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The Women of the Ten, Twent', Thirt': Popular Melodrama Theatre in Turn-Of-The-Century New York

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The Women of the Ten, Twent', Thirt': Popular Melodrama Theatre in Turn-Of-The-Century New York City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects CUNY Graduate Center 1999 The Women of the Ten, Twent', Thirt': Popular Melodrama Theatre in Turn-of-the-Century New York Barbara Meredith Waldinger The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4327 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS The original manuscript received by UMI contains pages with slanted print. Pages were microfilmed as received. This reproduction is the best copy available UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE WOMEN OF THE TEN, TWENT', THIRT' Popular Melodrama Theatre in Turn-of-the-Century New York by BARBARA MEREDITH WALDINGER A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TJMI Number: 9917710 Copyright 1999 by Waldinger, Barbara Meredith All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9917710 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. e X999 BARBARA MEREDITH WALDINGER All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Theatre in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. [Signature] Date Chair of Examining Committee Daniel Gerou] [Signature] - 1> - ‘it Date Executive Officer [Signature] [Signature] a r v m Carlson [Signature] Miln Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract THE WOMEN OF THE TEN, TWENT', THIRT' Popular Melodrama Theatre in Turn-of-the-Century New York by BARBARA MEREDITH WALDINGER Adviser: Professor Daniel Gerould During the first decade of the twentieth century, when the population of New York City was growing by leaps and bounds because of immigration, urbanization, and industrialization, a short-lived theatre movement known as the "ten-twenty-thirty," or, more familiarly, the "ten, twent', thirt," was born. Originally named for the low prices of the tickets, the term came to encompass various types of touring companies that travelled throughout the country, resident stock companies, and hundreds of plays, mostly melodramas, written expressly for this movement. Created by enterprising producers, managers, and playwrights, the ten, twent', thirt' catered to the needs of the working-class public who demanded cheap and thrilling entertainment, in the years immediately preceding the explosion of film. Although scholars have noted the achievements of males in this theatre, they have, for the most part, ignored the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V important contributions of women. By focusing on actresses, female theatre managers, female playwright/producers and writers of novelizations, this study will attempt to re­ establish the role played by women in the ten-twenty-thirty theatre. Beginning with an examination of the strategies used by theatre managers to increase the number of women in the audience, I will argue that these women exerted an influence on the plays produced, the nature of the female characters in them, and the actresses selected to interpret them. Some of the most successful actresses went on to manage theatres, and a few of them to write, produce, and star in their own plays, which contained stronger, more active roles for women. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the many people who helped to make this dissertation possible. To my professors at the CUNY Graduate Center, I thank you all for the priceless knowledge you have shared with me, and for your confidence in my ability to succeed in this program. To the staff and my fellow students at CUNY, thank you for your continued support throughout my years as a doctoral student, and for making me feel that I was never alone. My thanks to the librarians at the following research collections: Charles Silver and Ron Magliozzi at the Celeste Bartos International Film Study Center, Museum of Modern Art, who allowed me to see many silent film melodramas strongly based on the plays written for the ten-twenty-thirty theatre; Mark Padnos of the Interlibrary Loan Department at the Mina Rees Library at CUNY Graduate Center; Marty Jacobs at the Museum of the City of New York Theatre Collection; Annette Fern at the Harvard Theatre Collection; Martha Hayes and the staff at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana, who spent hours reproducing scripts; Sean Delaney at the British Film Institute in London; and Dr. Roderick Bladel and the entire staff of the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at Lincoln Center, who were tireless in their efforts to accommodate my needs. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vii I would like to thank all of the people who took the time to write to me about my project, and to speak to me on the telephone and via E-mail: Al Weissberg, who recently completed a book about his great-uncle, Al H. Woods; Dorothy Swerdlove,- Mignon Parker,* Dr. Joyce Rheuban; Professor Emeritus Walter Meserve, for his suggestions of useful collections pertinent to my subject; Mildred I. Watts, descendant of the Spooner family,* Vince O'Brien; producer Greg Palmer at KCTS-TV in Seattle, for pointing out sources that he used in filming his documentary on Vaudeville; and Charles Lauterbach. Thanks to Helaine Feldman, who generously agreed to print my author's query in Equity News (May 1998), and to Martha Hayes, who printed another in "Winging It" (September 1998), newsletter of the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. To those people who agreed to meet with me, I thank you for your time and invaluable help: Brooks McNamara, who encouraged me to write about the ten-twenty-thirty theatre movement; and Holly Brooke Blaney (daughter-in-law of Charles E. Blaney), who generously opened the files of her deceased husband for my perusal, allowed me to transcribe an interview she conducted with her husband, and offered to assist me in gaining access to further materials. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Daniel Gerould, my teacher and mentor, whom I first met at the 1992 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. viii Melodrama Conference in London, where we began the long journey that led to this dissertation. With the help and unceasing support of Dr. Gerould, I grew from a graduate student to a scholar, an often difficult and winding path. But I never lost my love for the subject because I had the privilege of working with someone who was as enthusiastic as I was, and knew how to guide and nurture at the same time. To Dr. Judith Milhous, my first professor at CUNY, thank you for your encouragement over the years and your wise and helpful editorial assistance. To Dr. Marvin Carlson, thank you for teaching me that it is possible to combine theatregoing with scholarship and savor the joy in each. I am indebted to my entire committee for challenging me to reach higher than I ever dared in order to meet their expectations. Many thanks to all of my friends and family, who have been patient and understanding throughout this process. Thanks to Ken, the computer expert; to my daughter Debi, my son James, my father, sister, aunt, uncle, in-laws, and Anita: thank you for caring and for your unswerving belief in me.
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