Arch Street Theatre

Louisa Lane Drew was the grandmother of ryLionel, Ethel and John Barrymore, and matriarch / ancestor of the famous Barrymore-Drew acting family, which extended across several generations from the 18th, 19th, 20th and now even to the 21st centuries.

[10] By 1875, the theatre became the venue for the first American performance of a work by British musical composers and playwrights partnership team Gilbert and Sullivan (W.S.

Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), when another actress and theatre manager / producer Alice Oates (1849-1887),staged an unauthorized and approximate performance of their work Trial by Jury here.

[2] By 1898, Moishe ("Morris") Finkel (c.1850-1904), rented the building and presented Yiddish language (German / Hebrew) theater for Jewish patrons for several months, including one week of performances by Keni Liptzin (1856-1918).

The prolific Yiddish theatre composer Joseph Brody (c.1876/77-1937), recently arrived from the Russian Empire (Russia), got his American start there as well.