Lyceum Theatre (New York, 1885-1902)
Encyclopedia
The Lyceum Theatre operated on Manhattan
’s Fourth Avenue (now Park Ave. South) between 23rd and 24th Streets, from 1885 to 1902, when it was torn down to make way for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower
and replaced by the Lyceum Theatre on 45th Street. For most of its existence, the theatre was home to Daniel Frohman
’s Lyceum Theatre Stock Company, which presented many important plays and actors of the day.
is reported to have personally worked on making it the first theatre lighted entirely by electricity (not the first to use electric lights), and Louis Comfort Tiffany
designed aspects of the interior. Not all new technologies lasted: for the first season the orchestra rode an "automatic elevator car" into the fly gallery during performances, but the car was removed in the theatre’s second year. Ticket prices initially ranged from $1 to $2.50.
and producer Gustave Frohman
built the theatre as the base for the Lyceum School of Acting, to be run by them and Franklin H. Sargent. The school quickly became the New York School of Acting and then, by 1888, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
(AADA). Sargent soon left and after six months Mackaye and Frohman were forced to sell their interests to benefit Tiffany and other creditors. Actress Helen Dauvray then became manager, making her one of the first woman theatrical executives in the U.S. Gustave’s brother, the impresario
Daniel Frohman
, took over at the beginning of the theatre’s third season and stayed until it was demolished in 1902, when he established the Lyceum Theatre (Broadway) on 45th St.
with a more or less constant troupe of actors performing several different plays each season. Frohman sought to introduce as many new, “modern plays” as possible. The plays reflected both the older melodrama
style and the newer naturalistic
or realistic style, common to the last decades before the motion picture era. The Lyceum Company also sent productions on the road with full complements of actors, sets, musicians, crew, and publicists. (Prior to this, lead actors tended to tour alone and work with local actors and musicians, with results of varying artistic quality.) From 1886 until 1890, David Belasco
worked for the Lyceum Company as stage manager (in today's terms, director or artistic director), co-wrote three of the company’s productions with Henry C. DeMille, and taught at the acting school. In January 1899, three years before the old Lyceum shut down, Daniel Frohman moved the Lyceum Theatre Company to Daly’s Theatre. He and his brother Charles Frohman
continued to produce plays at the Lyceum after the stock company moved.
Among the married couples in the company were:
. (WP=world premiere, AP=American premiere.)
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
’s Fourth Avenue (now Park Ave. South) between 23rd and 24th Streets, from 1885 to 1902, when it was torn down to make way for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, also known as the Metropolitan Life Tower or Met Life Tower, is a landmark skyscraper located on East 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, off of Madison Square Park. in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
and replaced by the Lyceum Theatre on 45th Street. For most of its existence, the theatre was home to Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman was a Jewish American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer.Frohman was born in Sandusky, Ohio...
’s Lyceum Theatre Stock Company, which presented many important plays and actors of the day.
Building, Stage Technology, Prices
The three-story building’s auditorium was 75 feet deep by 48.5 feet wide, with a seating capacity of 727: boxes 88, parquet 344, dress circle 172, balcony 123. Thomas EdisonThomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
is reported to have personally worked on making it the first theatre lighted entirely by electricity (not the first to use electric lights), and Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
designed aspects of the interior. Not all new technologies lasted: for the first season the orchestra rode an "automatic elevator car" into the fly gallery during performances, but the car was removed in the theatre’s second year. Ticket prices initially ranged from $1 to $2.50.
Beginning
Actor/playwright and theatre technology innovator Steele MackayeSteele MacKaye
James Morrison Steele MacKaye was an American playwright, actor, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his...
and producer Gustave Frohman
Gustave Frohman
Gustave Frohman was a theatre producer and advance man. He was one of three Frohman brothers who entered show business and he worked for most of his career alongside his brother, Charles Frohman. These two financed a number of theatre productions, often featuring African American actors...
built the theatre as the base for the Lyceum School of Acting, to be run by them and Franklin H. Sargent. The school quickly became the New York School of Acting and then, by 1888, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
(AADA). Sargent soon left and after six months Mackaye and Frohman were forced to sell their interests to benefit Tiffany and other creditors. Actress Helen Dauvray then became manager, making her one of the first woman theatrical executives in the U.S. Gustave’s brother, the impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman was a Jewish American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer.Frohman was born in Sandusky, Ohio...
, took over at the beginning of the theatre’s third season and stayed until it was demolished in 1902, when he established the Lyceum Theatre (Broadway) on 45th St.
Lyceum Theatre Stock Company
Daniel Frohman ran the Lyceum Theatre Company, a stock companyRepertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
with a more or less constant troupe of actors performing several different plays each season. Frohman sought to introduce as many new, “modern plays” as possible. The plays reflected both the older 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...
style and the newer naturalistic
Naturalism (theatre)
Naturalism is a movement in European drama and theatre that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that attempts to create a perfect illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies: detailed, three-dimensional settings Naturalism is a...
or realistic style, common to the last decades before the motion picture era. The Lyceum Company also sent productions on the road with full complements of actors, sets, musicians, crew, and publicists. (Prior to this, lead actors tended to tour alone and work with local actors and musicians, with results of varying artistic quality.) From 1886 until 1890, David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
worked for the Lyceum Company as stage manager (in today's terms, director or artistic director), co-wrote three of the company’s productions with Henry C. DeMille, and taught at the acting school. In January 1899, three years before the old Lyceum shut down, Daniel Frohman moved the Lyceum Theatre Company to Daly’s Theatre. He and his brother Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....
continued to produce plays at the Lyceum after the stock company moved.
Actors
Lyceum productions featured top American and English actors. Many later appeared in silent films.- W.C. Bellows
- William Courtleigh
- Rowland Buckstone
- Georgia CayvanGeorgia CayvanGeorgie Eva Cayvan was a popular stage actress in the United States in the later part of the nineteenth century.-Early life:...
- Helen Dauvray
- James K. HackettJames K. HackettJames K. Hackett was an American shipbuilder in New Hampshire in the late 18th century. He was responsible for the construction of a number of significant Revolutionary War-era warship for the fledgling country, including the USS Raleigh , USS Ranger , USS America , USS Congress , USS Portsmouth...
- Virginia HarnedVirginia HarnedVirginia Harned , born Virginia Hicks, was a noted American stage actress at the turn of the 20th century. She is mainly remembered for playing the title character in the 1895 Broadway premiere of the play Trilby based on George Du Maurier's novel of the same name...
- Isabel IrvingIsabel IrvingIsabel Irving was an American actress. She was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and made her New York stage debut in 1886 at the Standard Theatre in The Schoolmistress under Rosina Vokes. She retired from the theater in 1936. She was married to William H. Thompson until his death in 1923...
- Herbert Kelcey
- W.J. LeMoyneWilliam J. Le MoyneWilliam J. Le Moyne was a prominent American actor who is credited with playing Deacon Perry in the first stage adaption of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.-Early career:William J...
- Enid Leslie
- Mary ManneringMary ManneringMary Mannering was an Anglo-American actress, born in London. She studied for the stage under Hermann Vezin. She made her debut at Manchester in 1892 under her own name of Florence Friend....
- Edward J. Morgan
- Kate Pattison-Selten
- Annie RussellAnnie RussellAnnie Ellen Russell was an English born American stage actress.-Early life:Russell was born on in Liverpool, England, of Irish parents, Joseph Russell and Jane Mount. She moved to Canada when she was a child. She made her first appearance on the stage at eight years old at the Montreal Academy of...
- Morton SeltenMorton SeltenMorton Selten was a British stage and film actor. He was occasionally credited as Morton Selton.It was generally acknowledged that Selten was an illegitimate son of the then Prince of Wales . He began acting in 1878, with stage performances mainly in America. His film career began in the 1920s...
- Effie ShannonEffie ShannonEffie Shannon was a stage and silent screen actress. She had a 60 year career as starring performer and later character actress. Her partner or husband was Herbert Kelcey who died in 1917...
- E.H. Sothern
- Sam Sothern
- Ernest Tarleton
- Elizabeth “Bessie” TyreeElizabeth TyreeElizabeth Tyree was an actress in Broadway theatrical productions beginning in the mid 1890s. Her married name wasElizabeth Tyree Metcalfe.-Stage actress:...
- Charles Walcot
- Mrs. Charles Walcot
- Thomas Whiffen
- Mrs. Thomas “Blanche” WhiffenBlanche WhiffenBlanche Whiffen, better known as Mrs. Thomas Whiffen, was an American actress born in London. Her maiden name was Galton. She was educated in France; made her stage début at the Royalty Theatre, London, in 1865; came to America in 1868; and toured the United States under John Templeton's management...
Among the married couples in the company were:
- William FavershamWilliam FavershamWilliam Faversham was a legendary movie and stage actor from England who made his name on Broadway when he starred as Algernon in the original production of The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895...
and Julie Opp - James K. Hackett and Mary Mannering
- Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon
- Morton Selten and Kate Pattison-Selten
- E.H. Sothern and Virginia Harned
- Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walcot
- Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Whiffen
Plays/Playwrights/Opening Nights
Over 80 plays were presented at the Lyceum, not counting dozens of benefits, concerts, lectures, amateur and student productions, short-stay touring performances, and revivals of these plays in repertoryRepertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
. (WP=world premiere, AP=American premiere.)
- Dakolar, Steele MackayeSteele MacKayeJames Morrison Steele MacKaye was an American playwright, actor, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his...
, 4/6/1885. - In Spite of All, Steele MackayeSteele MacKayeJames Morrison Steele MacKaye was an American playwright, actor, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his...
after SardouVictorien SardouVictorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
, 9/15/1885. - One of Our Girls, Bronson HowardBronson HowardBronson Howard was a well-known American dramatist and son of Detroit mayor Charles Howard. He prepared for college at New Haven, Conn., but instead of entering Yale he turned to Journalism in New York. From 1867 to 1872 he worked on several newspapers, among them the Evening Mail and the Tribune...
, 1/10/1885. 200 performances. - The Highest Bidder, J. Maddison MortonJohn Maddison MortonJohn Maddison Morton was an English playwright who specialized in one-act farces. His most famous farce was Box and Cox . He also wrote comic dramas, pantomimes and other theatrical pieces.-Biography:...
, 5/3/1887. WP, first D. Frohman/Belasco production. - Editha's Burglar, Frances Hodgson BurnettFrances Hodgson BurnettFrances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
and George Flemine, 9/19/1887. - The Wife, David BelascoDavid BelascoDavid Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
and Henry DeMille, 11/1/1887. WP, 239 perfs. - Lord Chumley, Henry De Mille and David BelascoDavid BelascoDavid Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
, 8/21/1888. WP. - Sweet Lavender, Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing PineroSir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
, 11/13/1888. AP, 100+ perfs. - The Marquis, SardouVictorien SardouVictorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
, 3/18/1889. - The Charity Ball, David BelascoDavid BelascoDavid Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
and Henry DeMille, 11/19/1889, WP, 200 perfs. - The Maister of Woodbarrow, Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. JeromeJerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
, 8/26/1890. AP. - The Idler, C. Haddon ChambersCharles Haddon ChambersCharles Haddon Spurgeon Chambers was an Australian-born dramatist, active in England.-Early life:Chambers was born in Petersham, Sydney, the son of John Ritchie Chambers, who had a good position in the New South Wales civil service, came from Ulster, his mother, Frances, daughter of William...
, 11/11/1890. WP. - Nerves, J. Comyns CarrJ. Comyns CarrJoseph William Comyns Carr was an English drama and art critic, gallery director, author, poet, playwright and theatre manager....
, 1/19/1891. AP. - Old Heads and Young Hearts, Dion BoucicaultDion BoucicaultDionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
, 4/6/1891. - The Dancing Girl, Henry Arthur JonesHenry Arthur JonesHenry Arthur Jones was an English dramatist.-Biography:Jones was born at Granborough, Buckinghamshire to Silvanus Jones, a farmer. He began to earn his living early, his spare time being given to literary pursuits...
, 8/31/1891. AP. - Lady Bountiful, Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing PineroSir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
, 11/16/1891. AP. - Squire Kate, adapted by Robert Buchanan, 1/18/1892.
- Merry Gotham, Elisabeth MarburyElisabeth MarburyElisabeth Marbury was a pioneering American theatrical and literary agent and producer who represented a prominent theatrical performers and writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and helped shape business methods of the modern commercial theater...
, 3/14/1892. WP. - Captain Lettarblair, Marguerite Merrington, 8/16/1892. WP.
- Americans Abroad, SardouVictorien SardouVictorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
, 12/5/1892. - The Guardsman, George R. Sims and Cecil RaleighCecil RaleighCecil Raleigh was an English actor and playwright.He was the son of Dr. John Fothergill Rowlands, and took the stage name of Raleigh...
, 4/3/1893. - Sheridan, or the Maid of Bath, Paul Potter, 9/5/1893.
- Our Country Cousins, Paul Potter, 1/8/1894. WP.
- The Amazons, Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing PineroSir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
, 2/19/1894. AP, 100+ perfs. - The Case of Rebellious Susan, Henry Arthur JonesHenry Arthur JonesHenry Arthur Jones was an English dramatist.-Biography:Jones was born at Granborough, Buckinghamshire to Silvanus Jones, a farmer. He began to earn his living early, his spare time being given to literary pursuits...
, 12/29/1894. - The Prisoner of Zenda, Edward E. Rose, 9/4/1895. 200 perfs.
- The Home Secretary, R.C. Carton, 11/25/1895. AP.
- An Enemy to the King, R.N. Stephens, 9/1/1896. 103 perfs.
- The Late Mr. Castello, Sydney GrundySydney GrundySydney Grundy was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world...
, 12/14/1896. - The First Gentleman of Europe, Frances Hodgson BurnettFrances Hodgson BurnettFrances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
and George Fleming, 1/25/1897. - The Mysterious Mr. Bugle, Madeleine Lucette Ryley, 4/19/1897.
- The Princess and the Butterfly, Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing PineroSir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
, 11/23/1897. - The Tree of Knowledge, R.C. Carton, 1/24/1898.
- The Moth and the Flame, Clyde FitchClyde FitchClyde Fitch was an American dramatist.-Biography:Born William Clyde Fitch at Elmira, New York, he wrote over 60 plays, 36 of them original, which varied from social comedies and farces to melodrama and historical dramas.As the only child to live to adulthood, his father, Captain William G...
, 4/11/1898. - The Adventure of Lady Ursula, Anthony Hope, 9/1/1898.
- Trelawny of the %27Wells%27, Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing PineroSir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
, 11/22/1898. AP, 131 perfs. - His Excellency the Governor, Capt. Robert Marshall, 5/9/1899. First post-Lyceum Stock Company production.
- Miss Hobbs, Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. JeromeJerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
, 9/7/1899. 158 perfs. - My Daughter-in-Law, Paul Bilhaud and Michel Carre, 2/26/1900.
- A Royal Family, Capt. Robert Marshall, 9/5/1900. 175 perfs.
- The Love Match, Sydney GrundySydney GrundySydney Grundy was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world...
, 10/12/1901. - The Girl and the Judge, Clyde FitchClyde FitchClyde Fitch was an American dramatist.-Biography:Born William Clyde Fitch at Elmira, New York, he wrote over 60 plays, 36 of them original, which varied from social comedies and farces to melodrama and historical dramas.As the only child to live to adulthood, his father, Captain William G...
, 12/1/1901. Last production at the old Lyceum Theatre, 125 perfs.
External Links
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts: http://www.aada.org/about/history.html
- Belasco, "My Life's Story": http://books.google.com/books?id=_6wiAQAAMAAJ
- Brown, A History of the New York Stage: http://books.google.com/books?id=C5IXAAAAYAAJ
- Frohman, Memories of a Manager: http://books.google.com/books?id=OydaAAAAMAAJ
- Lyceum Theatre on Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/venue.php?id=1315
- Winter, Life of Belasco: http://books.google.com/books?id=5pMXAAAAYAAJ