Wallack's Theatre
Often, a manager leased a theater from its owner, and since the building was deemed an important part of the playgoer's experience, typically renovated it to his own taste.
The next day, the New York Herald reported: This new temple of Thespis was opened last evening, before a brilliant and crowded audience, with an éclat which prognosticates its future career to be triumphant.
The performances concluded with the laughable interlude of Deeds of Dreadful Note, and a new piece, called The Light Guard, or Woman's Rights.
[6] Aged 57, he was a well-known and well-respected British American actor who had proved himself as a manager at the National Theater (Church and Leonard Streets) from 1837 until it burned down in 1839.
)[13] In 1854, Putnam's Monthly commented: There are two theatres in New York, and but two which are devoted exclusively to the performance of the regular drama; these are Burton's in Chambers Street, and Wallack's in Broadway.
[15] In 1855, Wallack engaged the actress Mary Gannon, who had a series of critical triumphs in comedies with Wallack's company over the next decade, including performances in James Sheridan Knowles's The Love Chase, Octave Feuillet's The Romance of a Poor Young Man, Knights of the Round Table, Elizabeth Inchbald's To Marry or Not to Marry, and Augustus Glossop Harris's The Little Treasure, among others.
Brown asserts that Wallack's engagement was unsuccessful, that he played to the poorest houses of the season, and that he insisted on appearing in parts for which at this time he was too old, though he had gained a reputation in them twenty years before.
He appeared for the first time that season on December 9, as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice; on January 17 created the part of Colonel Delmar in The Veteran, Lester's new play, which ran 102 nights; and ended his acting career on May 14, as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing.
The hand of a master was visible in every production, and the taste, elegance, and propriety displayed about the whole establishment gave it a position of respectability never hitherto enjoyed in New York, except at the old Park Theatre.
So did William Gibson, a glass stainer and supplier of architectural ornament, who by 1860 had acquired land on the northeast corner of Broadway and 13th Street[24] for a new home for his business (and himself).
[26] For something more than twenty years [writes Brown] the most famous theatre in the United States was that of James W. Wallack, situated on the northeast corner of Broadway and Thirteenth Street.
By early 1883, he was bankrupt, and sold the theater back to Lester Wallack, who renamed it the Star Theatre and reopened it on March 26 with an engagement by a company headed by Boucicault presenting several of his plays.
[37] That summer Wallack announced the house would be devoted to touring companies exclusively; it was extensively redecorated and the stage rebuilt with traps and built-in platforms.
Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre stock company of London (whose leading lady was Ellen Terry) opened its first American tour at the Star on October 29.
The New York Times published an investigation of ticket speculation, a subject of public complaint, and its connection to theater managements, beginning December 13, with an article spotlighting the Star Theatre and Theodore Moss.
[43] Johnson & Slavin's minstrels, Lydia Thompson, John W. Albaugh, Henry E. Dixey, Annie Pixley, Marie Wainwright, Fanny Davenport, John Wild,[44] Benoît–Constant Coquelin, Rose Coghlan, and Robson and Crane appeared, and attractions included Boston's Howard Athenaeum Specialty Company and The Crystal Slipper from the Chicago Opera House.
His biggest star was comedian William H. Crane, whose hits included For Money, On Probation, The Pacific Mail, The Player, and, especially, The Senator.
During the summer of 1890, a new cooling system was installed, with an electric-powered Sturtevant blower forcing 20,000 cubic feet of air a minute over two tons of ice in a basement tank, and then through ducts to registers under the main-floor aisles.
In May, Moss announced that he was repositioning his 13th Street theater as a "popular-priced" house, but he immediately changed course, selling his interest, which comprised leases he held on the ground and building.
[48] The purchaser was Neil Burgess, a comedian who was best known for his perennial hit, The County Fair, with its famous racing scene which featured real horses on treadmills.
[54] The theater was replaced by an eight-story commercial structure, designed by Clinton & Russell, whose principal tenant was the clothier Rogers, Peet & Co.[55] Today the entire block is occupied by a 1999 mixed-use building, with an entrance to a multiplex cinema on the Wallack's site.
... A magnificent chandelier of copper and brass, with a spread of 14 feet and 200 burners, depends from the dome, and smaller gas-fixtures spring from the painted panels on the walls and other points.
[62] The new theater was dedicated January 4, 1882, "with a magnificent revival of The School for Scandal, which had an exceptionally fine cast" led by John Gilbert and Rose Coghlan.
[68] Jenkins comments: Here Wallack had an excellent stock company as before; but the house never became so famous or so popular as the old Thirteenth Street theatre—perhaps, because a new generation of theatre goers had grown up and the actor-manager was getting old.
The company ended its last home season on May 7, 1887, played a week in Brooklyn, and on May 16 went to Daly's Theatre, across the street, for a two-week run of The Romance of a Poor Young Man.
Among the performers appearing at Palmer's Theatre were Benoît–Constant Coquelin and Jane Hading, Richard Mansfield, Rose Coghlan, Mary Anderson, Mrs. James Brown–Potter, Charles Wyndham, Tommaso Salvini, E. S. Willard, Marie Wainwright, John Drew (Jr.), Maude Adams, Annie Russell, Lillie Langtry, Julia Marlowe, and Georgia Cayvan.
In March 1900, police closed the theater and arrested Olga Nethersole, the star of Sapho; her manager, Marcus Mayer; the leading man, Hamilton Revelle; and Theodore Moss; for violating public decency by performing the play.
[93] In March, plans were announced for a 12-story factory building to replace 29–33 West 30th Street – i. e., the stage and dressing rooms – curtailing Barker's run.
[94] The last performance at Wallack's 30th Street theater occurred on Saturday night, May 1, 1915, when Barker's company presented Androcles and the Lion and The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife.
Following the plays, an epilogue written for the occasion by Oliver Herford was read by Rose Coghlan, the leading lady on opening night in 1882.
