No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Hartford's First Theatre: A Chapter in the History of the Old American Company
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2010
Extract
A fully documented history of the Old American Company under the direction of Lewis Hallam, John Hodgkinson, and later William Dunlap, is yet to be written. When such a history appears, it will be an important contribution not only to our knowledge of the American theatre but also to our better understanding of the early social history of our country. From New England the young nation inherited its vigorous pioneering spirit as well as its puritan piety. In New England were formed enduring attitudes for the venue of the arts in general and the theatre in particular. The pioneer had little time for the theatre and the pious had little sympathy.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © American Society for Theatre Research 1968
References
NOTES
For their very kind assistance, the author wishes to thank the Connecticut Historical Society, the Connecticut State Library, the Hartford Courant, Mr. H. T. Parker, Mr. Herbert J. Stoeckel, and especially Mr. Richard Stoddard.
1 Hammond Trumbull, J., The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633–1884 (Boston, 1886), I, 580Google Scholar; and “Our First Theatres,” Hartford Daily Times, April 26, 1884.
2 Trumbull, I, 580–81; see also Hartford, Courant, “Sunday Magazine,” October 25, 1964.Google Scholar
3 Hartford Gazette and the Universal Advertiser, July 31, 1794.
4 Hartford Gazette, September 4, 1794; and Connecticut Courant, September 1, 1794.
5 Hartford Gazette, September 4, 1794; and Courant, August 18, 1794.
6 Hartford Gazette, August 25, 1794.
7 A.L.S. letter in Manuscript Division, New York Public Library, “Conn. Box, Hartford-Theatre.”
8 Clark is probably best remembered in Hartford as the speculator who bought the Old State House at public auction and moved it from its site on Court Street to Church Street. After September 3, 1798, the building was sub-divided for the accommodation of families. See Newton C. Brainard) The Hartford State House of 1796 (Connecticut Historical Society, 1964); and Hartford City Directory (1799).
9 Baxter, Franklin D., Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College (New York, 1896), II, 652Google Scholar; and Courant, May 9, 1804.
10 A.L.S. letter, Harvard Theatre Collection, TS992.31. 7f.
11 Harvard Theatre Collection, TS992.31.7f.
12 Trumbull, I, 123, 181, 185, 331, 380.
13 “Town of Hartford, Register of Deeds,” Hartford City Hall, Vol. 20; deed 571. The following deeds are also concerned with transactions of theatre shares: vol. 20: deeds 520 and 623; 21: 321; 28: 162, 227, 238, 279, 334, and 457; 31: 405; 32: 329 and 330; 33: 188, 302, and 324; 35: 24, 25, and 488.
14 Washbum, Albert and Buck, Henry, History of Hartford Streets: Publication of the Municipal Art Society of Hartford, no. 9 (1911), p. 78Google Scholar; and “Plan of the City of Hartford, 1824,” in the Library of the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford.
15 City directories show that between 1828 and 1838 a house was built at No. 10 Temple Street and that it was occupied by Gilman and later his widow. That address appears under Gilman's name in directories from 1838 to 1855. In 1855, it changes to 20 Temple Street (a change in numbers to accommodate new buildings?). The address of Widow Gilman's property in tax records from 1871 to 1878 is 20–24 Temple Street. According to the Hartford City Directory, 1886, these lots were part of what was then called the Gilman Estate, located on the north side of Temple Street, about halfway between Main Street and Dorr Street (now Market Street). Court records show that in 1889, Mrs. Gilman's heirs sold the property to Brown and Thompson, merchants, and in 1894, they built a new five-story building facing on Temple Street. This building still stands on the theatre site, and houses on its ground floor Brown Thompson's “Sir Allo Shoe Clinic.”
16 Hartford City Directory (1799) and Courant, April 27, 1801.
17 Dunlap, William, A History of the American Theatre (New York, 1832), p. 139.Google Scholar
18 Barber, John Warner, Connecticut Historical Collections (New Haven, 1846), pp. 56–57.Google Scholar
19 The lists of performers and the calenders of productions in this article are compiled from advertisements in the Connecticut Courant. The play lists given by Seilhamer, George, History of the American Theatre (Philadelphia, 1888–1891)Google Scholar, are incomplete.
20 Charles Ciceri, a designer and machinist of some note in Europe, had been engaged by Hodgkinson at the John Street Theatre in 1793–94.
21 Trumbull, I, 582.
22 Dunlap, p. 152.
23 Ibid.
24 Courant, November 7, 1796.
25 Courant, March 3, 1800.
26 Courant, June 2, 1800; and Trumbull, I, 585.
27 Frederick Kelly, J., Early Connecticut Meeting Houses (New York, 1948), p. 198.Google Scholar
28 Trumbull, I, 585.