University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theatre History Theatre and Performance Studies 1994 Here Comes The Showboat! Betty Bryant Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Bryant, Betty, "Here Comes The Showboat!" (1994). Theatre History. 1. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_theatre_history/1 OHIO RIVER VALLEY SERIES Rita Kahn and William Lynwood Mantell Series Editors This page intentionally left blank HERE COMES THE BETTY BRYANT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Publication of this book was assisted by a grant from the Indiana Humanities Council. “Down by the Winegar Woiks” by Don Bestor, Roger Lewis, and Walter Donovan. Copyright MCMXXV Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., New York. Renewed. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission. “I Get the blues When It Rains” by Harry Stoddard and Marcy Klauber. Published by Forster Music Publisher, Inc., Chicago, IL 60646. Used by permission. “Lindbergh (Eagle of the USA)” by Howard Johnson and Al Sherman. Copyright MCMXXVII Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., New York. Renewed. Al Sherman Music, New York. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission. “Mary Is a Grand Old Name” and “The Great Easter Sunday Parade” by George M. Cohan. Used by permission of George M. Cohan Music Publishing Company. “Sixteen Tons” by Merle Travis. Copyright 1947 (renewed) Unichappell Music, Inc. & Elvis Presley Music. All rights on behalf of Elvis Presley Music administered by Unichappell Music, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Copyright © 1994 by The University Press of Kentucky Paperback edition 2010 Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Bryant, Betty Here comes the showboat! / Betty Bryant. p. cm.—(Ohio River Valley series) ISBN 0-8131-1862-X : 1. Billy Bryant’s Showboat. 2. Showboats—History—20th century. 3. River life—Ohio River— History—20th century. 4. Bryant family. I. Title. II. Series. PN2293.S4B79 1994 792’.022—dc20 93-47998 ISBN 13- 978-0-8131-2967-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America. Member of the Association of American University Presses to Manase, David, Michael, and Michaeline (in order of their appearance) This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Series Foreword vii Preface ix Introduction 1 Cast, Bred on the Waters 4 Home Sweet Showboat 12 Lady Violet 19 The Four Bryants 25 The Play! The Play! 32 The Actors Have Arrived 36 Willie 44 Dead Men Tell No Tales 52 Up the Monongahela 56 Perennial Pals 64 Screeching Pipe of Pan 72 Down by the O-HI-O 79 Put Them All Together, They Spell "Huckster" 89 Then There Was Dad 98 Phone It In III Vic Faust 117 That Old-Time Religion 124 The Season Ends 129 Sweet Bird of Youth 134 viii CONTENTS The Right Place at the Right Time 139 Cincinnati 143 A Lady and a Queen 150 Lure of City Lights 157 Olio 167 Rainin' and Risin' 173 Where Have All the Showboats Gone? 184 Showboat Chronology 191 For Further Information 194 Index 195 SERIES FOREWORD T he impact of the Ohio River in the context of the larger Ameri­ can story gained widespread public attention as a result of the '~l­ ways a River: The Ohio River and the American Experience" project sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the humanities councils of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentuck}j Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with a mix of private and public organizations. The Ohio River Valley Series, conceived and published by the University Press of Kentucky, extends the work of the Always a Riv­ er project through the publication of an ongoing series of books that examine and illuminate the waterwa}j the land in its watershed, and the waves of people who made this fertile and desirable area their place of residence, of refuge, of commerce and industr}j of cul­ tural development and, ultimately, of engagement with American democracy. The goal of the Always a River project has been to aid our un­ derstanding of the implications of change caused through natural and human interrelationships with the Ohio River. The unifying theme for the Ohio River Valley series carries forward this initial goal as each author contributes to a wider understanding of Ohio River Valley history and folklife. Each title's story is told through people interacting within their particular place and time. Each re- x SERIES FOREWORD veals why records, papers, and oral stories preserved by families and institutions offer rich resources for the history of the Ohio River and of the nation. Each traces the impact the river and its tribu­ taries has had on individuals and cultures, and conversely how these individuals and cultures have made an impact on the valley as we know it. The components of the Always a River project included: •A floating exhibition on a specially fabricated barge that stopped at 21 sites along the Ohio River from May 22 to September 8, 1991. •A book of seven essays and an introductory historical overview, Al­ ways a River: The Ohio River and the American Experience (Indiana Uni­ versity Press, 1991). •A river-wide newspaper supplement containing seven articles that addressed current issues surrounding life and commerce along the Ohio. •A Watercolors of the Ohio exhibition and catalog of juried paintings by artists associated with watercolor societies in the states along the Ohio. •A valley-wide library reading/discussion program covering three themes: "Exploration, Encounters, and Change: The Ohio River and the Nation," "Heroes and Heroines of the Ohio River Valley," and "Landings: New Perspectives on Local History in the Ohio River Region." •A valley-wide conference bringing together scholars and experts to examine the history and folklife of the Ohio River Valley. •A series of locally developed educational initiatives. Follow-up activities in addition to this Ohio River Valley se­ ries include plans for an Ohio River Heritage Corridor, continuation of library reading/discussion programs, biennial conferences on spe­ cific themes relevant to the Ohio River Valley, and a major new Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center at Clarksville, Indiana. In the process of being a river, the Ohio (and its tributaries) has touched us individually and collectively. This series celebrates the story of a valley through multiple voices and visions. Kenneth L. Gladish President and Executive Director Indiana Humanities Council PREfACE The Ohio River Valley has a rich story to tell, in and of itself as a fascinating geologic, geographic entity and through diverse waves of inhabitants whose known residency spans from the withdrawal of the last great glaciers some 15,000 years ago up to the present. Each volume in the Ohio River Valley series illuminates an aspect of life along the Ohio, which stretches 981 miles from the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela (at Pittsburgh) to the confluence with the Mississippi (at Cairo) and along the multiple tributaries that together provide an inland waterway system connecting nearly one-third of the current mainland USA. Written by scholars and ex­ perts in various disciplines, these books engage readers in a dis­ course about the heritage and the future of the Ohio River Valley as it relates to the nation as a whole. Here Comes the Showboat!, the second in the Ohio River Val­ ley series, chronicles three generations of the Bryant family as they plied the Ohio and its tributaries from the turn of the century to World War II, tying up at landings in cities, towns, and settlements, to bring a uniquely American theatre to eager and loyal audiences. The Bryant's Showboat grew out of a history of entertainment on the Ohio. In 1790, Fort Pitt had the first recorded theatrical per­ formances along the Ohio River. The mess hall of the barracks was rearranged with tables serving as the stage and benches as seating. xii PREFACE Military men and their wives were the performers. Cincinnati, in 1801, is believed to have had the first theatre built or remodeled for putting on plays. Noah Ludlow is credited with opening the first "professional" Ohio River theatre season in a rented hall in Pitts­ burgh in 1815 and also the first theatre season in Louisville in 1816. Itinerant acting companies put on performances in rented spaces, bringing elaborate sets and costumes downriver as they traveled from landing to landing. The first showboat-a flatboat one h~ndred feet long by six­ teen feet wide-was built in Pittsburgh for the enterprising acting family headed by William Chapman. There is some evidence that the first season was 1831. Chapman's Floating Theatre started a tra­ dition that has continued to the present, except during the Civil War. "Entertainment boats" on the Ohio waters and its tributaries ranged from the small shantyboats to the large floating palaces, pre­ senting such diversions as museums, medicine shows, minstrels, merry-go-rounds, arcades, and portrait studios.