Laura Keene
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Laura Keene
Laura Keene (20 July 1826 – 4 November 1873) was a British stage actress and theatre manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York. She is most famous for being the lead actress in the play ''Our American Cousin'', which was attended by President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington on the evening of his assassination. Early life Keene was born Mary Frances Moss in Winchester, England. She was the fourth and final child of Tomas and Jane Moss (''née'' King). Her aunt was British actress Elizabeth Yates. At the age of 18, she married British Army officer Henry Wellington Taylor (some sources identify Taylor as "John"). Taylor was reportedly the nephew and godson of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The couple had two daughters, Emma (born 1846) and Clara Marie Stella (born 1849). After being discharged from the army, Taylor opened his own tavern. Around 1850, Taylor was arrested, though the natur ...
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Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen, Hampshire, River Itchen. It is south-west of London and from Southampton, its nearest city. At the 2011 census, Winchester had a population of 45,184. The wider City of Winchester district, which includes towns such as New Alresford, Alresford and Bishop's Waltham, has a population of 116,595. Winchester is the county town of Hampshire and contains the head offices of Hampshire County Council. Winchester developed from the Roman Britain, Roman town of Venta Belgarum, which in turn developed from an Iron Age oppidum. Winchester was one of the most important cities in England until the Norman conquest of England, Norman conquest in the eleventh century. It has since become one of the most expensive and afflue ...
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James William Wallack
James William Wallack (c. 1794–1864), commonly referred to as J. W. Wallack, was an Anglo-American actor and manager, born in London, and brother of Henry John Wallack. Life Wallack's father was named William Wallack and his sister was named Elizabeth. His parents were comedians, who performed at the London minor playhouses and in the British provinces. His first appearance on the stage was as a child at the Surrey Theatre in London. Soon afterward he performed in juvenile characters at Drury Lane, and at the age of eighteen entered on a permanent career at the same house as Laertes in ''Hamlet''. He also acted in the British provinces and in Ireland, gradually winning his way to popularity as a useful representative of drama and comedy. In 1823 he played Victor Frankenstein in ''Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein'' at the English Opera House. In 1824, Wallack became stage manager at Drury Lane, and rose to the performance of secondary roles in tragedy. Later he pla ...
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The Seven Sisters (play)
''The Seven Sisters'' was an 1860 musical burlesque extravaganza produced at Laura Keene's Theatre in New York which ran for 253 consecutive performances, making it a tremendous success for its time. The play debuted on November 26, 1860, and ran through August 10, 1861. Though considered "rubbish" by critics, Winter, WilliamBrief Chronicles, Part I p. 180 (1889) it was an important precursor to 1866's ''The Black Crook''. Background The piece was a gamble by Keene, in the hope that the elaborate and expensive scenery of the show, as well as the singing actresses and many dancers, would draw crowds. The ''New York Clipper'' noted that the women wore "shocking low-necked dresses" and "tight-fitting clothes".Ashby, LeRoyWith Amusement for All: A History of American Popular Culture Since 1830 pp. 109-10 (2006) The loose storyline was from an adaptation by Thomas B. DeWalden of a German piece called ''The Seven Daughters of Satan''; probably ''Die Töchter Luzifers'' ("The Daughters ...
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The Colleen Bawn
''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York, on 27 March 1860 with Laura Keene playing Anne Chute and Boucicault playing Myles na Coppaleen. It was most recently performed in Dublin at the Project Arts Centre in July and August 2010 and in Belfast by Bruiser Theatre Company at the Lyric Theatre in April 2018. Several film versions have also been made. Origins While in America, Dion explored the turmoil that was boiling up in the new nation and wrote about it. As a result of this, in 1859 he wrote, produced, and acted in a very famous antislavery play called ''The Octoroon'' (Rowell 173). He and his wife played the leads and, after the first week of runs, only earned about 1500 dollars between the two of them. Dion thought this was a bit unfair since he had done the majority of the work for the production and asked for a larger cut for both him and hi ...
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Dion Boucicault
Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre. Although ''The New York Times'' hailed him in his obituary as "the most conspicuous English dramatist of the 19th century," he and his second wife, Agnes Robertson Boucicault, had applied for and received American citizenship in 1873. Life and career Early life Boucicault was born Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot in Dublin, where he lived on Gardiner Street. His mother was Anne Darley, sister of the poet and mathematician George Darley. The Darleys were an important Anglo-Irish Dublin family influential in many fields and related to the Guinnesses by marriage. Anne was married to Samuel Smith Boursiquot, of Huguenot ancestry, but the identi ...
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The Sea Of Ice (play)
''The Sea of Ice'' is a 19th century melodrama play in English adapted from the 1853 French play ''La Priére des Naufragés'' (Prayer of the Wrecked) by Adolphe d'Ennery and Ferdinand Dugué.Holman, Andrew & Robert K. Kristofferson, edsMore of a Man: Diaries of a Scottish Craftsman in Mid-Nineteenth-Century p. 672 n. 70 (2013) French debut The French play under the title ''La Priére des Naufragés'' was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique and debuted on 20 October 1853. Original Paris cast *Carlss by Charles de Chilly *Barabas by Laurent *Raoul de Lascours by Delafosse *Georges De Laval by M. Coste *Horace de Brionne by C. Lemaitre *Medoc by Machanette *Un Secretaire d'Ambassade by Depresle *Un Intendant by Martin *Premier Matelot by Richer *Deuxieme Metelot by Lavergne *Louise de Descours by Marie Laurent *Ogarita by Idem *La Comtesse de Theringe by Mesanges *Diane by Snadre *Marthe, age 6 by De Brueil English adaptations In London, it debuted at the Adelphi ...
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Laura Keene's Theatre
Olympic Theatre was the name of five former 19th and early 20th-century theatres on Broadway in Manhattan and in Brooklyn, New York. First Olympic Theatre (1800–1821) Although perhaps best known as the Anthony Street Theatre, the first theatre in New York to bear the name Olympic (for only one year, in 1812–1813) was on 79–85 Anthony Street (later renamed Worth Street) in Manhattan. Converted in 1800 from a former circus building, it was named the Olympic Theatre in July 1812 under the management of actor-manager William Twaits along with Alexander Placide and Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard. Twaits and Placide had come to New York after the disastrous Richmond Theatre fire in Richmond, Virginia, where they had been co-managers of the theatre there. The Olympic was due to open with a production led by Charlotte Melmoth and Twaits, but while travelling to fulfil this engagement Melmoth was involved in a carriage accident, resulting in a severe fracture to her arm that fail ...
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Keene Cuff
Keene may refer to: Places ;In Canada * Keene, Ontario, a small community in Ontario, Canada ;In the United States: * Keene, California, a census-designated place * Keene, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Keene, Kentucky, a city * Keene, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Keene, New Hampshire, city and county seat of Cheshire County * Keene, New York, a town * Keene, North Dakota, an unincorporated community * Keene, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Keene, Texas, a city * Keene, Virginia, an unincorporated town community * Keene, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Keene Township (other) * Keene Pond, pond in Duxbury, Massachusetts In education * Keene State College, an institution of the University System of New Hampshire * Keene High School, public high school located in Keene, New Hampshire * Keene Independent School District, public school district based in Keene, Texas People * Keene (surname), people with that name * Keene Fitzpatrick (1864- ...
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Winter Garden Theatre (1850)
The first theatre in New York City to bear the name The Winter Garden Theatre had a brief but important seventeen-year history (beginning in 1850) as one of New York's premier showcases for a wide range of theatrical fare, from variety shows to extravagant productions of the works of Shakespeare. Initially known as Tripler's Hall or Metropolitan Hall, it burned down in 1854 and was rebuilt as The New York Theatre. Although it burned to the ground several times, it rose from the ashes under different managers, bearing various names, to become known as one of the most important theatres in New York history. Showcase Some of the leading actors and theatre managers of the 19th century worked at The Winter Garden Theatre, from Jenny Lind and Laura Keene to Dion Boucicault and Edwin Booth. One of the most significant and politically influential productions in American theatre history took place on a single night at The Winter Garden Theatre on November 25, 1864, when three sons of one ...
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William Evans Burton
William Evans Burton (24 September 180410 February 1860) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and publisher who relocated to the United States. Life and work Early life Born in London on 24 September 1804, Burton was the son of William George Burton (1774–1825), a printer and the author of ''Research into the religions of the Eastern nations as illustrative of the scriptures'' in 1805. Intended for a career in the church, Burton was a pupil at St. Paul's School in London, an institution associated also with the dramatic names of Robert William Elliston and Charles Mathews. At the age of 18, in consequence of the death of his father, the youth was called to take charge of the printing office, and also to be the support of a widowed mother. His first effort was to establish a monthly magazine. The attempt was a failure, but it brought him theatrical acquaintances, and under their influence he presently drifted toward the stage. The first step in hi ...
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Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatrical historians consider him the greatest American actor, and the greatest Prince Hamlet, of the 19th century. In Wells and Stanton (2002, 230–258). 35–237 His achievements are often overshadowed by his relationship with his younger brother, actor John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated the 16th US President, Abraham Lincoln. Early life Booth was born in Bel Air, Maryland, into the Anglo-American theatrical Booth family. He was the son of the famous actor Junius Brutus Booth, an Englishman, who named Edwin after Edwin Forrest and Thomas Flynn, two of Junius' colleagues. He was the elder brother of John Wilkes Booth, himself a successful actor who gained notoriety as the assassin of President Lincoln. Nora Titone, in her book ''My Thoug ...
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Catherine Norton Sinclair
Catherine Norton Sinclair (1817–1891) was an actress-manager who worked with such notable actors as Junius Brutus Booth, Edwin Booth, and Laura Keene. Her sensational divorce from Edwin Forrest captivated the American public in the mid-1800s. Early life Sinclair was born in London, the eldest of John and Catherine Sinclair's four children. The Sinclairs were originally from Edinburgh, Scotland. Mr. Sinclair became a successful drummer in the militia and later a well-known singer, who toured the U.S. in the early 1830s. She was well-educated, and welcomed in the social and cultural circles of London society. At age nineteen, Sinclair attended a performance of ''The Gladiator'', starring the popular American actor, Edwin Forrest, as Spartacus. She arranged to meet him and on June 23, 1837 they were married at a church in Covent Garden. Shortly thereafter, the Forrests moved to New York City, New York and lived there for the next twelve years. Life in the U.S. and the For ...
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