The Theatre on the Frontier the University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
4o (Su^Ji^o-i^ /'^t^(j>i ^c^ L I B R.AR.Y OF THE U N 1 VERS ITY or 1 LLl NOIS 792 C23t> Col ILL Hm. SUBViy ^ THE THEATRE ON THE FRONTIER THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAl THE COMMERCIAL PRESS, LIMITED THE THEATRE ON THE FRONTIER THE EARLY YEARS OF THE ST. LOUIS STAGE By WILLIAM G. B. CARSON THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO • ILLINOIS COPYRIGHT 1932 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PUBLISHED MARCH I932 . V\\ ^r TO MY WIFE ELIZABETH CHAPIN CARSON PREFACE COLLECTING material for a work of this sort one TNmust inevitably call upon others for assistance and ad- vice. Such has assuredly been my experience, and I cannot let this book go from my hands without acknowledg- ing some at least of this aid. Throughout the years devoted to my research and to the actual writing of the pages which follow I have had the benefit of the sympathetic counsel of Professor George C. D. Odell of Columbia University, and from his colleague Professor Ralph Leslie Rusk I have also received valuable suggestions. To the Missouri Historical So- ciety in St. Louis I am indebted for the use of its library, its newspaper files, and the manuscripts and prompt-copies in the Gundlach Collection, without which my work could not even have been begun. I must also most gratefully acknowl- edge the personal assistance of Mrs. Nettie H. Beauregard, the curator and archivist who guided me through the society's collection of manuscripts, and of Miss Stella M. Drumm, the librarian, whose untiring patience and wide familiarity with the historical literature of the Louisiana Purchase proved of invaluable assistance in establishing leads which frequently led me to valuable finds. The kindness of Mr. Sheridan S. Smith, of Webster Groves, Missouri, in placing at my disposal the great collection of documents and letters left by his grandfather, Sol Smith, has not only enabled me to unearth many details which must otherwise have remained unseen but also given me access to the records, formal and informal, written on the spot at the time by the very persons engaged, though they did not sus- pect it, in making the history which we are studying today. For further information concerning Sol Smith I am indebted to his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Thaddeus Smith. Miss Cornelia Maury has generously permitted me to use her portraits of viii PREFACE her grandfather, Mr. Matthew C. Field, and her great- grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Noah M. Ludlow. Mr. Charles R. Staples, of Lexington, Kentucky, allowed me free use of his manuscript article on "The Early Entertainments and Diversions of Lexington" and also rendered me great as- sistance in other ways, as has also Judge Samuel S. Wilson of the same city. To Mrs. Lillian A. Hall, custodian of the Harvard Theatre Collection, I owe the use of certain play- bills quoted in my book, and to Mr. Roy Day, librarian of the Players, New York, and Mr. Otis Skinner access to the library of that club. The Columbia University Press gave me permission to quote from Odell's Annals of the New York Stage and Rusk's Literature of the Middle Western Frontier. Other information I owe to Miss Leona Gray of McGill Uni- versity, Montreal; Miss Emma D. Poole, librarian of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania at Pittsburgh; Miss Leila Awnspaugh of the Mobile Public Library; Miss E. Abbot of the Cincinnati Public Library; Mr. L. H. Fox of the New York Public Library; the Reverend Gilbert J. Garra- ghan, St. Louis University; and the Reverend John Rothen- steiner, St. Louis. Finally, in closing, I desire to express my very deep and sin- cere appreciation of the interest manifested in my work by my colleagues at Washington University and of the encourage- ment they have given me on all occasions. I am especially grateful to Professor W. R. Mackenzie and Professor George B. Parks for valuable suggestions and advice; to Professor Ralph Bieber for sharing with me his knowledge of frontier history; and to Professor Richard F. Jones for the many hours he has devoted to helping me to the solution of knotty problems and the effective presentation of my material. As I said in beginning this acknowledgment, without this co-operation my purpose must have failed of accomplishment. CONTENTS PAGE List of Illustrations xi CHAPTER I. In the Nature of a Prologue i II. Amateur Nights, 1814-17 12 III. "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" 1818-19 19 IV. The Coming of Ludlow and Drake, 1820 ... 32 V. Feasts and Famines, 1820-26 60 VI. Caldwell Takes Over THE Salt House, 1827-28 . 84 VII. The Stars Come Out, 1829-31 107 VIII. The Salt House in Its Glory, 1832-35 .... 134 IX. A Famous Partnership Is Formed, 1835-36. 160 X. The First Real Theatre, 1837 180 XL "The Winter OF Our Discontent," 1838 . 218 XII. A Season of Spectacles, 1838 246 XIII. A Tree, a Forrest, and a Galaxy, 1839 • ^^4 XIV. On the Eve of the Fabulous Forties, 1839 293 XV. By Way of an Epilogue 307 Appendi.x 318 Bibliography 331 Index 337 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The First Theatre in St. Louis Frontispiece FACIN The Green Tree Tavern 22 Playbill Advertising a Performance bv the Turner Company in i8i8 24 Bennett's Mansion House Hotel, 18 19 43 Playbill Advertising a Performance by Drake's Com- pany IN 1820 48 Julia Drake (Mrs. Edwin Dean) 5^ Playbill Advertising a Performance in the Salt House BY Caldwell's Company 89 The First Mrs. Sol Smith 96 Playbill Advertising McCafferty's Benefit in the Salt House in 1828 103 Noah M. Ludlow 163 Sol Smith 174 New St. Louis Theatre (Ludlow and Smith) .... 200 Matthew C. Field 226 Eliza Riddle (Mrs. Joseph M. Field) 252 Mrs. Noah M. Ludlow 275 Fourth Street, St. Louis, in 1840 297 CHAPTER I IN THE NATURE OF A PROLOGUE WHATEVER may have been its theatrical fortunes since, it was— I think undoubtedly—St. Louis that on January 6, 1815, witnessed the birth of the drama in the vast territory west of the Mississippi.' For more than a century, theatricals had been given in the cities of the original thirteen states, and commercial companies had long been fairly well established. It is no easy matter to de- termine definite facts concerning the early history of the theatre in this country, particularly of the amateur phase, puritanical prejudices having been sufficiently potent to draw a veil over the identity of those who had the temerity to take part and indeed over the activities themselves. But out of the obscurity, painstaking research has been able to bring certain facts to light. Just when the first play was acted in the present territory of the United States, it is impossible to tell; nor is it likely that we shall ever know. It was, however, almost certainly late in the seventeenth or early in the eight- eenth century. The first extant references to theatricals in New York City are cited by Professor George C. D. Odell in his thorough and comprehensive Annals of the New York Stage. "Somewhere between 1699 and 1702, Richard Hunter received permission to give plays in New York; in 1703-4 .Anthony .Aston acted here; in 1709, play-acting was legally forbidden; on December 6, 1732, The Recruiting Officer was performed at the New Theatre; a map, 1732-35, shows the Playhouse in Broadway."^ That other productions had been ' I refer here, of course, to the English dram.T, and do not overlook the plays given as early as 1598 in the Spanish colonics to the west. Cf. Winifred Johnston, "The Early Theatre in the Spanish Borderlands," Mid-America, Vol. XIII; N.S., Vol. II, No. 2. 'George C. D. Odell, Jmuils of the Sew York Stage, I, 31. 2 THE THEATRE ON THE FRONTIER given previously in Virginia or elsewhere is possible, but not probable. The Hallam family, and its associates, once be- lieved to be the first actors to perform in the colonies, did not land from the "Charming Sally" until 1752. But, whatever may have been the date of its inception, the drama gained a foothold, and, in spite of the opposition of the Calvinistic elements of the population, the theatre, both amateur and professional, became, before many years had passed, an im- portant source of entertainment particularly for the wealthier classes in the larger centers. The War of Independence neces- sarily caused some interruption in its development, but as soon as peace was restored, the interest was revived and even intensified. With the opening of the frontier lands west of the AUe- ghenies, there came a great migration into the valley of the Mississippi. It was still a savage country to be braved only by the courageous and the hardy, but it was settled with great rapidity. Among the pioneers who poured down the western slopes of the mountains were hundreds of young men who carried with them a love for the drama both in book form and on the stage, and doubtless many who had actually par- ticipated in amateur performances in their native cities. Despite the rigors and privations of their new life and the dangers of their surroundings, they did not forget this love for the muses of tragedy and comedy, and it was not long before "Thespian societies," as they were termed, were springing up in these remote and rough-hewn settlements, the entire populations of which could, in many instance^ be comfortably seated in some of our present-day theatres.