Chatham Theatre
He staged productions of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin beginning in 1852, the success of which prompted him to advertise heavily and to create a special section where African American patrons could sit.
Nevertheless, Flynn and Willard kept it open for another year, staging comedies and dramas that starred popular actors, including James Anderson, William Rufus Blake, Junius Brutus Booth, and Mademoiselle Celeste.
[3] Charles R. Thorne bought Willard's stake and joined Flynn as manager for two weeks in February 1840.
[4] As sole manager, Flynn led the playhouse to a profitable four years, featuring popular talents such as James S. Browne, Mary Ann Duff, Edwin Forrest, Thomas D. Rice, John Sefton, Henry Wallack, and Bill Williams.
On 8 April 1845, Ben De Bar became stage manager, but he soon partnered with William S. Deverna to lease the building.
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 .
On 23 August 1852, Purdy produced the first non-comedic stage adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in the United States.
The play proved so popular with African American audiences that Purdy created a special black-only section of the theatre on 15 August.
[9] Despite the great success of the Uncle Tom's Cabin production, Purdy still lost money from advertising too heavily and by splurging on too many gifts for Cordelia Howard, the young actress who was starring in the drama.
On 1 September 1856, he began his sixth season at the Chatham by erecting a statue of George Washington atop the playhouse while the New York Brass Band played and fireworks were launched.
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.
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 and Hooley's Theatre in Brooklyn gained control in December.
