Research Catalog

Title

Brooklyn takes the stage : nineteenth-century theater in the city of churches / Samuel L. Leiter.

Author

Leiter, Samuel L.

Publication

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2024]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

vii, 379 pages : illustrations; 26 cm

Summary

"America's third largest city until 1890, Brooklyn, New York, had a striking theatrical culture before it became a borough of Greater New York in 1898. As the city gained size and influence, more and more theatres arose, with at least 15 venues ultimately vying for favor. But, for all its productivity, too many theatregoers preferred the discomforts of a ferry and horsecar trip to New York's playhouses instead of supporting the local product. Nor did the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 do Brooklyn's theatres any favors. Manhattan's Goliath slayed Brooklyn's David. This first comprehensive study of Brooklyn's old-time theatre describes the city's early history, each of its many playhouses, its plays and actors (including nearly every foreign and domestic star), and its scandals and catastrophes, including the theatre fire that killed nearly 300. Brooklyn's ongoing struggle to establish theatres in a society dominated by anti-theatrical preachers, including Henry Ward Beecher, is observed, as are all the ways that Brooklyn typified 19th century American theatre, from stock companies to combinations. Replete with fascinating anecdotes, this is the story of a major city from which theatre all but vanished before being reborn as a present-day artistic mecca"--

Subject

• 1800-1899
• Theater > New York (State) > New York > History > 19th century
• Theater
• Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) > History > 19th century
• New York (State) > New York
• New York (State) > New York > Brooklyn
• New York (State) > Kings County

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-367) and index.

Call Number

MWED (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 24-2975

ISBN

• 9781476693590
• 1476693595
• 9781476651378 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2023050282

OCLC

1375992604

Author

Leiter, Samuel L., author.

Title

Brooklyn takes the stage : nineteenth-century theater in the city of churches / Samuel L. Leiter.

Publisher

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2024]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-367) and index.

Chronological Term

1800-1899

Research Call Number

MWED (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 24-2975