|
Title |
[Broadside for Haymarket Theatre, London, "Guy Mannering"] |
|
Date |
1855-06-25 |
|
Production |
Guy Mannering |
|
Character roles |
Henry Bertram (Mr. Sims Reeves); Miss Cushman (Meg Merrilies); Mr. W. Farren (Colonel Mannering); Mr. Compton (Dominie Sampson); Mr. Rogers (Dandie Dinmont); Mr. Farquharson (Gabriel); Mr. Cullenford (Dirk Hatteraick); Mr. Clark (Baillie Mucklethrift); Mr. Tilbury (Gilbert Glossin); Mr. Braid (Sebastian); Master Richards (Franco); Mr. Weathersby (Sergeant); Mr. Coe (Jock Jabos); Mr. Edwards (Farmer Harrow); Mr. Russell (Farmer Flail); Mr. Field (Farmer Coulter); Mr. Wettin (Barnes); Master Connell (Gipsy Boy); Mrs. C. White (Julia Mannering); Miss Lavine (Lucy Bertram); Miss Ellen Chaplin (Flora); Mrs. Griffiths (Mrs. McCandlish); Miss Woulds (Barmaid); Miss Schott (Gipsy Girl); Gypsy Chorus |
|
Artistic roles |
Charlotte Cushman (Actor); Sims Reeves (Actor) |
|
Genre |
Melodrama |
|
Theme |
Popular Venues; Women in 19th C. Theatre |
|
Item description |
Broadside of Haymarket Theatre in London, UK for Monday, June 25, 1855, advertising the melodrama 'Guy Mannering.' The broadside is letterpressed on rag paperstock and contains the cast list of the play. |
|
Object narrative |
Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876) was the first actress of American birth who could claim legitimate fame upon the stage. Beginning her performance career with a dream of singing opera, she joined a local choir and before long a generous benefactor appeared and arranged for vocal instruction. Within a few years she was a popular opera singer (contralto) in Boston. Traveling to New Orleans to continue building her career, however, she met with harsh critics who declared that she could not sing. Her voice began to decline, and that is when someone suggested she be an actor instead, as her reviews in New Orleans had always been more praiseworthy of her acting of roles than the singing of them. Also in New Orleans was James Barton, a tragic actor who needed someone to play opposite him. He trained Charlotte, and a short time after the demise of her opera career (at twenty years of age), she opened with Barton as Lady Macbeth. The praise was immediate, Barton declaring her the greatest living actress on the stage. This praise would continue the rest of her performing days, as she built a name for herself in America for the next eight years. Despite the fame and many engagements Cushman secured in America, it was impossible for her to demand a large salary without English affirmation and approval; London was still the theatre capital of the world, and America had yet to establish a real theatre of its own. From 1844-1849, Cushman performed in London and the provinces to much acclaim. While there, she performed Lady Macbeth, Romeo, Claude Melnotte in The Lady of Lyons, Rosalind, Meg Merrilies in Guy Mannering, and Mrs. Haller in The Stranger, among others. Established and rich at the end of her five years abroad, she returned to America to continue her career, only now at star wages. In 1852, she decided to retire and return to Europe, which she did, although she was soon back on stage in London by 1854, not to retire for a second time until 1858.
This broadside is for the Haymarket Theatre production of Guy Mannering on Monday, June 25, 1855. Charlotte played the role of Meg Merrilies, a role she had created in America and was particularly known for. Because Charlotte did not peg her living on being beautiful or graceful as other actresses did, she had the freedom to develop this old gypsy fortune-teller as she saw fit. In England, she played Meg for all the chills and shudders she could (Leach 220), piling on the age makeup and making her as hag-like as she possibly could. She moved freely about the stage with shrieks, crooning her lullaby to the long-lost Henry Bertram. London loved the interpretation as well; performances always brought in a substantial profit. The role stayed a permanent part of her repertoire until the time of her final retirement in 1874. |
|
Type |
Text |
|
Original format |
Playbills/broadsides |
|
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 |
9.1: Posters -- Plays/Perfomances |
|
Box |
Oversize |
|
Finding aid link |
http://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/collections/manuscripts/ead/mss255.xml |
|
Preferred citation |
[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. |
|
Rights statement |
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ |
|
Additional rights information |
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.021 |
|
Digital publisher |
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304 |
|
OCLC number |
872280904 |
