[Program for Grand Opera House, Milwaukee"The Rivals"]
Date
1881-10-31
Production
The Rivals
Character roles
Mr. Joseph Jefferson (Bob Acres); Mrs. John Drew (Mrs. Malaprop); Miss Rose Wood (Lydia Languish); Mr. Frederic Robinson (Sir Ant'ny Absolute); Mr. Mark Pendleton (Captain Absolute); Mr. Charles Waverly (Sir Lucius); Mr. H. F. Taylor (Faulkland); Mr. Thomas Jefferson (Fag); Mr. James T. Galloway (David); Miss Eugenia Paul (Lucy)
Artistic roles
Joseph Jefferson (Actor); Mrs. John (Louisa) Drew (Actor); Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Playwright)
Genre
Comedy;
Theme
One-Role Wonders;
Item description
Program for October 31, 1881 from the Grand Opera House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin featuring Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905) in Sheridan's "The Rivals." The program is printed on both sides of one large sheet of paper then folded in half to deliver four pages of information. The program contains regional theatre gossip, advertising, cast list and musical synopsis for "The Rivals, " and a story from the London "Telegraph" about the dioscope.
Object narrative
Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905) was a beloved nineteenth century comedic actor best known for his role of Rip Van Winkle, which he played for over forty years. Born on February 20, 1829, into a theatrical family, Jefferson had a talent for performing and started his stage career early. Over his career, he became known for achieving a realistic style of acting which was rarely seen from his contemporaries. Before Stanislavski and Chekhov employed the technique in Europe, Jefferson turned his back to the audience while having a conversation with his wife in Rip Van Winkle and, according to critics, was able to convey to audiences what Rip was thinking purely through his movements. Another innovation in the way Jefferson performed the role of Rip was in that of the delivery of punch lines of jokes: The obvious way to play such a punch line was to look at the spectators as if letting them in on the joke, but Jefferson never played it that way. By delivering the line as an internal aside or verbalized subtext, he allowed his audience to get the joke themselves (Bloom 121). By 1870, two-thirds of Jefferson's performances were that of Rip Van Winkle, however vast the rest of his repertoire was. The Rivals, a comedy by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was Jefferson's second most popular offering, in which he played bumbling countryman Bob Acres. This program is from a production of The Rivals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 31st, 1881. Mrs. John Drew (Louisa) played the role of Mrs. Malaprop, a role which she would later reprise in Jefferson's revival of The Rivals in an all-star cast production in 1896. The program also features advertising for hairdressers, alcohol, trunks, buggies, and gas fixtures, among others, and includes a story from the London Telegraph about the dioscope, a revolutionary way to watch a live theatre performance from the comfort of one's own home by using a telephone and pre-television era optic screen!
Original format
Program;
Original publisher
[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]
Language
en
Contributing institution
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries
Source collection
MSS255 Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection
Series/grouping
1.1.1.5: Programs -- Theatre Programs -- United States Theatre Programs -- Other US; 1.1.1.5: Programs -- Theatre Programs -- United States Theatre Programs -- Other US;
[Identification of item], Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection, 1753-2006 (MSS255), Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.
NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. This item has been determined to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. The user is responsible for determing actual copyright status for any reuse of the material.
Object ID
MSS255.O.017
Digital publisher
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304
[Identification of item], Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection, 1753-2006 (MSS255), Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.
