special effects from the play the night before; the building suffered $500 in damages. The building was remodeled once again in November 1859 and reopened on 14 November as the Chatham Amphitheatre. Circuses provided the main attraction.

On 6 March 1860, J. Howard Rogers and Joseph C. Foster leased the building. They opened on 8 March as the National Concert Saloon. The emphasis now was on alcoholic beverages served by attractive waitresses. Admission prices were 12¢ for boxes and 6¢ for the pit. On 3 July, Charles J. Waters took over management and reopened as the National Theatre, a standard melodrama

Melodrama

The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...

 playhouse. George Beane replaced Waters on 6 October and restored the concert saloon theme. This lasted until December, when he gave it over to a German troupe.

Fox and Curran took over in 1861. They spent a great deal of money to restore the theatre, then reopened on 16 November as the National Music Hall. They failed to turn a profit, and George Lea, manager of the Melodeon on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 and Hooley's Theatre in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

gained control in December. He made the most of his three establishments by using the same actors at all three venues. They would first perform at the Melodeon, then travel to the Chatham, to finish up the night at Hooley's.

In October 1862, the Chatham Theater was demolished. Part of it survived and was rented to shopkeepers.