Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 1: Success Continues at the Academy

In autumn 1899, when Edwin Thanhouser was courting Gertrude F. Homan, the Academy of Music, which increasingly was being referred to simply as the Academy or the Academy Theatre, went from one success to another. Audiences continued their enthusiasm, and receipts were all that could be hoped for. Players came and went, and over a period of time the stock company membership changed. An important addition to the cast in 1899 was Riley Chamberlin, who played comedy parts, and who must have been amused at the way trade papers handled his name, nearly always misspelling it as Chamberlain, but at least once giving it an Irish flavor as O'Chamberlain! Note

The repertoire of the Academy consisted of dozens of plays during the 1899-1900 season. A typical program was that of early March 1900, which saw the production of Incog., with Riley Chamberlin and Eugene Moore, followed by The Lady of Lyons and An Enemy to the King. If surviving newspaper notices are indicative of the truth, then the Academy and the Davidson garnered the best receipts of the year, and, of the two, the Academy had the more varied program. Other leading houses in the city included the Alhambra Theatre, Bijou Opera House, Pabst Theatre, and Star Theatre. In addition, there were numerous side-street entertainment houses in the city. Note

In May 1900 it was announced that the 20th performance of Quo Vadis?, which was set to take place at the Academy on the 6th of the month, would set a Milwaukee record for that popular drama. Next on the schedule was The Senator, with Frederick Paulding and Edith Evelyn, followed by Sheridan's perennially popular play, The Rivals, which featured the word-mixing Mrs. Malaprop as the most memorable character.

At the time, the admission to evening performances at the Academy was scaled at 15, 25, and 50 cents, depending upon the location of the seat. Occasionally, cheaper prices prevailed for matinees. Typical vaudeville houses of the era were priced slightly lower, with 10, 20, and 30 cents being so widespread that these places were commonly called "ten-twent-thirt" theatres.

The June 9, 1900 issue of The New York Clipper reported that at the Academy Theatre, Shakespeare's As You Like It was warmly praised, and that Pudd'nhead Wilson and Blue Jeans were next on the bill, a lineup of varied productions offering something for every taste. The latter play was one of the era's most famous melodramas, with the highlight being the much-anticipated "buzz-saw scene," in which the unfortunate soul being drawn toward the deadly blade is rescued, as might be expected, at the very last moment.

The Academy stayed open all through the summer of 1900. In the meantime, the Grand Theatre in Atlanta, which had been home to players under the direction of Edwin Thanhouser for the preceding two summers, was taken over by the Pierson Stock Company.

In the autumn of 1900, Quo Vadis?, which had been so popular the season before, was back on the bill, followed by In Mizzoura and, beginning the week of November 3rd, Julius Caesar, then The Great Ruby and The Planter's Wife. From Blue Jeans to Shakespeare - it was all in a year's work for the Thanhouser Stock Company.

Activity continued nonstop at the Academy. A typical bill of the following year, 1901, is that of late February, which offered A Bachelor's Romance, with Eugene Moore, Riley Chamberlin, Lee Baker, Edith Evelyn (Mrs. Lee Baker), Eva Taylor, Daisy Loring, Kate Woods Fiske, Colin Campbell, Harry Mestayer, Edgar Baume, and others in the cast. Next week came Cumberland '61, which centered about the Civil War, followed by Dr. Bill.

In the summer of 1901, the Thanhouser Stock Company was split in two during Carnival Week. A Southern Romance was staged at the Davidson Theatre by one set of players, while another group was on stage at the Academy with All the Comforts of Home.

The October 5, 1901 issue of The New York Clipper noted that the coming week would mark the third anniversary of Edwin Thanhouser's management of the Academy. According to the account, performances had been given daily during that span, except for two shows which were cancelled on September 19, 1901 in observance of President William McKinley's death. This record of continuity was not matched even remotely by any other Milwaukee theatre at the time.

A continuous parade of players crossed the stage at the Academy. April 1902 saw such productions as The Adventuress, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Edwin Thanhouser's familiar Under the Red Robe. Patrons were advised that once again the theatre would be open during the coming summer, when most other houses would be closed.

A sample of just a few of the programs offered during the era includes A Bachelor's Honeymoon, offered during the last week of October 1903, followed by The Rise and Fall of Humpty Dumpty and Sealed Instructions. During the week of January 1903 The Charity Ball was presented, after which theatregoers were treated to The Power of the Press and In the Palace of the King. During the summer of 1903 the Academy remained open as usual. In August such varied plays as What Happened to Jones, Faust, An American Citizen, and The Dairy Farm were staged, nearly all with great financial and artistic success.

Show after show, week after week, the Thanhouser Stock Company presented new plays and re-enacted old favorites. During the week of November 30, 1903, Carmen was featured, after which the bill offered Nancy Hanks and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Christmas week, beginning December 21st, offered Alone in London, with Grace May Lamkin, who returned to a warm welcome at the Academy after several months' absence. The week of December 28th offered Harbor Lights. In the meantime, Edwin Thanhouser was very ill and stayed away from the theatre for several weeks but was able to direct the management of the Academy successfully from his residence.

The week of February 15, 1904 featured a novel idea. A play without a name was presented, and a prize of $25 was offered to the patron who devised the most appropriate title. The promotion must have been successful, for it was repeated the following season. The 1904 summer season opened at the Academy with a matinee on Monday, July 4th, featuring Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, which the bill noted was "a play selected because of its merit and novelty." At that time, Edwin Thanhouser proclaimed on a printed program that his was "the foremost stock company in America." The week of July 11, 1904 saw The Cowboy and the Lady, followed on the week of July 18th by The Gay Lord Quex, and on the week of July 25th by Soldiers of Fortune.

Autumn 1904 saw a continuing succession of plays at the Academy. Typical bills of late 1904 and the following year included The Black Flag during the first week of November 1904, followed by Charley's Aunt and Twelfth Night, and, beginning February 13, 1905, Darkest Russia, followed by The Christian and Two Little Sailor Boys. Late June and early July 1905 saw a procession of visiting vaudeville troupes on stage, after which the summer season of plays opened on July 10th. Summer entertainment in 1905 included The Henrietta, My Friend from India, and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Sign of the Four. Among the new additions to the stock company was young Rodney Ranous, who played juvenile parts. Numerous plays staged during this era would have counterparts in Thanhouser films years later.