Maida Craigen (1861 — April 5, 1942) was an American actress and

clubwoman The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

Early life

Maida Craigen was educated in Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother was a "once noted literary woman"."Actress Maida Craigen"
''Boston Globe'' (March 16, 1893): 4. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

Career

Stage

Craigen first appeared on stage in 1885 in

Hugh Conway Hugh Conway, the pen name of Frederick John Fargus (26 December 1847 – 15 May 1885), was an English novelist born in Bristol, the son of an auctioneer. He had success with his fiction in the early 1880s. Life Fargus was intended for his father ...

's production of ''Called Back'' at the Park Theatre in Boston with

Kate Claxton Kate Claxton (August 24, 1848 – May 5, 1924) was an American actress. Biography Kate Elizabeth Cone was born at Somerville, New Jersey to Spencer Wallace Cone and Josephine Martinez.James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S"Not ...

leading the cast. In 1886 she appeared at the Boston Museum, in

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 ...

's ''The Jilt'', and in the first production of A. C. Gunter's '' Prince Karl'', which starred

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. Life and career Mansfield was born ...

. In 1888 she made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut at the

Fifth Avenue Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In 1877, ...

as Donna Leonora in Ross Neal's ''Loyal Love''. In 1889 Craigen starred in two plays by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

at the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

in New York with

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 theatri ...

and Helena Modjeska; playing Jessica in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' with Booth as Shylock and Modjeska as Portia, and playing Hero in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' with Booth as Benedick and Modjeska as Beatrice. That same year she starred in

Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

's ''The Silent System'' with

Benoît-Constant Coquelin Benoît-Constant Coquelin (; 23 January 184127 January 1909), known as Coquelin aîné ("Coquelin the Elder"), was a French actor, "one of the greatest theatrical figures of the age." Biography Coquelin was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais ...

. In 1891 she appeared in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' in New York, alongside

Viola Allen Viola Emily Allen (October 27, 1867 – May 9, 1948) was an American stage actress who played leading roles in Shakespeare and other plays, including many original plays. She starred in over two dozen Broadway productions from 1885 to 1916. Be ...

Maurice Barrymore Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe (21 September 1849 – 25 March 1905), known professionally by his stage name Maurice Barrymore, was an Indian-born British stage actor. He is the patriarch of the Barrymore acting family, father of John, Li ...

, and

Rose Coghlan Rosamond Marie Coghlan (March 18, 1851 – April 2, 1932) was an English actress. Coghlan was born in Peterborough, England, to author Francis Coghlan, and Anna Marie, ''née'' Kirby. Her elder brother (or half-brother) was the actor Charle ...

, among others.

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...

appreciated Craigen's interpretation of the role of

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

in 1894, saying "no fault can be found, it is great in that it is like no other actress." Her Juliet was opposite Frederick Paulding as Romeo; she also appeared with Paulding in 1895 in ''Maine and Georgia'', a Civil War drama. She and Paulding were the stars together of the touring repertory troupe, the Maida Craigen Company. In 1899 she starred in

Paul Kester Paul Kester (November 2, 1870 – June 21, 1933) was an American playwright and novelist. He was the younger brother of journalist Vaughan Kester and a cousin of the literary editor and critic William Dean Howells. Life and career Kester was born ...

's adaptation of Charles Rice's 1873 play ''The Three Musketeers'' which was mounted by the Professional Women's League at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. She also starred in ''Mlle. de Brisson'' with

Cora Urquhart Brown-Potter Mary Cora Urquhart or Cora Brown–Potter (May 15, 1857 – February 12, 1936) was an American actress who found success in London. Formerly a member of ''The Four Hundred (Gilded Age), The Four Hundred'' in New York'','' she was one of the first ...

Club work and other activities

In 1891 Craigen was among the organizers of the Twelfth Night Club,Lisa Kelly
"The Politics of Tea and Theatre: How Women's Suffrage Groups Used Tea and Theatre to Influence Working and Middle-Class Women to Become Politically Active"
(M. F. A. thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University 2009): 48, 56. a private club for actresses in New York. She served on the women's committee of the Actors' Fund Fair in 1892. In 1899 she was vice-president of the Actors' Society of America, and served on the organization's board of directors. She was elected president of the Professional Women's League in 1913, having earlier served as treasurer of that organization under

Amelia Bingham Amelia Swilley Bingham (March 20, 1869 – September 1, 1927) was an American actress from Hicksville, Ohio.''Amelia Bingham, Actress Is Dead'', New York Times, September 2, 1927, pg. 17. Her Broadway career extended from 1896 until 1926.

and Ida C. Nahm. In 1916, Craigen was head of the drama department of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs. A poem by Craigen, "Mystery", appeared in the magazine ''The Opera Glass'' in 1894. She was known to enjoy bicycling, saying "Bicycle teachers all say that actors and actresses are the easiest to teach. Is it that our habit of mental flexibility makes us more pliable and poised physically?"

Personal life

Maida Craigen married actor Arthur Falkland Buchanan in 1888, in London. They divorced in 1893. She spent her last years at the

Lillian Booth Actors Home The Lillian Booth Actors Home of The Actors Fund is an American assisted-living facility, in Englewood, New Jersey. It is operated by the Actors Fund, a nonprofit umbrella charitable organization that assists American entertainment and performi ...

, and died at a hospital in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

in April 1942, aged 81 years."The Final Curtain"
''Billboard'' (April 18, 1942): 25.

References

External links

A publicity photograph of Maida Craigen
in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, New York Public Library Digital Collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Craigen, Maida 1861 births 1942 deaths Actresses from Boston 20th-century American actresses 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Clubwomen