Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 1: The Changing Times of 1898

In late spring 1898 the Under the Red Robe company disbanded. Nine months on the road had taken its toll of the players' energy, and everyone welcomed the opportunity to rest before becoming involved in other enterprises. The tour had been very successful, receipts were quite satisfactory, and although many reviewers had found fault with the plot of the play, the actors and actresses had been praised by almost everyone. By this time, Edwin Thanhouser had been on stage for about five years and had been before the footlights on hundreds of different occasions, in locations from New York to San Francisco, from Atlanta to Toronto.

Although he was well reviewed and seemed to enjoy his work, in later years he recalled that he did not enjoy acting, that for him it was "forced," and that those close to him considered his actions on stage to be awkward. Such recollections, given in the 1940s and early 1950s to granddaughters Joan Thanhouser Sherman and Pego Paar, may have been influenced by the greater financial success he achieved in later years, for there is no doubt that his years as a performer in the 1890s returned little in the way of bank account deposits, and, often, performers are their own harshest critics. Whatever negative thoughts Edwin Thanhouser may have had in later years about his own acting they were not reflected in what reviewers on the other side of the footlights had to say.

The summer of 1898 saw Edwin Thanhouser in Atlanta, where he leased the Grand Theatre for a series of performances by his own troupe, the Grand Stock Company. He gathered a retinue of over a dozen players consisting of H.D. Bender, John Cahill, Joseph Carl, Hunter Course, Edith Evelyn, Frank B. Hatch, Lucius Henderson, Wilson Hummel, Ben Johnson, Joseph Kilgour, Ada Levick, Josephine Lovett, Gretchen Lyons, Nan Mifflin, George Moore, Agnes Newton, Miriam Richardson, Vetta Roth Samuels (age about six), Len Sloss, Frank Smith, Charles Stanley, George Stanley, Marion Wilder, and Master Ray Wood. Note

Sketches of the leading players on George Ohnet's drama, THE IRONMASTER, as presented by The Grand Stock Company under the direction of Edwin Thanhouser during the theater season of 1897-1898.

Edwin Thanhouser. Joseph Rilgour, Louis Henderson, Frank B. Hatch, Ben Johnson, Wilson Hummel. Thanhouser family archives, courtesy of Peggo Paar. (F-40)

In what was billed as the "Summer Dramatic Season," the players were on stage in Atlanta for eight weeks, presenting two plays each week, with the first play scheduled for Monday and Tuesday nights and a Wednesday matinee, and the second presented on Friday and Saturday nights and a Saturday matinee. This left Wednesday as a day to prepare for a new play on Thursday, and Sunday to prepare for a new play on Monday. Of the players, some appeared in just one or two plays during the season, while others appeared in nearly all. Although Edwin Thanhouser directed 16 plays during the eight-week season, he also played a role in nearly every one. One can imagine that he had scarcely a moment's rest!

The season opened at the Grand Theatre in Atlanta on May 30, 1898 with The Amazons, a three-act play set in England. The printed program noted that Edwin Thanhouser took the part of Galfred, Earl of Tweeuways. The second production that week was The Mysterious Mr. Bugle, a three-act comedy by Madeline Lucette Ryley, in which Thanhouser performed the role of Chickways.

Edwin Thanhouser's Grand Stock Company opened its second week with the printed souvenir program proclaiming: "Success! A Veritable Triumph!" Esmeralda, a four-act comedy-drama by Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett and William Gillette, included Edwin Thanhouser in the role of Mr. Estabrook, an "atmospheric artist." Then followed Niobe, "a fantastic comedy in three acts," by Harry and Edward Paulton. The third week opened with Ouida's famous romantic play, Moths, with Edwin Thanhouser taking the role of the Duke of Mull. Note The second feature of the week was Christopher, Jr., a four-act comedy by Madeline Lucette Ryley. Thanhouser was seen as Mr. Simpson, manager of the Bombay house.

The fourth week started with a four-act dramatization of a novel, A Social Highwayman, in which Edwin Thanhouser played the part of Livingston Remsen. All the Comforts of Home, billed as "Wm. Gillette's funniest comedy," was next on the bill. The director's stage part was that of Christopher Dabney, a broken-down music teacher.

The District Attorney, a four-act drama, had its opening performance on the following Monday, at which time the audience saw Edwin Thanhouser as Wellington Gudley. A few days later Augustin Daly's three-act comedy, Arabian Nights, was presented. Edwin Thanhouser confined his efforts to directing and did not appear on stage.

With a cast of 20 players, the most ambitious production of the season, William Halforth's "great naval drama" in five acts, The Ensign, heralded the sixth week of the Atlanta summer season. Edwin Thanhouser took the part of Midshipman Arthur Watson aboard the U.S.S. San Jacinto. If a second play was presented at the end of the sixth week, no program for it was preserved in Edwin Thanhouser's scrapbook, the source of most of the information given here.

The seventh week opened with Clay Greene's four-act comedy drama, Forgiven, in which Thanhouser did not appear on stage. Julian Harris' comedy, The Divorce, was presented beginning on Thursday of the same week. Just five players appeared in this one-act production. The bill was shared by Confusion, a three-act comedy in which Edwin Thanhouser was seen as Rupert Sunberry.

The eighth and final week saw the production of The Ironmaster, billed as "George Ohnet's powerful drama." Edwin Thanhouser acted the part of Octave de Beaulieu. The five-act play was seen on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, followed by the closing performance for the season on Saturday afternoon.

Each week The New York Clipper, a journal of the theatrical trade, carried news of Edwin Thanhouser's company in Atlanta. Reports indicated that each play was well attended and enthusiastically received.