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Notes for a History of the Italian-American Theatre of New York
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 July 2009
Extract
Today, Italian-Americans are largely integrated into the mainstream of American society. Nearly vanished is the simple, lively immigrant culture of the first generation of Italian-Americans. New York City, the center of that immigrant culture, once had a thriving theatre which served a large segment of the city's Italian-speaking population. Although the Italian-American theatre was a major ethnic theatre, its history remains neglected, and is virtually unknown to historians outside the area of Italian-American studies.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright © American Society for Theatre Research 1973
References
Notes
1 By 1880, there were 44,230 Italian immigrants in America, most of them immigrants from Southern Italy. See Foerster, Robert, The Italian Emigration in Our Times (Cambridge, Mass., 1919), p. 323Google Scholar.
2 By 1930, Italians constituted nearly one sixth of New York City's population. See Glazer, Nathan and Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, Beyond the Melting Pot, 2nd. ed. (Cambridge, Mass., 1970), p. 186Google Scholar.
3 In 1957 Pisani, Lawrence Frank wrote: “There are very few representatives of the Italian theatre in America today. It would be unfortunate if the Italian theatre in America disappeared, for, despite its florid excesses, it has been a link with another culture of this century.” The Italian in America, (New York, 1957), p. 177Google Scholar.
4 The New York Public Library is the only repository for these two newspapers. Il Progresso Italo-Americano did not retain back issues of its early publications. Private collections may possibly contain some of these early issues. I have discovered programs and newspaper clippings in the personal collections of Italian-American actors.
5 Pisani, p. 39.
6 Odell, George C., Annals of the New York Stage (New York, 1936), VIII, 463Google Scholar.
7 Ibid., (New York, 1940), XII, 489.
8 Ibid., (New York, 1945), XIV, 616, 618.
9 Mangione, Jerry, “Half Bitter, Half Sweet,” rev. of An Excursion Into Italian-American History, by De Conde, Alexander, The New Times Book Review, 6 February 1972, p. 41Google Scholar.
10 Lopreato, Joseph, Italian-Americans (New York, 1970), p. 171Google Scholar.
11 Ibid., p. 6.
12 Odell, XII, 78.
13 Odell, XIV, 336. Signor Ricciardi's troupe must have been among the most popular during these early years. Frequent announcements of its performances appear in the Eco d'Italia (as indicated in Odell's Annals of the New York Stage).
14 Ibid., 337.
15 Ibid., 617.
16 Ibid. (New York, 1949), XV, 109.
17 The author's debt to George Odell for recording these Italian activities in his Annals of the New York Stage is inestimable. Discussing the Italian season of 1890–1891 Odell wrote: “The reader and I agree in thinking this Italian record far from thrilling. I even wonder if it warrants, in these troubled times [1945], the expenditure of time, paper and ink involved. I commit the answer to posterity.” (Annals, XIV, 616). Many of the copies of the Eco d'Italia and Il Progresso Italo-Americano have been lost: I assume through disintegration. A number of the copies preserved on microfilm at the New York Public Library also show considerable damage. If Odell had not recorded these activities, much of the early history of the Italian-American theatre would have been lost to posterity.
18 The popularity of such simple theatrical fare was attributed to the Italian-American audiences almost entirely composed of uneducated laborers and artisans. “The mass of immigrants are classed as unskilled laborers, or without defined training. This classification is passably correct, but it should be borne in mind that the great majority of immigrants from Italy have had some experience in gardening, farming, or home industries of some kind. The line is not so sharply drawn in our country between the artisan and the farm hand.” Quoted from Lord, Eliot, Revor, John J. D., Barrow, Samuel J., The Italian in America (New York, 1950), p. 61Google Scholar.
19 “The Foreign Stage in New York,” The Bookman, XI (08 1900), 547Google Scholar.
20 “A Night with Farfariello,” Theatre Magazine, XXIX (01 1919), 32Google Scholar.
21 Interview, January 1972.
22 “The Bowery,” The American Mercury, IX, No. 35 (11 1926), 368Google Scholar.
23 “Shakespeare in the Bowery,” Harper's Weekly, XLII (12 03 1898), 244Google Scholar.
24 “Figure e Scene del Teatro Popolare Italiano a New York,” Il Progresso Italo-Americano, Sunday, 3 May 1942Google Scholar.
25 Since the Italian companies had such large repertoires and only a few actors, doubling of roles was common, causing considerable reliance upon the prompter. Actors mastered the technique of following the prompter; performances progressed at a regular pace. Estavan, Laurence, “The Italian Theatre in San Francisco,” San Francisco Theatre Research, NS 21 (San Francisco, Works Progress Administration, 1939), p. 17Google Scholar. Lorenzo Rondine, President of the Italian Actors Union, recalls an instance where the actor-manager, Alberto Compobasso, was writing a script during a performance—each completed scene being handed to the prompter, who then related it to the actors on stage. The performance progressed without an interruption (“Notes from a Radio Interview on Station WHOV,” n.d., probably 1941, MS provided by Carol Garuffi, member of Italian Actors' Union). Rachel Maiori, daughter of Silvio Minciotti, recalls an instance when Frederick March witnessed a demonstration of the actor-prompter technique in her home. March was amazed by the almost instantaneous rendering of the lines by the actors (Personal Interview, Rachel Maiori, September 1971).
26 No relationship to Francesco Ricciardi mentioned earlier.
27 New York Times, 17 March 1916.
28 Odell, XV, 229.
29 “Figure e Scene,” As cited in note 24.
30 17 March 1916.
31 “Figure e Scene.” (The article did not give the Italian title for this play.)
32 Odell, XV, 111.
33 “Ermete Zacconi,” Enciclopedia dello spettacolo (Rome, 1962), IX, 2067Google Scholar.
34 Kildare, Owen, “Bowery Salvini,” New York Herald, 1902Google Scholar; in Clipping File: “Italian American Theatre,” New York Public LibraryGoogle Scholar.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid.
38 Ibid.
39 “Shakespeare in the Bowery.”
40 “Foreign Stage,” loc. cit.
41 “Foreign Stage,” p. 550.
42 Personal Interview, Marietta Maiori, daughter of Antonio and child actress in her father's company, September 1971.
43 Kildare, “Bowery Salvini.”
44 Ibid. (See also: Kildare, , “Salvini of the Bowery is Society's Protege: Maiori's Spark of Genius to be Fanned Into Flame Under Patronage of Wealthy,” New York Herald, Sunday, 31 August 1902.)Google Scholar
45 Theatrical Advertisements, Il Progresso, 1930–1940.
46 “Figure e Scene,” Il Progresso Italo-Americano, Sunday, 28 June 1942Google Scholar.
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid. (Il Progresso, 13 September 1907, contains an announcement of the formation of De Rosalia's company with Paolo Cremonesi.)
49 “Figure e Scene,” Il Progresso, 28 June 1942. Miss Cunico achieved international recognition for her portrayal of the “Mother” in the film Marty.
50 Lifson, David, The Yiddish Theatre In America (New York, 1965), pp. 166–184Google Scholar.
51 “A Night with Farfariello,” 32.
52 Tigani, Joseph, “Italian-American Pens,” Italian Heritage (May 1971), p. 2Google Scholar.
53 Prezzolini, Giuseppe, I trapiantati (Milano, 1963), pp. 323–325Google Scholar.
54 Ibid., p. 323.
55 Interview, Almarinda Migliaccio. I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. Francis R. Favorini, who introduced me to the Migliaccio family, and thereby enabled me to use its collection.
56 Interview, Teodorico Migliaccio (father's assistant), January 1972.
57 Interview, Almarinda Migliaccio.
58 Prezzolini, p. 328.
59 Record contained in the Migliaccio family collection. The label is badly worn on the recording, making it impossible to discern its numerical identification.
60 “Eduardo Migliaccio,” The New York Press, Sunday, 14 January 1914, Migliaccio Scrapbook, family collection.
61 Interview, Almarinda Migliaccio.
62 “Shakespeare in the Bowery,” 244.
63 “There was a revival of the Italian and other European classics in the 1930's when the brilliant actor Giuseppe Sterni formed his Teatro d'Arte. He was the first to introduce Pirandello to Italian-American audiences, but received little support, and was also forced to produce popular melodramas. “Teatro d'Arte Opens Season,” New York Times, 7 October 1935.
64 “The miracle that occured during the epoch that followed the terrible depression … was caused by radio, whose programs brought our beautiful language into Italian homes and created such euphoria as to bring tears to one's eyes. Theatre profited from this enthusiasm. Radio drama had thousands of listeners, and these same dramas were then presented at theatres with profitable results at the box office.” Rondine, “Notes from a Radio Interview.” A frequent device used to lure audiences to the theatre was to present the first two acts of a play on radio during the week and complete the last two or three acts at a theatre on Sunday (Interview, Rachel Maiori).
65 During World War II, immigration from Italy ceased. The Immigration Act of 1952 placed severe quota restrictions on immigrants from Southern Europe. These two factors, therefore, prevented any possiblity of a revival of the Italian-American theatre.