LIBRARY OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 79? 
 
 G51s 
 cop.? 
 
 I .H.S.
 
 'THE-STORYOF 
 A THEATRE. 
 
 
 Jhr 
 
 GLOVER.
 
 Before the Curtain. 
 
 It was my fortune to begin writing of the 
 Chicago theaters about the time that Harry 
 J. Powers was first engaged in a minor capacity 
 at Hooley's. Thus when it happened, after a 
 long course of years, that Mr. Powers, having 
 become master where he once served, invited 
 me to prepare an unpretentious souvenir of this 
 historic house, it seemed an obligation of old 
 friendship and, therefore, a pleasant duty to 
 comply with the request. 
 
 The result is offered without apology, since 
 where there is no pretense there can be no 
 occasion for excuses. Wishing to preserve 
 from oblivion fugitive memories of this famous 
 theater, and signalize not merely its change of 
 ownership, but also a complete reconstruction, a souvenir of 
 this casual and informal nature was thought to be appropriate. 
 Perhaps some flying threads and thrums have been rescued 
 and woven together in such a manner that they will be avail- 
 able, one of these days, for some one more apt and patient than 
 I am in the work of writing history. No doubt errors have 
 crept in, which is not strange, since there is no complete reposi- 
 tory of facts relating to any of the Chicago theaters upon which 
 one may draw. The chief dependence is and must be upon 
 memory, reinforced by such memoranda as have escaped the 
 envious tooth of time. Nothing is affirmed or promised, there- 
 fore, except a few facts and sentiments garnered to honor 
 a theater which has earned an entirely unique reputation. There
 
 is no attempt to be literary, profound, or exhaustive. I 
 simply dwell casually upon the record of dear old Uncle Dick 
 Hooley and his achievements in this house, because they are 
 worthy of attention, and for the reason that they form an 
 important chapter in the theatrical history of Chicago. Now that 
 a second chapter in this record has been commenced by Mr. 
 Hooley 's successor-in-trust, Harry J. Powers, it seems appro- 
 priate to bring the old and the new together in these pages, and 
 thus with a sentiment of tender regret for the past that has 
 drifted away from us, and of hope for the future, which prom- 
 ises so much, I wish the manager and the patrons of Powers' 
 Theater all happiness and good fortune. 
 
 L. B. G.
 
 One Chicago Theater. 
 
 "The world's a theater, the earth a 
 
 stage 
 L. Which God and Nature do with actors 
 
 fill." 
 Haywood's " Apology for Actors." 
 
 A city of two million peo- 
 ple, flinging her banners to the 
 breeze that all the world may 
 be filled with envy and admira- 
 tion, yet Chicago became an 
 incorporated fact, with 4,179 
 souls, only sixty-one years ago. 
 Nature's solemn, silent thea- 
 ter, peopled by midnight owls 
 and predatory wolves ranged 
 away from the sounding waves 
 of Lake Michigan, in a broad 
 sweep of dismal swamps, verdant meadows and limitless 
 prairies, with their pickets and outposts of scattering trees. 
 This was the theater which God and Nature had not then 
 filled with actors, but time passed swiftly in these pioneer 
 days, and half a century ago the first Chicago theater became 
 a reality. 
 
 Only fifty years, yet the effort and achievement of that 
 period, brief in comparison with the gray centuries of the past, 
 have stirred the wonder of all mankind. The good fairy of 
 progress, searching for new worlds to conquer, raised her 
 potent wand and a new city sprang into existence ; a city 
 
 5
 
 destined to be consumed by fire and rebuilt more splendid 
 than before ; a city which was to control the markets of the 
 world, establish the most liberal system of parks and boulevards 
 in the universe, create a World's Exposition of undying glory, 
 and undertake such marvels in engineering as are involved in 
 the water supply, drainage and transportation problems, which 
 have been so well solved. 
 
 It would be strange if the stage had not kept pace with these 
 matchless impulses of Western civilization. Touching more 
 
 lives in a recreative 
 way than any other 
 institution, its early 
 growth was identified 
 with the struggles of 
 the city, and it has 
 borne an honorable 
 part in all these tre- 
 mendous efforts by 
 relieving the mental 
 pressure, smoothing 
 down the rough edges 
 of care, and tutoring 
 this people the world 
 forgetting and by the 
 world forgot to pre- 
 pare, by mental relax- 
 ation, for the duties of 
 to-morrow. 
 
 This is the primary 
 mission of the theater, 
 and this duty it has 
 performed, if not with 
 unwavering fidelity to 
 standards, at least with such 
 sincere regard for artistic models as 
 the existing state of public taste
 
 would permit. If a stream cannot rise above its fountain- 
 head, neither can any enterprise, depending upon public favor, 
 maintain a standard far superior to the taste of its patrons, with- 
 out courting bankruptcy. 
 
 But we may throw philosophy, along with physic, to the 
 dogs. It is of a theater with no apologies to offer that this 
 brief abstract and chronicle has to do. Although caviare to the 
 general, a thing quite apart from the common gossip of the 
 world, the record of a representative theater is a cherished 
 memory to those who have lived within the circle of its influ- 
 ence. Out of that baptism of fire in 1871, at which all the 
 world wondered, came Hooley's, now Powers' Theater, and 
 thereby hangs a tale which may be briefly unfolded to refresh 
 the memory of the present generation, and perchance inform 
 those who come after, of a theatrical record approached in kind 
 by no other American theater, and in general by Daly's Theater 
 alone of all the other play-houses in the United States. 
 
 Into this inheritance of accrued honor and glory comes 
 Powers' Theater, the successor in trust of all the splendid asso- 
 ciations connected with this historic house which has changed 
 its name, but not its nature, and continues with all the rights, 
 hereditaments and attractions that have so long made the Ran- 
 dolph Street Theater the Mecca of polite and discriminating 
 play-goers. With fair Juliet we may exclaim: 
 
 tf What's in a name ? That which we call a rose 
 By any other name would smell as sweet." 
 
 And so with kindly words of farewell for the old name that 
 hung bravely over these doors throughout so many years of sun- 
 shine and storm, a title which urrder the changed conditions of 
 ownership could not be retained, we glance over the busy history 
 of those twenty-six years as a prelude to such words as may be 
 said of the new regime and a reconstructed and modernized 
 theater. It is not the name we must remember, but the attrac- 
 tion that fixes the status of a playnouse, and when the attrac- 
 tions continue unchanged, and the same firm and experienced
 
 hand that has actively guided the affairs of the house for so 
 long still controls its destinies, the regret occasioned by the 
 enforced disappearance of the familiar title vanishes in the 
 generous and well-founded belief that all Hooley's Theater has 
 been Powers' Theater will continue to be.
 
 The First Hooley Theater. 
 
 The blistering flames of the great fire of 1871 left many 
 wrecks behind. To Richard M. Hooley this catastrophe was 
 the enforced beginning of a new career. In a few hours the 
 earnings of a life-time were swept away, and the alert, suc- 
 cessful manager who had ever conquered his world was obliged
 
 again to face the struggle which 
 he had just given over in the 
 hope of retirement and ease. A 
 successful manager in Brooklyn 
 and throughout the country 
 where his minstrels were well 
 known, Mr. Hooley determined 
 in 1870 to locate in Chicago. 
 Possessing ample credit and cap- 
 ital, he secured possession of 
 Bryan Hall, at 89 Clark street, 
 where the Grand Opera House 
 is now located, and constructed 
 a handsome theater, to which 
 he gave the name of Hooley 's 
 Opera House. Next to Cros- 
 by's Opera House and Mc- 
 Vicker's, it was by far the 
 handsomest theater in the city 
 at that time, and the news- 
 papers of the day, still preserved 
 in dark vaults, bear silent but 
 eloquent testimony to its beauty 
 and elegance. It was on Monday evening, January 2, 1871, 
 that this new temple of dramatic art was thrown open to 
 the public with an entertainment provided by Hooley' s famous 
 Minstrels, who were spurred to their most humorous and 
 melodious endeavors by the fact that Manning's Minstrels 
 were also disporting themselves before a great audience at the 
 Dearborn Theater, only two blocks away. At Crosby's 
 Opera House "The Twelve Temptations" held out their 
 glittering lure, and at McVicker's J. K. Emmet played " Our 
 German Cousin" on the night that Hooley 's Opera House 
 was dedicated, while in the forbidding gloom of old Farwell 
 Hall the silvery eloquence of Wendell Phillips inspired another 
 great congregation. 
 
 C)'TAIR CASE:.
 
 Of Mr. Hooley's first appearance on this occasion, as a 
 local manager, one kindly disposed critic exhausted the entire 
 list of adjectives in describing the beauty of the house, the 
 excellence of the entertainment, the wisdom of the manager, 
 and the enthusiasm of the audience. 
 
 Thus auspiciously inaugurated, Hooley's Opera House con- 
 tinued joyously to the tunes of minstrelsy and burlesque, with 
 an occasional dramatic interlude, until the summer vacation, 
 when Frank E. Aiken became associated with the management, 
 Hooley's first dramatic stock company was organized, with 
 twenty-five people, many of whom were well-known actors of 
 that day. It included, in addition to Mr. Aiken, Messrs. J. 
 H. Fitzpatrick, Frank Lawler, M. C. Daly, J. C. Padgett, 
 J. C. Morrison, S. L. Knapp, Jarvis Vincent, George Arthur 
 and David Osborne, while among the ladies were Augusta 
 Dargon, Fanny Burt, Lizzie Herbert, Annie Campion, Isabel 
 Remick, Mrs. Daly, Lizzie Osborne and Annie Rogers. "The 
 Hunchback ' * was selected for the first performance, which 
 marked the evening of August 28, 1871. 
 
 It is not necessary or possible in this casual record of Mr. 
 Hooley's beginnings in Chicago to follow the fortunes at this 
 house during the four weeks prior to its destruction by the great 
 fire. The stock company filled in most of the time acceptably 
 with such plays as "The Two Buzzards," "The Serious 
 Family," " Camille," and the "Long Strike," with one 
 interruption by the Oates opera company, and then the day of 
 doom arrived. On Sunday night, October 8, Mrs. Lander 
 commenced an engagement, playing " Elizabeth, Queen of 
 England," but the next day Hooley's Opera House was in 
 ashes, reduced from its former estate by the furious blast of 
 flame that swept that earlier Chicago out of existence.
 
 Out of the Flames. 
 
 It is only to discern and appreciate the historical associa- 
 tions and the splendid inheritance of many glittering and 
 brilliant years upon which Mr. Powers is to erect a new super- 
 structure of success, that we glance hastily and with no thought 
 of minor details at the influences leading up to the establishment 
 of the now famous house which he controls. Its pedigree 
 which no one doubts, and all the professional world, as well as 
 that closely knit world of society is quick to recognize, is bound 
 up and determined in and by those happenings in the past, as 
 it is assured for the future by the careful and experienced hand 
 now at the helm. Woven into the warp 
 and woof of Chicago history is the record 
 of this theater, and as the weaving goes 
 steadily forward forming a continuous 
 fabric, we could not if we would separate 
 the present from the past or unduly 
 dismember those historical associations so 
 firmly knit together. The story of a 
 theater is not the record of one man. It 
 cannot be given arbitrary metes and 
 bounds, but must be accepted as a whole, 
 and thus before we may glance at Power's 
 Theater of to-day, with all of its remark- 
 able possibilities, it is necessary, and may 
 prove interesting to casuist and philoso- 
 pher alike, to dwell briefly in the past 
 and gather up those flying and scattered 
 reminiscences that have thus far escaped
 
 the historian. The dead past may bury its dead, but the 
 record remains. Thus we glance back at the beginnings of 
 Hooley's Theater not merely to glorify the past but to pre- 
 serve the traditions and discover in what 
 manner the foundations of the house were 
 laid. 
 
 When the flames destroyed Hooley's 
 Opera House, that spectacular event, a re- 
 flection of which was seen around the world, 
 made radical change in many plans, among 
 the number those that had just been per- 
 fected by Mr. Hooley. Having gained a 
 fortune by his various enterprises in the field 
 of amusement, he determined to retire and 
 take up his residence in the East. With 
 this purpose in view he had disposed of 
 his interest in Hooley's Opera House, and 
 when the historic fire broke out was waiting 
 at the Briggs House with his personal 
 effects and impedimenta ready for a trip 
 to the seaboard. Much of his fortune was 
 invested in Chicago, and when the smoke 
 of that awful conflagration cleared away 
 he discovered, in common with thousands 
 of other unfortunates, that his assets had 
 melted in the blow-pipe of that terrible heat, 
 and thus it became necessary to begin the 
 conflict over again. There was no further 
 thought of a life of ease, but with that energy and determina- 
 tion always characterizing his career Mr. Hooley at once set 
 about finding a suitable location for a new theater. By some 
 favoring chance he hit upon the Randolph street site, which 
 was thus established as the permanent locale of a theater des- 
 tined to become famous. Work was commenced without 
 undue delay, and despite exorbitant prices incident to a 
 time when the whole city was rebuilding and the delays 
 
 16
 
 peculiar to such an excited and unusual condition, within little 
 more than a year the new theater was ready for occupancy. 
 It was on the evening of October 21, 1872, that the lights 
 were turned on for the first time within the very walls that 
 remain to this day, walls which for more than a quarter of 
 a century have resounded to the voices of nearly all the great 
 artists of the period and have contained, times innumerable, the 
 wealth, fashion and intellect of Chicago. 
 
 The Abbot Kiralfy troupe provided the entertainment on 
 that opening night with a diverting, but not too artistic panto- 
 mime, entitled "The Three Hunchbacks," and a crowded 
 audience showered congratulations so thick upon Manager 
 Hooley that the opening incidents were justly regarded as 
 omens of success. The theater was dedicated on this occasion 
 under the old familiar name of Hooley 's Opera House, which 
 had done duty before the fire at the Clark street location, and 
 it was not until several years later that the qualifying and per- 
 haps, misleading phrase was dropped and Hooley's Theater was 
 fixed upon as the title destined to stand with but a slight inter- 
 ruption for almost twenty-five years. Prior to that change Mr. 
 Hooley adopted "The Parlor Home of Comedy" as a sub- 
 title, this being his fancy on introducing his great stock com- 
 pany which first appeared Monday evening, August 31, 1874. 
 Previous to that date the house had been devoted to minstrelsy 
 and to such miscellaneous attractions as could be secured ; but 
 results were not satisfactory, and Mr. Hooley, crippled by the 
 fire, found his financial condition growing desperate. It was 
 then that the project of a dramatic stock company appealed to 
 him, and since the company he formed was the strongest stock 
 organization Chicago has ever boasted, this event should be 
 embalmed in memory by more than the tribute of a passing 
 word. It is impossible within the brief limits assigned this 
 casual and discursive sketch which is intended to indicate in 
 general rather than set forth in detail the history of Hooley's 
 Theater to describe all that this company did or tried to do. A 
 most worthy undertaking managed with exceptional liberality, 
 
 18
 
 its maintenance was one of the most artistic and creditable 
 incidents in the career of Richard M. Hooley. Composed of 
 thirty actors, the company included a number of artists who 
 stood high in the ranks at that time and have since become 
 famous. James O'Neill, who had made himself known as 
 a member of McVicker's Stock Company, was leading man. 
 William H. Crane, then a recent graduate from opera bouffe, 
 as represented by the Alice Gates Company, was engaged as 
 low comedian, and his connection with Hooley 's was the 
 foundation stone of legitimate experience upon which his bril- 
 liant success of the future was established. Nate Salsbury, who 
 subsequently gained fame and fortune in connection with Sals- 
 bury' s Troubadours, and then as the directing influence of 
 Buffalo Bill's Wild West, was the eccentric or character come- 
 dian of this company and Miss Louise Hawthorne, who had made 
 a name with Lawrence Barrett, was the leading lady. Other 
 
 notables were Clara Fischer 
 Maeder, famed for her "old 
 woman ' ' characterizations ; 
 Mrs. Fred Williams, a sou- 
 brette and comedienne of im- 
 mense popularity ; Henry S. 
 Murdock, light comedian ; 
 George Ryer, a sterling actor 
 of old men characters ; Miss 
 Nellie Bellew, and a score 
 of others who gave a good 
 account of themselves at the 
 time, although most of them 
 long since disappeared from 
 the stage. 
 
 The opening play selected 
 for this new company was 
 Dion Boucicault's " Led 
 Astray," and this was fol- 
 lowed by other revivals,
 
 some of them Shakespearean, all put on in ,a highly creditable 
 manner. Growing out of an experimental stock company which 
 had played at this house on the preceding year, and includ- 
 ing such admirable artists as J. W. Blaisdell, Russell Soggs, 
 John Dillon, George Giddens, Kate Meek and Mrs. Maeder, 
 the company of 1874 was believed to be a permanent develop- 
 ment in artistic growth, certain to parallel in Chicago the 
 brilliant reputation of Wallack's company in New York. But 
 this anticipation was not realized. There were many clever 
 performances, but the enterprise did not grow, and Mr. Hooley 
 discovered that his affairs were taking on a most gloomy hue. 
 
 It is not necessary to dwell upon the events that followed 
 in 1875, when from October of that year until January, 1877, 
 Mr. Hooley was obliged to relinquish his theater to Simon 
 Quinlin, who in turn rented it to Thomas Maguire of Cali- 
 fornia. J. H. Haverly became associated with Maguire dur- 
 ing this period, and it was then that the theater was known 
 as Haverly' s Theater, the old familiar name of Hooley disap- 
 pearing from the door. 
 
 It is best not to detail the bitter litigation that ensued or to 
 describe the steps whereby Mr. Hooley was enabled to regain 
 control of the theater, but it may be recalled as an incident of 
 the times that while shut out, as he believed, unjustly from the 
 house he had built, Mr. Hooley leased for a while the New 
 Chicago Theater (now known as the Olympic) which was then 
 controlled by J. H. McVicker. That manager had fitted up 
 this theater at great expense on the former site of Kingsbury 
 Hall for the purpose of competing with Hooley 's Parlor Home 
 of Comedy, but there did not seem to be adequate patron- 
 age for such an undertaking, and thus it happened that when 
 Mr. Hooley 's enterprise also went astray and his theater was 
 possessed by another, The New Chicago stood ready for his 
 occupancy, although truth compels the admission that he did not 
 prosper in this new and temporary location. In order to com- 
 plete and round out this story of disaster it may be mentioned 
 that Mr. Haverly testified in court to losing more than $7,000
 
 during the fifteen months that his name hung suspended over 
 Hooley's Randolph street theater. 
 
 But the whirligig of time brings compensations now and 
 then to those who are patient enough to wait, and the fall of 
 1877 once more found Mr. Hooley in possession of the theater 
 which was destined to bear his name for so long a period. For- 
 
 tune had trifled with him in a most vexatious manner for a 
 time, but won, perhaps by his persistence, she now commenced 
 to smile. It is a pleasing coincidence that Harry J. Powers, 
 who now succeeds to the honors, responsibilities and emolu- 
 ments of this famous theater, became connected with this house, 
 though in an extremely modest capacity, during this eventful 
 year which marked the beginning of a new era of prosperity 
 for Mr. Hooley's management. It is naturally an agreeable
 
 recollection for him that, having served continuously ever since, 
 he has been connected with the theater during its entire period 
 of success, and therefore falls heir legitimately and by virtue of 
 long and faithful service to a management every detail of which 
 he has fully mastered in the school of experience. His own 
 modesty rebels even at this slight recognition of an untiring 
 fidelity to the interests of his employer, but no sketch of 
 Hooley's Theater, however brief, would be even measurably 
 complete that failed to recognize his long and influential asso- 
 ciation with the theater of which he has now become the sole 
 manager. During the early years of his connection with 
 Hooley's Theater he occupied in turn all of the subordinate 
 positions incident to theatrical management, contributing to 
 each such energy and devotion that he made rapid progress, 
 earning every promotion, until at last, more than a decade ago, 
 he was installed as Mr. Hooley's chief adviser and assistant. 
 This honorable position he held to the unwavering satisfaction of 
 his chief up to the time of Mr. Hooley's death, and thereafter 
 managed the theater in the interest of the estate with such skill 
 and ability that the profits of the house reached a figure even 
 greater than had ever been realized during the life of its founder. 
 It is not strange therefore that when a new lease of the building 
 was to be negotiated the owners preferred him to all other 
 applicants, nor is it an occasion for wonder that when estopped 
 from the use of Mr. Hopley's name by burdensome and impos- 
 sible conditions to which no prudent business man could accede, 
 he listened to the advice of friends and associates and rechristened 
 the house ''Powers' Theater." This selection of a name, 
 though reluctantly made in consequence of the belief that some 
 would think it dictated by egotism, or that it might seem to 
 indicate but slight respect for the memory of his old employer 
 and friend, was justified by the necessity which compelled the 
 selection of a new name, and also by a legitimate business 
 consideration. It was reasonable to identify an important 
 enterprise, give it stability, and confirm it in the confidence of 
 the public, by affixing to it the responsible name of a man
 
 who had been associated with its up-building for a double 
 decade. In no other business does personal confidence stand 
 for more than in theatrical management. It is hard-earned, but 
 when once secured is an element of success, the value of which 
 cannot be overestimated. Wallack, Palmer, Daly, McVicker, 
 Hooley, the Frohmans, and others, have illustrated this self- 
 evident fact; and, governed by this same philosophy, the advisers 
 of Mr. Powers fell into no error when they insisted that the 
 confidence inspired by Mr. Powers' name should be crystallized 
 and made effective by placing it upon the theatrical structure 
 which he had done so much to build up and sustain.
 
 Some Great Events. 
 
 IT is impossible within the narrow limits assigned to this 
 monograph to dwell at length in the past or recall many 
 of those brilliant and interesting occurrences that belong 
 to the extraordinary record of this theater. Since 1877, 
 the year of the new beginning, nearly all of the great artists of 
 the present generation have appeared on this stage, adding each 
 his page to a history which is not equalled in consecutive impor- 
 tance by that of many other American theaters. Opera, com- 
 edy, tragedy, burlesque, farce comedy, indeed all the classifica- 
 tions of stage art so deftly enumerated by the ancient Polonius, 
 have followed each other in ceaseless procession behind these 
 glowing footlights. Nilsson in the hey-day of youth and 
 beauty, Clara Louise Kellogg, the brilliant cantatrice of the early 
 *7o's, Gary, the greatest of American contraltos, Pappenheim, 
 and a host of other operatic stars displayed their vocal glories 
 in this theater, there being no opera-house available for many 
 years after the destruction of Crosby's. And then how many 
 other familiar names are inscribed upon that lengthening roll of 
 fame. Aimee, Janauschek, Alice Oates, the elder Sothern and 
 Mme. Modjeska were numbered among the leading attractions 
 of 1878, and Fanny Davenport made her first Chicago appear- 
 ance as a star during that same notable year, which was also 
 marked by a run of nine weeks for A. M. Palmer's famous Union 
 Square Company, an incident that quite puts to blush the cur- 
 rent belief that Chicago has but recently graduated into the dis- 
 tinction of long runs. Indeed the early record of Hooley's 
 Theater discloses not a few evidences that a popular success 
 was quite as welcome to prolong its stay as it is in these metro-
 
 politan days. Augustin Daly, with a repertory, the Kiraltys, 
 with "Michael Strogoff," McKee Rankin, with the "Dan- 
 ites," and Wyndham in a repertory are each credited with 
 four weeks in the early '8o's, and on a succeeding visit 
 Mr. Daly was obliged to remain five weeks. It was on July 
 6, 1884, that Henry E. Dixey commenced at this theater, 
 that engagement of six weeks in "Adonis" which was the 
 corner-stone of a phenomenal success that yielded a great 
 fortune and set the fashion for a new style of entertainment. 
 Aside from those already stated the longest runs in the history 
 of the house may be briefly 
 summarized : 
 
 May 30, 1885, Rice's 
 " Evangeline," 12 weeks. 
 
 July 4, 1891, "The County 
 Fair," 9 weeks. 
 
 October, 1891, E. S. Wil- 
 lard, 4 weeks. 
 
 June, 1893, E. S. Willard, 
 9 weeks. 
 
 October, 1893, Coquelin 
 and Hading, 4 weeks. 
 
 December, 1893, the Ken- 
 dais, 4 weeks. 
 
 May, 1894, "Charley's 
 Aunt," 15 weeks. 
 
 July 6, 1895, "Trilby," 8 
 weeks. 
 
 December 9, 1895, "Pris- 
 oner of Zenda," 5 weeks. 
 
 May 23, 1896, "Gay Par- 
 isiennes," 13 weeks. 
 
 October 2, 1897, "Secret 
 Service," 6 weeks. 
 
 Engagements ranging from 
 two to four weeks have been
 
 very numerous, but not many, as may be observed, exceed that 
 limit. It is interesting, however, to recall the fact, certified 
 by the official figures, that Mr. Willard holds the honorable 
 record of playing more weeks during one twelvemonth than any 
 other star who ever appeared in this theater. Between December, 
 1892, and September, 1893, he played during a total of sixteen 
 weeks, with exceptionally remunerative results, a record which 
 he may reasonably contemplate with pride. In contrast with this 
 splendid success was the surprising failure made by Coquelin 
 and Hading, who earned the unenviable distinction of creating 
 almost the worst record for four weeks in the history of the 
 theater by scoring a net loss in the midst of the World's Fair 
 year when the city was full of foreigners. Mme. Duse also 
 played for three weeks at a loss, and thus seven weeks of the 
 World's Fair period were lost to Hooley's Theater, although 
 the great business stimulated by Willard, Goodwin, Daly and 
 others, enabled the management to score one of the most pros- 
 perous years in the history of the theater. 
 
 It would be interesting, were it possible without invading 
 professional secrets, to indicate, with the aid of figures, some of 
 the most profitable engagements ever played at Hooley's ; but 
 at least there can be no harm in recalling the success always 
 achieved by such attractions as J. K. Emmett, Joseph Murphy, 
 Robson and Crane, "Bunch of Keys," "Parlor Match/ 1 
 Goodwin and the Daly Company, the profit to the theater 
 ranging many times above $3,500 for a single week in some 
 of these and other engagements. The first and second engage- 
 ments of the Kendals, 1889 and 1891, were among the largest 
 in point of receipts ever played at this theater, and Augustin 
 Daly in 1892 and the Kendals in 1891 broke the record for 
 the largest single week receipts in the history of this house. 
 But it remained for William Gillette with " Secret Service" to 
 surpass every other average for a six weeks' term this theater can 
 exhibit, although some others press him close. To Mr. Good- 
 win, who has played here for so many years, belongs the credit 
 of earning more profit for Hooley's than any one star, although
 
 there is a contrasting fact in the statement that the profit for 
 one week of his playing ten years ago reached only $4.74, a 
 record surpassed in the days of his early starhood by E. H. 
 Sothern, who saved the theater from loss on the week by the 
 narrow margin of 79 cents. But since that time Mr. Good- 
 win and Mr. Sothern have been enormously successful at this 
 house, while Mr. Willard, the Daly Company, the Kendals, 
 the Lyceum and Empire Companies have been among the 
 standard attractions giving to Hooley's, with the aid of such 
 artists as Mme. Modjeska, Olga Nethersole, John Drew, Wil- 
 liam H. Crane, Sol Smith Russell, Julia Arthur and others, 
 the high distinction which it has more particularly enjoyed 
 within recent years. This year the name of Joseph Jefferson, 
 that noblest Roman of all those in the comedy field, must be 
 added to this roll of 
 honor. 
 
 Nor shall we for- 
 get while speaking of 
 the more recent his- 
 tory of this famous 
 house of dramatic art 
 that Charles Wynd- 
 ham and Wilson Bar- 
 rett have graced its 
 boards that Rosina 
 Vokes, whose infinite 
 charm none could re- 
 sist, well nigh said 
 her last farewell to 
 the theater on this 
 stage, that Mansfield, 
 who has gained the 
 highest round on the 
 ladder of dramatic 
 fame, has electrified 
 these audiences, that
 
 Mary Anderson, who all too soon wearied of her task, is also a 
 memory of this famed house which is just now full of honors, 
 and facing even brighter glories in the future. 
 
 Scarcely any, indeed, who have been known to the pres- 
 ent generation as stars or artists above the common herd 
 have been strangers to this house, which more than any other 
 single theater has commanded the services of all sorts and con- 
 ditions of good actors. 
 
 33
 
 Powers' New Theater. 
 
 Hooley's Theater that was, Powers' Theater that is, has 
 been the scene of a glorious transformation during a happy 
 summertime when all the world was a-maying. No sooner 
 did the curtain fall for the last time behind the old proscenium, 
 shutting out from view Mr. Daly's "Circus Girl," than rude 
 
 34
 
 workmen armed with pick and shovel invaded the sacred domain 
 where society had so often exhibited its frills and furbelows. 
 The lobby was cleared away to the bare walls. The foyer 
 and all its belongings fell an early prey to the spirit of change, 
 which also uprooted the boxes, threw out the opera chairs that 
 had done service so long, and did not stay its hand until all the 
 old furnishings and fitments were relegated to the dust heap or 
 delivered over to the junk man. For the decree had gone 
 forth, signed, sealed and delivered by authority of the new 
 manager, that the theater should become not one of the most 
 popular, for that was already assured, but a house complete in 
 all of those features wherein the comfort or convenience of 
 the public might be involved. The original conformation of 
 the house, hedged in by metes and bounds that could not be 
 changed, was alone to remain encompassed by the familiar 
 walls, and designated to the passer-by through the narrow but 
 expressive facade that had stood sentinel on Randolph street for 
 quarter of a century. But the plain furnishments, the incon- 
 venience in seating and exit, the inartistic boxes were all evils 
 to be remedied. The dictates of modern taste and conveni- 
 ence were to oppose arrangements created when the city was 
 young, and in place of narrow and dangerous passageways, 
 always instantly congested when the audience was dismissed, 
 there were to be new channels for exit through which the 
 currents of humanity, finding their source in various portions of 
 the house, might flow out in safety. 
 
 Controlling as he does a very large percentage of the best 
 attractions and most popular stars coming to Chicago, and 
 therefore enjoying the patronage and favor of the most exacting 
 people in this city and parts adjacent, Mr. Powers was moved 
 by the belief that the best equipment was none too good for 
 the historic theater which he controlled or for the people who 
 honored him with their confidence. Having answered the 
 purposes of a less exacting period, it seemed fitting that the 
 time-scarred belongings of the old theater should give place to 
 new furnishings, and such a re-arrangement as would insure the 
 
 35
 
 greatest percentage of comfort, conven- 
 ience and security. This was the purpose 
 kept steadily in view when the new plans 
 were perfected. Utile cum dulce was 
 the motto adopted at the outset and until 
 the final touch was given the useful and 
 the beautiful commanded the unwavering 
 attention of all to whom the work was 
 committed. The proposition was estab- 
 lished before the old familiar equipment 
 was torn away that the improvements 
 were to be radical and not a cheap veneer, 
 a mere replica of the whited sepulcher 
 covering rottenness and decay. Calci- 
 mine found no favor in the managerial 
 mind, and although the estimates for a 
 practical reconstruction of the interior 
 mounted up into the thousands, compre- 
 hending as they did every item that 
 would add to the comfort and safety 
 of an audience, there was no faltering. 
 Having put his hand to the plow, the 
 manager did not turn back, but boldly 
 gave the contractors carte blanche to 
 transform Powers' Theater into a model 
 auditorium from which nothing belonging 
 to a first-class theater should be omitted. 
 How well these instructions were carried out will be dis- 
 covered by a hurried, and not too technical, description of the 
 work that has been done. 
 
 It would be a short and easy task to describe that which 
 falls under the eye of an audience the decorations, upholstery 
 and all and single those color schemes and details of orna- 
 mentation and furnishing which speak for themselves with 
 more eloquence than any form of words can command. A few 
 appreciative lines deftly pointed at the salient features in the 
 
 36
 
 ^^.^^^^^^;rt^ I 
 
 37
 
 ornamental work,. or taking note of the symphony of artistic 
 effect composed by good taste and fine workmanship would be 
 sufficient. But in the making of a model theater a thousand 
 elements combine with which the average theater attendant is 
 quite unfamiliar. The lobby, foyer, orchestra and the sweep of 
 the proscenium constitute the illustrations in an open book 
 which he can scan at will, but the region behind the footlights 
 is a terra incognita. He knows little or nothing of its mys- 
 teries, even though it may have been his good fortune now and 
 then to catch a glimpse of its gloomy recesses and fascinating 
 secrets. Taking advantage of the fact that their patrons will 
 only see that which is swept and garnished for them in the 
 auditorium, many managers have so neglected not only appli- 
 ances for comfort, but for absolute safety, that a grave respon- 
 sibility rests upon their careless ancf inconsiderate shoulders. 
 Content with a veneer of showy decorations, with rich carpet- 
 ings and a glittering blaze of light, they permit theatrical arti- 
 fice to dominate every thought, and pay no heed to safety, 
 convenience or comfort in the working departments of their 
 theaters. Beneath the stage, in the dressing-rooms and high 
 up among the flies, there are invitations innumerable to disas- 
 ter. Flimsy construction makes the ever-present danger of fire 
 constantly more urgent; bad ventilation assures ill health and 
 fatal diseases; defective lighting appliances are ever ready to 
 create a panic; and the mischief thus set on foot is consum- 
 mated through the criminal failure to provide exits through 
 which an escape to safety may be made. 
 
 Happily, Mr. Powers did not wish to incur the responsi- 
 bility of managing a theater under such conditions. Having 
 in the past, during his career as business manager of the house, 
 made the best of conditions which it was beyond his province 
 to amend, his first determination on securing possession of the 
 theater was to make it, if possible, the safest playhouse in 
 America. Advantageously located, with alleys on the west 
 and north and an open court on the east, the structure offered 
 opportunities for the installation of safety appliances and emer-
 
 gency exits which had never been improved, andj among the 
 archaic belongings of the building were flimsy arrangements 
 that constantly threatened disaster. The first order to the 
 architect holding a commission to reconstruct the building was 
 to improve these long-neglected opportunities and remove the 
 tinder and rubbish that was a reminiscence of a less exacting 
 theatrical period. Befo r e decoration or upholstery was consid- 
 ered, the question of additional exits 
 was discussed and the problem settled 
 by cutting three or four e^tra doors 
 on each floor, leading to safety via 
 iron balconies and outside stairways 
 also of iron, by means of which an 
 easy descent could be made to the 
 ground. In addition to this radical 
 and most comprehensive scheme, 
 each floor orchestra, balcony and, 
 gallery could, in case of necessity 
 empty itself through its own exclus- 
 ive external exits in two minutes, and 
 that without making any use at all of 
 the interior stairways. 
 
 But here again Mr. Powers dem- 
 onstrated his anxiety to secure a 
 perfect adaptation of means to an 
 important end. Under the old con- 
 ditions the principal stairway from the 
 balcony occupied a corner of the main floor, and the current of 
 humanity flowing down from above, and mingling with that 
 other current attempting to escape from the orchestra caused a 
 congestion at the main exit into the lobby. This difficulty was 
 remedied by removing the offending stairway and providing two 
 independent internal outlets by means of which the people in 
 the balcony might find their way to the outer lobby without 
 mingling with those on the principal floor. In like manner the 
 gallery people may now pass undisturbed to Randolph street by 
 
 40
 
 means of a wide stairway devoted exclusively to their use and 
 leading direct to that thoroughfare. 
 
 Think not, however, that the precautions ended here. The 
 stage and its fittings, the dressing-rooms under the auditorium 
 and the electric lighting are the most constant source of danger, 
 a danger which Mr. Powers has reduced to the minimum by 
 precautions almost unexampled in extent and value. The 
 stage, rebuilt and provided with fireproofing and asbestos curtain, 
 offers scarcely any temptation to disaster. The dressing-rooms, 
 thoroughly constructed of malachite and cement, are models 
 not only of safety but also of convenience, and with their com- 
 plete furnishings must be a joy to actors who are so often 
 herded in apartments entirely unfit for human habitation. Thus 
 not only the patrons of Powers' Theater but those who belong 
 to the working and artistic force are provided for in the most 
 lavish and praiseworthy manner, and while patrons sit in the 
 elegant auditorium enjoying the fine performances catered for 
 their pleasure, they may feel genuine satisfaction in the con- 
 sciousness that the other departments of the house would all 
 stand the most careful inspection. 
 
 With the electric lighting system, the effect of which is to 
 add not only beauty to die house but a degree of safety seldom 
 realized in any public building, the city authorities are so well 
 satisfied that they have given Mr. Powers an endorsement of 
 which he may well be proud. While the chief of the fire 
 department commends all the arrangements devised with so 
 much care for the safety of patrons, the inspector of buildings 
 not only duplicates those commendations, but is specially 
 impressed by the thorough manner in which the electric instal- 
 lation has been made. Crossed wires and all the evils follow- 
 ing in their train will be unknown in this theater, where the 
 wires through which run the subtle electric fluid are carried in 
 iron pipes or conduits, thus curtailing all fear of danger. Of 
 the switch boards and all those intricate devices necessary to 
 control the current and enable the stage manager to secure the 
 most artistic effects it is unnecessary to speak in detail. Such
 
 scientific arrangements are bewildering, and would convey 
 even less conviction than the positive assurance that the 
 lighting plant which Mr. Powers has secured for his new 
 theater, without regard for expense, is so perfect and" complete 
 that it might well be accepted as a model to be imitated by all 
 who control similar establishments. In this, as in all other 
 particulars, Mr. Powers has held that the best is none too 
 good for his patrons. 
 
 43
 
 The Decorations. 
 
 TURNING from a consideration of the radical changes 
 made in this historic theater with a view to safety the 
 attention is naturally attracted by the beauty of the 
 entrance and the artistic features of the auditorium. 
 One perceives on approaching the theater that it has been mod- 
 ernized and beautified. The facade, glittering with lights, has 
 been brightened in soft green tones and a handsome iron 
 canopy or porte cochere extends across the sidewalk as if 
 to offer a hospitable welcome, and within the lobby with 
 its onyx wainscoting and restful decorations there is every- 
 where an exhibition of great elegance and good taste. The 
 architect and decorator have modernized everything. Not a 
 note of the old and archaic arrangements remains, but a taste- 
 ful, graceful scheme of color has been applied to the simple 
 architectural lines in such a manner that the perspective becomes 
 a thing of beauty. The box office with its almost classic out- 
 lines, the broad sweep of the stairway, the inviting cosy 
 nook with its dado of portraits, are details worthy of special 
 consideration, ministering as they do to a general sense of 
 artistic satisfaction. One is dimly and agreeably conscious 
 that the artist has blended the walls and ceiling in harmonious 
 tones of green and buff, but he does not care to analyze the 
 satisfaction that comes from such a pleasing combination of 
 lights and colors with the dainty rococo traceries that speak of 
 a well remembered period of French art. It is in its general 
 effect that the lobby of Powers' Theater is to be considered and 
 the verdict of restful unpretentious elegance must justly be 
 recorded in behalf of this attractive approach to the auditorium
 
 which has been and will be, the scene of so many dramatic and 
 fashionable happenings. 
 
 Once within the inner doors the color scheme which the 
 artist has devised makes an immediate impression upon the 
 eye. If any discover indecision in the lobby or a lack of 
 decorative purpose in its soft neutral tints no such impression is 
 made by the first glimpse of the auditorium. Here the entire 
 symphony is played to the keynote of Pompeian red, and a 
 warm and delightful glow of color strikes the eye as a special 
 relief after the coldly funereal tones that are so often found in the 
 theaters of to-day. The garish circus-like trappings once so 
 commonly seen in the playhouse and even now not infrequently 
 observed, have in the main been replaced by such dull tints that 
 all satisfying sense of color is missing and audiences might as 
 well sit in the gleam of the catacombs. 
 
 Realizing the importance of bright and beautiful surround- 
 ings as a means to personal comfort and an aid to the proper 
 illusions of the playhouse, the decorator has, in this instance, 
 boldly advanced the proposition that warmth and beauty should 
 be made to go hand in hand. The keynote of this belief is 
 promptly struck in the rich Pompeian red with which the wall 
 surfaces are covered. The rococo panels filled in with paintings 
 in tapestry effects are impressed, for artistic contrast, upon this 
 background of deep, splendid, historic 
 red in a graceful but most effective man- 
 ner, and the ornamentation blossoms out 
 upon the broad panels devoted to the 
 stage boxes in a fashion that would have 
 delighted the soul of the most exacting 
 artist at the court of Louis XIV. The 
 proscenium, indeed, and the impanelled 
 boxes forming the more remote portion 
 of the frame about the stage opening, 
 must be conceded to be the most satis- \ 
 factory example of modified French dec- 1 
 oration that have recently fallen under the 
 
 45
 
 eye. The temptation to overdo and over-elaborate this sug- 
 gestive art-form has been resisted, and the result is an entirely 
 artistic and restful treatment upon which the eye falls with 
 pleasure. The ornamentation, instead of being scattered in 
 reckless profusion throughout the auditorium, is massed, not 
 profusely, but with sufficient strength about the proscenium, 
 which, in its colorings of old ivory, red and antique gold, 
 with panelings in tapestry effects, cannot fail to make an 
 impression upon any appreciative soul. The enwreathed 
 pilasters of the stage opening, picked out upon the flat surfaces 
 with dull gold, provide an elegant but not aggressive frame for the 
 stage picture while the broad and richly ornamented sounding- 
 board and the handsome expanse of the proscenium, with the 
 boxes so artistically imposed, provide a composition entirely 
 satisfactory to the artistic sense. 
 
 The drop curtain, which completes this handsome picture, 
 is quite worthy the place of honor which it occupies, within 
 the beautiful frame which architect and decorator have provided. 
 It is a work of art in tapestry style, and does great credit to the 
 scenic artist, Mr. St. John Lewis. Writing of this curtain 
 a Chicago lady of distinguished literary and artistic abilities, 
 describes the subject and the treatment in the following appre- 
 ciative language: 
 
 The drop curtain at Powers' Theater depicts the beginning of one of the 
 most romantic love stories in history. Louis XIV., Louis le Grand, Le Roi 
 Solid, at 23 ruler of one of the greatest kingdoms of Europe, "with the 
 makings of four kings in his character," as Mazarin said, falls in love with a 
 beautiful girl of 17, Louise de La Valliere, the most obscure of the ladies in 
 waiting to madame, wife of monsieur, brother of the king. To create an 
 opportunity of telling her of his love and showing it to their world, he 
 arranges a drive through the forest of Fontainebleau for the court, then at the 
 Chateau of Fontainebleau. At noon they set off, Louis XIV. and monsieur 
 and their gentlemen on horses and the queen and madame and their ladies in 
 carriages. It is a warm, showery day in the fall, and as the gay company 
 passes through the beautiful forest, the queen expresses a wish to walk. They 
 stop at one of the numerous paths crossing the road and dismount. Nothing 
 could have suited the royal lover better. He places himself at once by the 
 side of La Valliere, who trembles with fright and happiness, and they wander
 
 off, followed at first by all the court. Finally, however, perceiving the evi- 
 dent wish of the king to be alone, the ladies and gentlemen go their various 
 ways, each of them, at the gay court of Louis XIV., having his or her small 
 preference to indulge. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Louis and Louise walk on, her arm in his, his hand on hers, until they 
 reach a great oak just as the first drops of a heavy shower begin to fall. The 
 king places La Valliere against the tree and stands before her, hat in hand. 
 The rain increases and Louis draws nearer and 
 stands beside her, and as the rain finally comes 
 through the leaves he holds his hat over her 
 head to protect her. 
 
 This is the moment the artist has chosen 
 for his curtain. In the center of the fore- 
 ground is the grand old oak. Leaning against the 
 trunk is La Valliere in a yellow muslin gown, 
 and on her left, his right arm against the tree, 
 is the king his right hand holding the large 
 hat over her head, absorbed in and seeing but 
 her. In the background are the ladies and 
 gentlemen, carriages and horses. Near by a 
 servant awaits the orders of the king. All the 
 court, returning to the carriages for protection 
 from the shower, now nearly over, are filled 
 with wonder and curiosity at the sight of the 
 king and La Valliere. 
 
 ***** 
 
 It is a pretty story and the artist has told it 
 prettily. History says the king remained talk- 
 ing with the lady until all the court were 
 assembled, amazed and chattering, around the 
 carriages, waiting for his majesty to give the 
 signal to depart. But this the king was in 
 no hurry to do. Finally, however, he offered 
 her his arm and, hat in hand, conducted her, 
 blushing and overwhelmed, through the gay 
 throng to her carriage, gravely returning the 
 respectful salutations of the court. He then mounted his horse; the queen and 
 madame, followed by their ladies, seated themselves in their carriages, and all 
 returned to Fontainebleau. 
 
 Still another detail remains upon which admiration may 
 dwell while considering the improvements in this house which 
 one distinguished critic declares is now the most convenient 
 
 47
 
 and elegant theater in the United States. The elements or 
 convenience and safety have already been considered, the dec- 
 orations have called for much appreciative word spinning, bat 
 the luxurious opera chairs, with their crimson plush coverings 
 to harmonize with the color scheme of the decorations, are 
 worthy of more than a word. More roomy than usual, and 
 with wider intervals than common between the rows of seats, 
 they constitute an important feature when the comfort of the 
 audience is concerned, while the rearranged aisles admit of 
 easy approach.
 
 Friendly Reminiscences. 
 
 Nearly all the exceptional actors and im- 
 portant stars of the past twenty-five years 
 have appeared at some time in Hooley's 
 now Powers' Theater. The roster would 
 show scarcely one of the number missing and 
 as a natural consequence many are the pleas- 
 ing recollections inspired by any mention, 
 among theatrical folk, of this house. When 
 the notice went out, borne on the breezes 
 and wafted in newspaper columns, that the 
 famous house had passed in the direct line of 
 succession into the hands of Hooley's able 
 lieutenant, Harry J. Powers, a flood of let- 
 ters and congratulations rolled in from every 
 direction. Many of them spoke in most 
 feeling terms of the past, others uttered 
 prophecies and dreamed dreams, and not 
 a few enclosed reminiscences and bits of anecdote. 
 
 While much of this mass of correspondence is too personal 
 and confidential in its nature to warrant publication among these 
 cursory notes, some brief stories and congratulations may prop- 
 erly serve to represent the feeling so generously expressed for 
 this theater under its past and present names. Stars and man- 
 agers alike vied with each other in expressing felicitations and 
 it would be strange if this were not to be recorded of both 
 classes. The actor has always found this theater a most enjoy- 
 able stopping place, with a stage and an auditorium so com- 
 pletely en rapport that the hard labor of acting became a 
 
 5o
 
 ex 
 
 ir o|- l+ool-evj 
 - cow.frM.t- itr 
 
 ou Vuofir 
 ^) 
 l\ v jt of- 
 
 Unrrk 
 
 lo.
 
 pleasure. As for the manager he had only to recall the 
 comfortable profit so often carried away from Hooley's box 
 office and the memory at once became rosy. 
 
 And these our managers are important good fellows after all. 
 Reflect for a moment upon the effort to serve and please the 
 public which Augustin Daly has put forth for so many years, 
 always, in Chicago, at this one theater. Mistakes there may 
 have been in judgment, from time to time, but the patrons of 
 this historic house owe him an immense debt for catering so 
 much that was good and so little that may be regarded with 
 indifference. 
 
 Another honorable and distinguished manager who has left 
 a broad mark across the history of this house is A. M. Palmer, 
 who now so ably directs the business of Richard Mansfield. 
 In the Union Square days and later with the Madison Square 
 and A. M. Palmer companies, he introduced to Hooley's stage 
 and to the Chicago public many admirable plays and excellent 
 artists. 
 
 Charles Frohman, the master among contemporaneous man- 
 agers in the variety and scope of his work, has been, within 
 recent years, most conspicuously identified with this theater. 
 All of his most important plays given by the Empire Company 
 and other organizations have been first seen in Chicago at 
 Hooley's, and it is due, in large measure, to this source of supply 
 that the theater has been able to maintain such an exceptional 
 position. In conjunction with Al Hayman, who is a giant 
 among theatrical operators, Mr. Frohman has been enabled to 
 practically dominate the field, and whatever else may be thought 
 of this powerful combination it has certainly placed dramatic 
 affairs upon a substantial business basis. 
 
 Daniel Frohman is another famous and able manager who 
 has contributed immensely to the success of this theater. With 
 the Lyceum Company at his command and also as director of 
 Sothern, the Ken dais and Nethersole he has given many fine 
 performances on Hooley's stage and his name invariably con- 
 veys an impression of artistic merit.
 
 There are many other managers and actor-managers who 
 deserve recognition for their work in connection with this 
 house, men whose names will be easily recalled. But for 
 the present it will suffice to reproduce in type and autograph 
 some of the sayings of actors and friends who have pleasing 
 memories of the theater which Mr. Powers now manages. 
 Each, without further introduction, may speak briefly in his own 
 words. 
 
 WILLIAM J. LE MOYNE 
 
 " Chicago: What a host of memories that word revives. 
 In the spring of 1854 I first saw Chicago. I was then for the 
 first time away from my far Eastern home, a novice in my 
 adopted profession. I remember the old Chicago better than 
 the new. The Sherman House, a small three-story brick 
 building. The City Hall opposite in the middle of the square, 
 which was laid out as a park. It may have boasted a fountain, 
 I don't remember about that, but it was quaint and pretty, and 
 an improvement upon the present threatening structure. 
 
 " And then the rich, glorious and profuse mud of those 
 primitive days! To see a team stalled to the wheel hubs was 
 a common occurrence. And those wonderful plank sidewalks, 
 illustrating to the weary wayfarer the ups and downs of life. 
 They were not merely picturesque and dangerous, but often 
 deadly to the gentlemen getting home from the "club" in the 
 early morning. 
 
 " Of theaters there was but one Rice's on Dearborn street. 
 I saw Hamlet played there by Couldock, John Rice, the man- 
 ager, playing Polonius. In after years I lived next door to 
 John Rice; he was then mayor of the city, and a good one, 
 too. He retained the office for several years, and was a mem- 
 ber of Congress when death overtook him. He was a man of 
 sterling integrity and a pioneer in Western theatricals. I 
 remember Colonel Wood (afterward manager of the Chicago 
 Museum) in those days. He had hired an unoccupied store 
 
 54
 
 on Lake street and was exhibiting a double-headed rooster 
 (stuffed), a collection of snakes, etc. The colonel stood 
 at the door with the < property money ' between his fingers in 
 true showman style, while a hand organ behind the screen 
 assisted him in beguiling the curious into the 'greatest show on 
 earth.' The 'Colonel,' afterward as manager of the Chicago 
 Museum, became an important factor in Chicago amusements, 
 and made a well deserved fortune. My visit to Chicago at 
 that time was made with an Uncle Tom 
 Company. I played the part of Deacon 
 Perry, which was 'written in' for me 
 by George Aiken when the play was first 
 produced in Troy, N.Y. Green Ger- 
 mon, the original Uncle Tom, was with 
 us in Chicago. His performance of the 
 part and singing of the songs I'm sure has 
 never been equaled. He was the father 
 of Effie Germon, for a long time a 
 member of Wallack's Company, New 
 York. A splendid actor, a fine singer, 
 and a good man. He died in Chicago 
 of consumption, and on a cold bleak day 
 in March we buried him way over on 
 the North Side, not far from the lake, 
 John Rice and all his company attend- 
 ing the funeral. 
 
 " While in Chicago we played in 
 Tremont Hall, on Lake street, next to the Tremont House. 
 It was afterward taken into the hotel, and now forms a part 
 of the large dining-room. I saw it all and can never forget 
 it. I returned to Chicago in I 866, and for two years was a 
 member of the Museum Company. A good company, good 
 plays, and good business, together with good friends, ! made the 
 engagement a pleasant one. During the second year I played 
 eighty different parts, one half of which were new to me. 
 
 "When my old friend Richard Hooley opened his theater 
 
 fc 
 
 JOHN fliuw.
 
 with a stock company he offered me an engagement, but I had 
 a contract elsewhere and could not accept. Year after year I 
 returned to Chicago with the Union Square Company, and 
 later with the Lyceum Theater Company, and Pve always 
 looked forward to those engagements at Hooley's with delight. 
 Pve played many good parts on Hooley's stage, and can never 
 forget the appreciative and sympathetic audiences. It was on 
 the front steps of Hooley's Theater that I first met the lady 
 who is now my very much better half. Why shouldn't I love 
 Hooley's?" 
 
 OLGA NETHERSOLE 
 
 "One night, I believe it was on my first visit to Hooley's 
 Theater, anyway I was playing Juliet I remember, I had a 
 curious little experience which at the time caused me more 
 annoyance than fun. I had come off the stage after the potion 
 scene in 'Romeo and Juliet.' An immense audience had 
 responded readily to my efforts, and I was rewarded by the 
 raising and lowering of the curtain time after time. Flushed 
 with my triumph, filled with enthusiasm and determined to try 
 and deserve even warmer applause in the last act of poor 
 Juliet's tragic story, I hurried to my dressing-room to prepare 
 for the tomb scene. 
 
 "As I approached the room I heard a babel of excited 
 voices, and as I pushed open the door a shout of warning 
 went up in three different languages. Imagine my surprise 
 at seeing my French maid, usually a very calm, fearless indi- 
 vidual, standing on a chair with her skirts drawn tightly round 
 her legs; on a trunk my other maid, a German, with her skirts 
 drawn well up above her knees; on the ground, on all fours, 
 three sturdy stage hands prodding with sticks under the dressing 
 table and curtains; behind the door, armed with an enormous 
 iron bar, poised well aloft, stood the colored janitor of the 
 theater. Everybody was talking at once and the women's 
 faces looked perfectly deathlike. 
 
 56
 
 S7
 
 "It was excitedly explained to me that a mouse had jumped 
 from behind my costumes which were hanging on the wall, 
 had disappeared under the .table, and the maids had called in 
 this army of stage hands to oust the intruder. 
 
 "I had no time to spare, the audience was waiting and I was 
 not dressed, but neither threats nor cajoling would induce those 
 two women to budge from their respective impregnable posi- 
 tions. They loudly protested against my summary ejection of 
 the men, and one of them was even on the point of crying. 
 To make a long story short, I had to dress myself for the last 
 act while my maids looked on with chattering teeth. One of 
 them certainly expressed the highest admiration for my bravery 
 and valor, but never an inch moved she. When I went on 
 for the last act, I left them on their perches, looking like a pair 
 of gigantic birds. 
 
 "I could not help wondering what the audience would 
 have thought if they had known of the funny scene in my 
 room, and the difficulties under which I attired myself. On 
 my final return to my room, both the women had fled incon- 
 tinently, and nothing could persuade them to return. How 
 they induced themselves to step on the ground at all I cannot 
 imagine, but I am free to say that I never knew a mouse to 
 cause such an amount of terror and inconvenience as did the 
 little brown stranger at Hooley's Theater." 
 
 J. E. DODSON 
 
 " Heartiest congratulations on your becoming lessee of one of 
 the most charming theaters I have ever played in, either here 
 or in Great Britain. Its construction has always seemed to 
 me perfect. Acting is a pleasure when the actor knows that 
 the lowest inflection of his voice is heard, and the slightest 
 change of expression seen, all over the house. Hooley's Thea- 
 ter and the Empire, New York, are two of the best theaters 
 in the United States. Apropos of your theater, here is an 
 anecdote : 
 
 58
 
 /z^j. <^><2^_
 
 " After returning from a tour in the United States with the 
 Kendal Company, which had included a visit to Hooley's 
 Theater, Chicago, we played an engagement in Liverpool, 
 England. Coming out of the Court Theater one night, a man 
 stepped up to me and said in broad Scotch : 
 
 " 'Maester Dodeson, aw'm staarving ; wuel ye no help me?' 
 
 "'Who are you? Have I seen you before?' said I. 
 
 '"Och, ay! in the Unechted States. Aw was property 
 mon at Hooligan's Theeter, Chicawgo, when ye wer' ther' 
 wi' the Kaindals.' 
 
 '"Oh, indeed/ I said. 'Can you tell me what state 
 Chicago is in ? ' 
 
 "'Ay, sir, Cahliforrnia.' 
 
 "'And in what part of the city is Hooligan's?' 
 
 "'On the lak' front, sur.' 
 
 "After that I helped him." 
 
 JOSEPH HART 
 
 "When with Mr. Frederick Hallen, the firm being known 
 as Hallen & Hart, we desired to invade Chicago, we of course 
 chose to negotiate with the most select theater in that city. 
 
 " Hooley's Theater, up to that time, 
 had been playing the highest dramatic 
 stars. When we approached R. M. 
 Hooley, 'Uncle Dick,' as he was then 
 called, with a view of playing 'Later 
 On' at Hooley's Theater, he was in- 
 dignant at the thought of desecrating 
 Hooley's Theater with ordinary farce 
 comedy. After our manager, Mr. Harry 
 Hine, and Harry Powers had argued for 
 more than a week, he was finally per- 
 suaded to play us during the week before 
 Christmas. I will never forget our open- 
 ing night. 'Uncle Dick* sat in a box 
 60
 
 to witness our initial performance. If I remember rightly he 
 was accompanied by Mrs. Powers. 
 
 "Chilly was the atmosphere in 'Uncle Dick's' vicinity 
 when the curtain rose, and I don't believe Hallen and myself, 
 when on the stage, saw any one else in the theater. 
 
 " As the performance wore on, the audience became quite 
 friendly and seemed to enjoy it greatly, and as Mrs. Powers 
 began to show signs of her appreciation by frequent laughter 
 and applause, just so gradually did the temperature around 
 'Uncle Dick's' chair begin to rise. It wasn't long before we 
 had him enjoying the performance as heartily as any one in the 
 theater. 
 
 " We were not sure what his verdict would be, but were 
 more concerned in having his approval than in anything else just 
 at that time. 
 
 " I don't remember a happier moment in my life when he 
 addressed us after the performance with the following words : 
 'Boys, it isn't high art, but it is pure, clean, wholesome fun, 
 and does us good once in a while, so come around again.' 
 
 "We delivered that 'wholesome fun' in Chicago several 
 times after that, but never forgot our appearance at Hooley's 
 and the interest we felt in the engagement." 
 
 NATE SALSBURY 
 
 " I thank you for the opportunity to express my affectionate 
 remembrance of Hooley's Theater, and to record my pride in 
 having been a member of the Original stock company which 
 made ' The Parlor Home of Comedy ' famous in the theatfical 
 annals of this country. 
 
 " Many may contribute to, but no man can write the 'His- 
 tory of Hooley's Theater;' for he who would seek to do so 
 must question the hearts of multitudes of Chicago's citizens, and 
 know how pervading was its influence in the establishment of 
 all that was good and ennobling. 
 
 61
 
 " There lives no one of those who belonged to the old stock 
 company who could not fill all the pages of your ' Mono- 
 graph ' with personal 'Recollections' of our happy com- 
 munity; and I doubt if any of that company who have 
 achieved success later in life would not ascribe a large measure 
 of that success to the opportunities of their wide experience in 
 Hooley's Theater. 
 
 " How the pulses quicken as memories crowd upon my 
 mind: memories of comradeship, trials, labor rewarded, and 
 pleasant hours multiplied in the ' Good old days ' that will 
 ever keep me bondman to them all. 
 
 "I cannot write of Hooley's Theater. I can only 'recol- 
 lect* that through its portals sifted the first ray of sunshine 
 that drifted across my professional journeying, and that its 
 patrons were always kind to me. What more could I write ? 
 What more could I say ? 
 
 "I note you, Mr. Powers, as 'The Sole Lessee and Man- 
 ager.' I congratulate you. 
 
 "That you are heir to such responsibility is proof of your 
 fitness to perpetuate the policy and traditions of a house that 
 was not built 'Upon the sands,' but which shall endure, a 
 landmark, and a guide to those who shall come after you. 
 
 " You have grown with the house ; I hope you will never 
 outgrow it." 
 
 CHARLES E. NIXON 
 
 "Business enterprise allied with artistic tact have advanced 
 the* parlor home of comedy to proud preeminence among the 
 theaters of the world. People ordinarily are unaccustomed to 
 note the establishment of artistic precedents in the West ; but 
 the Powers' Theater (late Hooley's) occupies a unique position 
 among the temples devoted to the drama. One may make 
 bold to remark that none of the so-called creative stages of the 
 East, or the favored subvented theaters of Europe can claim 
 such a line of attractions. This house has long maintained a 
 
 62
 
 RYE.N.Y.
 
 loyal clientele of the best character attracted to its support by 
 the superior quality of the entertainments it uniformly presents." 
 
 JAMES T. POWERS 
 
 "I recall with pleasure my first 
 appearance at Hooley's Theater 
 with Mr. Willie Edouin in 
 'Dreams, or Fun in a Photograph 
 Gallery', in 1882. I was intro- 
 duced to Mr. Hooley, after the 
 performance, by Mr. Edouin. In 
 the course of conversation it was 
 suggested that we should go to the 
 cafe for some liquid refreshments. 
 Mr. Hooley gave the order in the 
 following manner : 
 
 '"A sherry, one seltzer and 
 a liniment cocktail for Mr. Powers, 
 as, after seeing his performance, I 
 
 think he needs it.' As this occurred nearly seventeen years 
 ago I am at a loss to give the proper finish to this narrative, 
 as I cannot remember for the life of me who drank that 
 seltzer." 
 
 EDDIE FOY 
 
 " I remember Hooley's Theater, its glories, past, present and 
 departed, with a feeling akin to affection. It was in the 
 blind alley which terminates at the stage door of Hooley's 
 that I first conceived the idiocy of taking to the boards. Pen- 
 niless and ambitious I stole many a pleasant half hour straining 
 to catch a modicum of what those who had paid the price were 
 listening to and enjoying. The night was never too dark nor 
 the road too long but that the writer would toddle along to 
 his coign of hypothecated vantage in the alley. Twenty-five 
 
 64
 
 years ago my then already elongated ears caught the familiar, 
 'Be seated, gentlemen,' two taps of the bones and tambourine, 
 and I knew Hooley's Minstrels had commenced. Though a 
 quarter of a century ago, I still recall on the same programme, 
 Nat C. Goodwin, since attained the pinnacle of thespian great- 
 ness; Scanlin & Cronin, Mackin & Wilson, Schoolcraft & 
 Goes, and George S. Knight, and others famed in story and 
 song of the stage. My ambition then was to break into the 
 business. I .say this advisedly. Years after I played at 
 Hooley's with the late George S. Knight in ' Over the Garden 
 Wall/ Now years after that event it is with pleasurable rever- 
 ence that I recall my first introduction to what has since become 
 all that is ennobling, grand, good and pure in a theater." 
 
 CHAS. H. HOYT 
 
 "If I tried to catalogue all the pleasant memories I have 
 of Hooley's Theater, it would be to make a longer letter than 
 the book would hold; it would include memories of unvarying 
 kindness and courtesy, of stays in the theater made pleasant by 
 the efficiency and good discipline back of the curtain and good 
 trade at the box office. I am very proud of the records made 
 by 'A Bunch of Keys/ 'A Parlor Match,' and 'A Brass 
 Monkey' within your walls. May the house ever continue its 
 career of success." 
 
 CHAS. E. EVANS 
 
 "I shall be proud to be included among the" professionals 
 who are identified with the greenroom of Hooley's Theater. 
 I have, perhaps, as good a reason to be always pleasantly 
 reminded of this charming old playhouse as any of the many 
 players who have trod its stage. I feel that it is the home of 
 my theatrical career, for there I inaugurated the legitimate 
 element of two of the principal branches of my stage life, viz., 
 comedian and star, having played with Smith & Mestayer's 
 
 66
 
 'Tourists in a Pullman Palace Car* in June, 1882, originating 
 one of my two favorite eccentric characters, and later enjoying 
 as a star with my late brother player, the talented William 
 Hoey, the first real success of ' A Parlor Match ' in a legitimate 
 playhouse." 
 
 HENRY CLAY BARNABEE 
 
 "You do well to give the theater your name. In theatrical 
 management, as in war, it's 'the man behind the gun' that 
 carries the day. You have demonstrated this by your accurate 
 aims. In a letter which I wrote you, after the words, 'your 
 unfailing courtesy,' I wanted to write, 'a distinguishing 
 feature of your management,' but that I did not wish to seem 
 to reflect upon other managers, but it is a fact nevertheless. I 
 firmly believe that courtesy and politeness, in front of the house, 
 is the most potent factor in keeping customers. All of which 
 is respectfully submitted. Again I wish you and your theater 
 a career of unexampled prosperity." 
 
 FRANK DANIELS 
 
 "I have a very positive reason for keeping a warm place in 
 my heart for Hooley's Theater. At a certain stage of my 
 career (I won't say how many years ago) I launched out as a 
 star in a piece called 'Little Puck.' I think we employed 
 about all the available rewriters of plays in the country, one 
 by one, and presented nearly a dozen different versions of the 
 comedy. The result was that after about two months of this 
 soul-searing work, my partner retired in disgust, and I assumed 
 the responsibilities of proprietorship. I gave the piece a thor- 
 ough snaking up, introduced as much new material as I could 
 think up, added some musical numbers, and cut out a good 
 deal of cumbersome spectacularism, and went into Chicago to 
 play Holy Week at Hooley's. To my very great surprise the 
 
 67
 
 piece made a tremendous hit and played to enormous business. 
 This was the first paying week 'Little Puck' had known, and 
 when I tell you that it never knew a loser for seven years, you 
 will perceive what an era of prosperity was inaugurated for 
 me at Hooley's, and why I have a tender regard for that 
 famous playhouse. I am quite sure that it will continue for 
 many years to be a delight to all who play there.'* 
 
 DAVID BELASCO 
 
 "1 look upon Hooley's Theater 
 with much gratitude and reverence, 
 and in the same spirit of affection, 
 deep from my heart, which I had for 
 Mr. Hooley. 
 
 "Over twenty years ago I met 
 Mr. Hooley in San Francisco. I 
 was a very young man struggling for 
 a little recognition, and I had written 
 my first play. He was kind enough 
 to invite me to read it to him. He 
 gave me no production, but he did 
 give me encouragement. 'Let me 
 see your third or fourth play,' he said 
 as we parted. I kept him to his word: 
 that play was 'Hearts of Oak.' It was produced in Chicago 
 at Hooley's Theater. It was my first important production. 
 Strange to say, my last drama, written for Mrs. Leslie Carter, 
 'The Heart of Maryland,' was originally to have been pre- 
 sented by Mr. Hooley at his theater. I had made a contract 
 with him, but, owing to his death and a combination of other 
 circumstances, the agreement was cancelled. 
 
 "That the new Powers Theater may keep up the glorious 
 traditions of the old house, is my wish." 
 
 JAMES 
 
 68
 
 s, NOR FOLK STREET. 
 PARK LANE.W. 

 
 HERBERT KELCEY 
 
 "As good luck would have it." 
 
 Merry Wives of Windior. 
 
 "I am sure that I am not wanting in veneration for the 
 immortal Bard, but I have never felt under so strong a personal 
 obligation to him as at this moment, for the forceful manner in 
 which he has enabled me to express my profound sense of 
 honor and appreciation in being permitted to assist at the 
 rededication of Chicago's historic Theater." 
 
 RECALLING EVANS & HOEY 
 
 One of the most popular early attractions at Hooley's was 
 Evans & Hoey's "A Parlor Match." Evans & Hoey played 
 here regularly twice a year, two weeks in the fall and two in 
 the spring, to large audiences. The initial engagement was so 
 successful that, at its close, Mr. Hooley contracted with Evans 
 & Hoey to appear twice a season for five years. 
 
 Evans & Hoey began their most important engagement in 
 Chicago the same week that Frank Daniels was first featured in 
 "A Rag Baby" by Hoyt & Thomas at an opposition theater, 
 the Grand Opera House. An amusing story about the meeting 
 of the three comedians on the very day of their opening is 
 related by a mutual friend. They realized, it appears, that they 
 were rivals in business, playing as they were in rival pieces by 
 the same playwright and at opposition houses, so each of the 
 jolly trio Evans, Hoey and Daniels when they met on the 
 street did their best to express true friendship and extreme good 
 nature toward one another. They had luncheon together, and 
 not satisfied with this, visited in company all the noted resorts 
 of the city, puffing the largest cigars they could buy one another 
 and drinking all the brands of wine, dry and sweet, they could 
 order. The dinner hour found them playing billiards for $25 
 a cue in the Tremont House, and each of them was feeling so 
 good from the effects of the day's refreshments that they could 
 
 70
 
 with but difficulty distinguish the ivory balls from the chandelier 
 globes, and it was apparent that neither cared very much 
 whether they played with the cues or their walking sticks. 
 Still they kept on, each doing his utmost to express the sin- 
 cerest good feeling for the other. " It grew dangerously near 
 seven o'clock, the dressing-room hour, but they showed no signs 
 of separating. The crowd of on-lookers hinted to them that it 
 was full time that they went to work ; each only brushed away 
 the informant and returned to the play. Mr. Evans smiled at 
 Mr. Daniels; Mr. Daniels smiled at Mr. Evans, and they both 
 showered smiles on "Old Hoss," who kept up a continued 
 mumbling about there being no such thing on earth as rivals. 
 At 7:30 o'clock both Hooley's Theater and the Grand Opera 
 House stage managers began to worry ; their stars had not 
 commenced to show signs of twinkling, and messengers were 
 despatched to every place likely to be visited by the three gentle- 
 men. Mr. Hoyt was informed, and he, too, started out in 
 search of his comedian, without whom "A Rag Baby" could 
 not be anything but tame on the opening night. And all this 
 time "I. McCorker," "Old Hoss" and "Old Sport" 
 were McCorkering, Hossing and Sporting to their heart's 
 content over the topsy-turvy billiard table. 
 
 At 7:45 the three good-natured gentlemen stumbled out to 
 the street, and then began the usual long-strung-out good-by 
 and hand-shaking promise-to-meet-you-again ceremony indulged 
 in by men who have been on excellent terms all day. To any 
 one directly interested in their opening success that night the 
 amount of time they took to bid one another good day and 
 separate would have seemed long enough for them to have bid 
 farewell forever. Daniels would shake Evans by the hand 
 and drag out a long speech about friendship ; then he'd fairly 
 hug "Old Hoss" and spin a good-by yarn to him, and 
 then he'd switch back to Evans and they'd have it all over 
 again. 
 
 There are only two characters in the world who really 
 know how to perform a good old prolonged au revoir: the good-
 
 natured man in high spirits and the old lady street-car pas- 
 senger. 
 
 Well, they did separate Daniels meandered down Dear- 
 born street and Evans and Hoey hurried through Randolph 
 street. The ''Parlor Match" comedians began to realize as 
 soon as they left Daniels that it must be rather near 8 o'clock, 
 and they exchanged a half-knowing look and each started on a 
 trot theater-ward. Daniels wandered into a basement cafe, 
 where, perched high up on a counter stool, the now infuriated 
 Mr. Hoyt discovered him at ten 
 minutes to eight, slowly imbibing a 
 cup of hot tea and pouring great 
 quantities of red pepper on a plate of 
 little clams. Hoyt denounced him in 
 all sorts of expressions, and waving his 
 arms in anger and anxiety, yelled that 
 he was ruined, utterly ruined. He 
 called "Old Sport" half a hundred 
 ungentle epithets and denounced his 
 condition as scandalous. 
 
 " Who ? I ?" said the little come- 
 dian, half indignant at a rather strong 
 point in the denouncement, "I 
 well, you ought to see Evans and 
 Hoey!" and he was then fairly 
 dragged from the high stool and, tea- 
 cup in hand, carried to his dressing 
 was late, but his make-up and performance was 
 hit of his life. Hoyt, now in 
 his star, hurried over to 
 
 room. He 
 
 remarkable, and he made the 
 excellent spirits over the success of 
 Hooley's, fully anticipating a directly opposite state of affairs, 
 but he was mistaken, for he found both Evans & Hoey on the 
 stage in all the glory of their best scene, and as unperturbed 
 and merry as if they had been in their dressing-rooms an hour 
 ahead of make-up time. They, too, on this occasion started 
 the foundation of their great future. They were an instantane- 
 
 72
 
 (JUv_^ll> 
 
 73
 
 ous hit with the big audience, and immediately won the five 
 years' contract from Mr. Hooley, who sat in a box and 
 enjoyed the performance perhaps as well as any individual of 
 the crowded house. 
 
 HOWBERT BlLLMAN 
 
 " The New Powers' Theater! It is symbolical of the time 
 of new things taking the places of old, of a city grow- 
 ing out of a great town, of a century of material activity giving 
 way to a century fraught with possibilities of new intellectual 
 and artistic life. 
 
 "To many of us, who find the most gratifying entertainment 
 in the theater, its past is of no greater moment than the joys of 
 yesterday. We^ might look upon the massive ruins of the 
 Coliseum at Rome; and, if a thought was suggested of its 
 departed glory and of the silent multitudes who with flushed 
 cheeks once looked down from its serried benches upon contest 
 and pageant, the heart would be warmed with no intimate, 
 satisfying pleasure. 'Tis even so of Hooley 's a delightful 
 memory, but crowded into the dark recesses of the mind by the 
 pressing pleasures of the present. 
 
 " I am reminded of an old love tale, though little of it survives 
 except what concerns the avowal between two young people, 
 who played together in childhood, were often together in youth, 
 and at length discovered suddenly that their friendship had 
 imperceptibly undergone a complete change. 
 
 "'They are building over yonder/ he said, 'a cathedral 
 on the site of the old church. The church still stands ; and 
 the grand and massive framework 'of the cathedral is being 
 raised over it. Until the cathedral is near completion the 
 church will be used. Then it will be torn down.' 
 
 "The New Powers' Theater has risen over venerable 
 Hooley 's. The regard for the old that survives in the memory 
 is giving way to a feeling of admiration that is warmer and 
 stronger." 
 
 74
 
 -VtS~7 
 
 AMY LESLIE 
 
 "Likely nobody who has been ushered into Powers' beautiful 
 theater (one of the most beautiful in the world it may be claimed) 
 could have felt its sumptuous loveliness more keenly than I, for 
 at Hooley's dawned the first theatrical performance ever 
 allowed to feed my youthful senses. 
 
 " Through a vista of puppets, to every one of which I owe a 
 cornucopia of gratitude, it all came back to me as I entered the 
 new Powers' chapel of color, and hid in the wistful recollection 
 was a kindly Kriss Kringle smile creeping through the beard 
 and out of the eyes of Richard Hooley. For once upon a 
 time, home from a still, gray convent, his little daughter 
 Rosina and I came flying with Christmas snows and enthusi- 
 asms; then the wonderful happened. 
 
 "We romped to the theater as soon as we found footing upon 
 worldly soil, because Rosina with sparkling forget-me-not eyes 
 and many exciting shakes of her silken hair had pictured a 
 marvelous war play holding forth at her father's bandbox of 
 comfort and amusement, surprised the while that any girl could 
 truthfully acknowledge never having attended a theater, as I, in 
 profound humiliation, had been spurred on to confess. I made 
 
 75
 
 bold to recall two approximate entertainments into the vortex 
 of which I had been thrust at a tender and impressionable age, 
 but Rosina's sweet lips curled with compassionate scorn at the 
 revelations. One frenzied hour I had spent shrieking with fear 
 (when the family pocket handkerchiefs were not crammed into 
 my soprano laboratory) at an exhibition in Marion Hall, Bur- 
 lington, Iowa, where the wild Australian girl, Aztec boy and 
 Siamese twins divided attention with a certain comical vocalist 
 whose humorous hostilities rent my budding soul with misery. 
 I remember having been in complete disgrace and hysterics 
 handed out over the heads of people, to the care of an indignant 
 nurse who resented the interruption of the comedian's musical 
 lifting out of obscurity the ditty: 
 
 Oh, ladies and gentlemen, how do you do ? 
 You see I come here with one boot and one shoe, 
 O ! O ! How can it be so ? 
 Just pity the fortunes of Billy Barlow ! 
 
 "The gentle and beloved Rosina lamented but ignored this 
 experience, nor did she regard as worthy of consideration the 
 assurance that I had at one time beheld the loveliest and saddest 
 performance of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin* at a Council Bluffs 
 theater, built over a robust and profitable livery stable. It was 
 a blow for me to learn that the winged little Eva of Council 
 Bluffs was a diverting back number in Chicago, for the vision 
 of Eva and her silver-star wand wiggling against pink and blue 
 tarletan clouds stricken with tin foil, had been the twilight 
 dream of my childhood's occasional moments of intense reflec- 
 tion. I plead for Eva against the war play with some vigor, for 
 that especial delivery of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was certainly 
 'the saddest play I ever saw for fifty cents.' In fact, even 
 as I think of it now it makes me feel very badly. I doubt 
 whether I could ever again hear 'Lily Dale' without wilting 
 into moods ; for while my Council Bluffs Eva ascended 
 mysteriously from the livery stable through the stage floor up 
 toward a celestial, juju paste firmament, the entire company in 
 
 76
 
 77
 
 subdued tremolo accompanied by the melodeon rendered that 
 harrowing ballad with words subjected to poetic transfiguration 
 so that they came out appropriately: 
 
 Oh Eva, dear Eva, sweet Eva St. Clair, 
 
 Now the wild flowers blossom o'er your heavenly shore 
 
 'Neath the trees of the flow'ry air ! 
 
 " I have cause to remember the words vividly for they were 
 demanded with sobs over again and again, and General Gren- 
 ville Dodge, who had taken me to see the show, was rudely 
 awakened out of a sound sleep by my pitching my small head 
 upon his breast and weeping as if my heart would break, much 
 to that distinguished soldier's helpless consternation. With 
 my mind still in this primitive state of undisturbed blankness 
 regarding the drama, Rosina, all aglow, led me into Hooley's 
 Theater, where I drank in the splendors of a real, magnificent, 
 thrilling play, after which my Missouri-slope Eva took a tumble 
 in her tarletans which, with deepest gratitude, I shall regret as 
 long as I live. 
 
 " Owing to this breaking of a butterfly and many hours of 
 tender companionship and revelry I looked upon blessed old 
 Hooley's, outwardly in its same familiar mask of scowls 
 against the storms of a life-time, but within made as resplendent 
 as the Versailles Temple D' Amour, and from out the shadows 
 arose fragile, lovely Rosina Hooley, with folded wings, and the 
 hearty, cheering visage of her sire, who seemed to smile through 
 tears and wish it all good speed ! 
 
 " It matters more these rich and spoiled days of plenty how 
 the golden cages for stage witcheries are built, of what stuff 
 plays are made and whether the actors be as grave as Lear in 
 his fettered search or rollicking as Souvestre's Drak, the elves' 
 buffoon who would start the fairies scudding across fields by 
 starlight just for the sport of turning cart wheels heels over 
 head in their pollen-dusty rose-bloom tracks on the flower 
 petals. Lear and Drak and less fantastic discoursers to the 
 emotions, have always found ardent listeners at Hooley's, for it 
 
 78
 
 has been long the fashion to hunt enjoyment there. Comedy 
 perhaps is closer linked with the triumphs of this little queen 
 of theaters, grown old and new again since my baptism in red 
 fire, though every sort of beguilement from the frowns of dull 
 occupation is entered in its lists, and every phase of art is 
 greeted faithfully. To actors the handsome theater is home, 
 with laurel hanging upon the gates and wreaths ready to be 
 thrown to the victors. Truth to tell no class of people enter- 
 ing this costly place of silk and fine linen shall be more 
 securely rewarded than artists unless, perhaps, burglars. 
 
 " Good cheer, good plays and good actors follow the fortunes 
 of Powers' Theater. There are two melodious Samoan 
 words "lesolosolou-malanga," which being transplanted in a 
 rag-time atmosphere mean "one long uninterrupted picnic," 
 an outlook I most devoutly wish may be enjoyed by the heirs 
 to Hooley's popularity and all the army of its fidele retainers." 
 
 JULIA ARTHUR 
 
 "It has always been a great pleasure to me to play in 
 Hooley's Theater. My first engagement there was with 
 A. M. Palmer's Stock Company, in 'The Broken Seal/ 
 During the next engagement, I had the pleasure of playing 
 T. B. Aldrich's 'Mercedes/ very successfully. My last 
 engagement in Hooley's was made doubly delightful to me 
 because of the courteous attention received at your hands and 
 that of your extremely well regulated staff. 
 
 "With every good wish for your complete success, I hope 
 that I shall always have the good fortune to play at Powers' 
 during my visits to Chicago." 
 
 FELIX MORRIS 
 
 "The name of Hooley's Theater evokes wonderfully pleasant 
 memories. It was my good fortune to take part in most of the 
 splendid engagements of that inimitable comedienne, Rosina 
 
 79
 
 Vokes. Shall we ever forget her 'Circus Rider,' her 'Lord in 
 Livery,' her 'Maid Marion' all produced, for the first time, 
 at Hooley's Theater? Never have we enjoyed more exquisite 
 drollery, never heartier laughter, never purer comedy, and 
 never, I fear, 'shall we look upon her like again.' 
 
 "Incidentally, I may mention I first appeared here in 
 'A Game of Cards,' and in this theater the 'Old Musician' 
 came to life. His birth was generously welcomed by one of 
 'Hooley's' finest audiences. 
 
 "With all good wishes for your success and for a continu- 
 ance of that uninterrupted prosperity your excellent management 
 has always commanded." 
 
 J. H. STODDART 
 
 "I sincerely trust that Hooley's Theater reconstructed will 
 prove as prosperous for as many years to come, as it has been 
 for the many that have passed. A great many of my most 
 pleasant remembrances are associated with Hooley's Theater." 
 
 D. H. HARKINS 
 
 "My memories of Hooley's Theater are many and pleasant, 
 extending as they do from the time of the great fire. 
 
 "When Mr. Daly took his magnificent company to play 
 their first engagement away from the home theater, he selected 
 Hooley's as the foremost theater in the West. 
 
 "Many returns with Daly's, Mansfield's, and, last but by 
 no means least, John Drew's Company, have kept Hooley's 
 Theater in my memory green. 
 
 "I feel sure, that, under your management, the splendid 
 traditions of Hooley's will be kept up." 
 
 ISABEL IRVING 
 
 "My recollections of Hooley's Theater are always pleasant, 
 for it was there I made my first appearance before a Chicago 
 
 80
 
 a 
 t 
 ZX 
 
 > ^ricf &uc{ 
 
 81
 
 audience, with the late Rosina Yokes, to whom I owe so much, 
 as it was Miss Vokes who gave me my first engagement, and 
 whom I remember with the greatest affection and gratitude. 
 
 " I am so pleased you are to assume the management of 
 Hooley's Theater, and that it is to be called Powers' Theater. 
 With best wishes for success." 
 
 W. J. FERGUSON 
 
 " Hooley's Theater, Chicago, associated, as it is, with the 
 genial and courteous Mr. Harry Powers, recalls some of the 
 most agreeable reminiscences of my dramatic career. Only 
 recently I passed two entire summers therein, during the runs 
 of 'Charlie's Aunt* and 'The Gay Parisians,' under the 
 princely management of Mr. Charles Frohman. 
 
 " Since 1878! have appeared there with all that was of the 
 best in art. It was during that year I made my first Chicago 
 appearance. Fresh from a stock experience that covered some 
 years at Wallack's Theater, New York, I opened at Hooley's 
 as 'Mercutio' to Mme. Modjeska's 'Juliet.' ' 
 
 OTIS SKINNER 
 
 "It is with much delight that I find myself possessed of the 
 privilege of adding a leaf to the crown of your success as man- 
 ager of the historic house of Hooley. 
 
 " Its stage has many fond associations for me as I look back to 
 early engagements with the Daly Company and later ones with 
 Modjeska. 
 
 " The longest theatrical 'jump ' I ever made was from 
 Hooley's Theater to Toole's Theater, London, with the Daly 
 Company on the occasion of its first English visit. 
 
 "It was at Hooley's that I gave my first Chicago perform- 
 ance of 'Shylock.' 
 
 "With 'more power to your guiding arm' and a hearty 
 godspeed." 
 
 82
 
 GLOBE THEATRE. 
 
 ^.. 
 
 t^*' 
 
 t. 
 
 --~ /vv--^- fai^f. 
 */ &c**^s C<^-t^9^^^jt_^ -A-t-^x 
 
 -
 
 FRANCIS WILSON 
 
 "I knew Uncle 'Dick* Hooley very well who did not? 
 and ever and always his chief characteristic was gentleness. 
 
 " There was a sweetness of disposition with the man that 
 made him attractive to everybody. It is doubtful if he knew 
 how much he endeared himself to people, or why. There was 
 never the slightest effort to force the note, or the least evidence 
 of self-consciousness. Nature had made him on a generous, 
 gentle plan." 
 
 ELWYN A. BARRON 
 
 "I've just learned with very great pleasure that you have 
 come into the sole control of Hooley 's, and that your name is 
 to designate the renewed and reconstructed theater. Let me 
 add my genuine congratulations to those of your other friends 
 who must, with me, rejoice in the honorable and admirable 
 success that has come as the reward of your earnest and manly 
 devotion to the interests you have represented. I have felt the 
 greatest interest in you ever since the night ' Uncle Dick ' put 
 his hand on my shoulder years ago and told me that he had 
 promoted you to a place in the ticket office. For more than 
 eighteen years I was a dramatic critic in Chicago, and in the 
 course of that time duty many times required me to write 
 adversely of different attractions at your house, so that there 
 may have been times when I was out of favor with the man- 
 agement, temporarily ; but I cannot recall a single time of see- 
 ing you any less courteous, any less smiling, than on the occa- 
 sions when it was my happiness to write in warm endorsement 
 of the Hooley attraction. I have seen you moving up, so to 
 speak, step by step without losing anything whatever of the 
 manly modesty that always had commended you to the esteem 
 of your patrons and the press men ; and I am sure that you 
 will wear your new dignity with the same unaffected manliness. 
 Nothing so thoroughly tests a man as prosperity, and that you 
 
 84
 
 will bear the latest test as satisfactorily as you have borne 
 earlier ones is the assurance that makes me so well pleased that 
 Harry Powers has come to be manager of his own theater." 
 
 E. M. HOLLAND 
 
 "Accept my sincere congratulations and best wishes for the 
 success of the most delightful and best managed theater in Chi- 
 cago. The house has always had a tender place in my regard, 
 and I hope in the future to renew the delightful associations of 
 the past." 
 
 W. H. KENDAL 
 
 "We have the very happiest remembrances of our visits to 
 Chicago and Hooley's Theater, and the unvarying courtesy 
 and kindness we at all times met with from your good self and 
 the late Mr. Hooley. 
 
 "I cannot, at the moment, recall any particular incident 
 relating to our Chicago visits, beyond the fact that it was at 
 Hooley's Theater we played our second American engagement. 
 
 "I wish you continued success and prosperity in your new 
 theater."
 
 The Dramatic Critic. 
 
 THE dramatic critic sustains a 
 very close relation to the 
 modern theater, not as a 
 dependent or stipendiary, 
 but in his capacity as connecting link 
 between the public and the play- 
 house. His point of view is not 
 always agreeable to the manager, 
 whose business he may injure by 
 adverse criticisms, and his opinions 
 are not invariably accepted and en- 
 dorsed by the public. 
 
 But the anxiety of the manager to 
 make an appeal through the critical 
 columns of important newspapers and 
 the evidence on every hand that 
 readers consult even though they do 
 not always commend those columns, 
 may be considered as proof positive that the critic performs 
 a duty which is of decided consequence. 
 
 In the case of such a representative playhouse as Powers* 
 Theater, with its constant presentation of all tl\e leading plays 
 and players of the day, the official relations of the critic as an 
 intermediary between the theater and the public are especially 
 intimate and important. His primary duty on the journalistic 
 side of his profession is to chronicle with special care those 
 theatrical events that are of significance on account of novelty 
 or by reason of the distinction of the artists who dominate new, 
 
 87 
 
 THE DAILY NEWS
 
 interesting or famous plays. That which is conspicuously in 
 the public eye must be his first care, since it is the function of 
 the newspaper to supply intelligence that will be of interest and 
 value to its readers. 
 
 When an actor reaches a recognized stellar condition, either 
 through arduous climbing or by rapid strides, he is so set apart 
 from his fellows as to become a subject of special consequence 
 to the public. His efforts are suf- 
 fused with the hue of distinction, and 
 while individuals may sometimes re- 
 bel at the injustice of such distinction 
 and decry the choice of subjects which 
 the newspaper is compelled to make, 
 there is no doubt that the mass of 
 readers prefer a shining mark for their 
 literary attention. 
 
 Thus the critic, while he may feel 
 and express, as he often does, a sym- 
 pathetic interest for those who have 
 not struggled very far up the ladder, 
 is compelled by the nature of his trust 
 to devote himself chiefly to such 
 dramatic subjects and objects as will 
 appeal to his readers. In due time 
 others who dwell for the time being 
 in obscurity will come into the focus, 
 
 take the center of the stage and command his attention, but the 
 duty of the passing day is to criticise and comment upon those 
 who through unusual talent, exceptional industry or .special 
 opportunity have gained such distinction that their work war- 
 rants study and dissection. 
 
 The chief exponents of the dramatic art are examples and 
 object lessons for their fellows. Do they pretend to follow the 
 recognized traditions of the stage, it becomes a matter of inter- 
 est to determine whether they are accurate in their concep- 
 tions and successful in creating the desired illusions. 
 
 THE CHRONICLE
 
 Do they aim at originality and stray away from those prim- 
 rose paths that their elders have trod, it must, forsooth, be 
 ascertained how well the duty of holding the mirror up to 
 nature is performed under the new conditions they assume. 
 
 Do they hold to tragedy, delight in comedy, wander into 
 the fields of stern realism, possess their souls in patience when 
 the flood of thesis plays sets in or flame out in romance, imagi- 
 nation and poetry; then, also, it becomes 
 a duty to weigh, analyze, dissect and ulti- 
 mately declare, as well as he may, the 
 artistic value of the undertaking. 
 
 It is through such discussions, when 
 conscientious, intelligent, judicial and based 
 upon careful study, that a proper standard 
 of appreciation is set up, and consequently 
 the skilled and experienced writer, subject 
 to all human fallibility though he may, and 
 must be, does not fail entirely to assist the 
 reader and promote intellectual activity. 
 
 Since this is the function of the dramatic 
 critic, aside from that other duty of providing 
 as much general information as occasion 
 may demand, it follows that he is and must 
 be, brought into special and intimate rela- 
 tions with those theaters where great actors 
 and fine plays are most frequently seen. 
 That Powers' Theater falls into this category may be conceded 
 without argument, and while other playhouses in Chicago 
 share this honorable distinction, perhaps no other has so con- 
 tinuously demanded the services of the dramatic critic as the 
 house which R. M. Hooley founded, and Mr. Powers is now 
 conducting. 
 
 It was this fact, no doubt, tinged with the retrospect of 
 long friendship and fraternal relations, that prompted Mr. 
 Powers to the desire that the dramatic critics of Chicago should 
 occupy at least a brief chapter in this abstract and chronicle 
 
 EVENING JOURNAL 
 
 89
 
 which is issued in some measure as a holiday greeting to the 
 patrons of his famous theater. 
 
 The critic, or at all events, the dramatic critic of Chicago, 
 is not a spectacular individual. He does not pose in the 
 public eye or seek by any theatric art to attract personal atten- 
 tion. He hires no lime lights to be thrown upon him as he 
 goes about his nightly task, engages no brass band to attend his 
 entrances and exits, seeks to gain no re- 
 flected honor from his acquaintance with 
 the great people who walk the stage, and 
 avoids all notoriety. He is content stu- 
 diously, honestly and in all good faith, to 
 perform a duty which enlists his sym- 
 pathy to the utmost, attempting at all 
 times to gain the respect and confidence 
 of his readers, and promote, in some 
 measure, the interests of a great artistic 
 cause. 
 
 Constantly advertising others, it is his 
 last thought to advertise himself. Criti- 
 cising and commending others, he is well 
 aware that he is often criticised, but per- 
 haps seldom commended himself. Yet a 
 good conscience is a panacea for all such 
 slings and arrows, and the hope of avoid- 
 ing the errors of yesterday through the 
 
 wider experience and greater intelligence of to-day, is the 
 encouraging emblem set in the sky, by means of which he 
 expects to get nearer to truth and justice to-morrow. 
 
 This seems to have been the invariable attitude of the 
 Chicago critic, not always plainly demonstrated, perhaps, for 
 the best of men and women sometimes fail to make their mean- 
 ing clear; but while his intelligence may sometimes be called 
 into question and his judgment disputed, his honesty has never 
 been impugned. This is the vital point in which members of 
 the craft in Chicago take special pride. There have been 
 
 90 
 
 EVENING POST
 
 scandals elsewhere, most of them without proper foundation, 
 but none at all in this city. Since the somewhat remote 
 period to which our memory may run, no Chicago critic has 
 ever been charged with venality or corruption. His pen has 
 always been his own, and while friendly considerations or 
 natural prejudices in favor of high art sometimes influence his 
 opinions and determine the nature of his criticisms, no corrupt 
 motive has ever been fixed upon him. 
 
 Be his work effectual or ineffective, 
 as in the rush of newspaper work it must 
 be at times, the dramatic critic of Chicago 
 is and always has been proudly conscious 
 of an honest purpose. 
 
 That each member of the craft does 
 not always agree with his fellows, is not, 
 as laymen sometimes think, an evidence 
 either of ignorance or of improper 
 motives. One critic will consider a play 
 from his own point of observation, while 
 another regards it from quite a different 
 exposure. Qualities appeal to and fasci- 
 nate some that do not impress others. 
 One may prefer dramatic roast beef, an- 
 other toothsome entrees, and a third the 
 sweets that come with the dessert. It 
 is all a matter of varying preferences, 
 
 and as literary, critics often differ in their estimates of a new 
 but universally recognized book, so dramatic critics may reach 
 different conclusions in regard to the details of a play without 
 justly subjecting themselves to the assertion, occasionally pro- 
 pounded, that critics never agree among themselves and are 
 consequently broken reeds, not to be depended upon. 
 
 Perhaps if the argument were carried forward to a legiti- 
 mate conclusion it might appear that no two persons of nearly 
 identical intelligence ever see precisely the same beauties or 
 defects in any landscape or in those glowing works of art that 
 
 91 
 
 HOWBERT BILLMAN 
 
 THE RECORD
 
 hang in the galleries of the world. When the tragic storm 
 cloud sweeps across the horizon, punctured by lightning flashes 
 and bearing the north wind in its fleecy bosom, one awed 
 beholder will see pictures in this great demonstration of nature 
 that others miss, while another, from his own point of view, 
 discovers other pictures, other tragic poems, and a different 
 inspiration; yet all with one accord unite in recognizing the 
 splendor of the scene. 
 
 Although a young city, less given to 
 the pursuit of art and literature than it 
 will be one of these days, Chicago can 
 exhibit for the past and in the present, 
 quite a list of dramatic critics, all of 
 whom have found special food for reflec- 
 tion and comment in Hooley's and 
 Powers' Theater. Keeping within com- 
 paratively recent times, Mr. Jarvis, 
 David Henderson, James Chisholm, 
 W. K. Sullivan, W. D. Eaton, Robert 
 Peattie and R. D. Bogart will be re- 
 membered for their valiant services. 
 Others who took up the work and car- 
 ried it on with intelligence and ability, 
 were C. M. Faye, George M. McCon- 
 nel, Frank Lamed, E. J. McPhelim, 
 E. A. Barren, Mr. DeFoe and George 
 
 Ade, not to mention several well-schooled gentlemen who have 
 served brief ad interim terms. Of these, many continue their 
 pen work, though in other departments of journalism and liter- 
 ature. Mr. Faye holds a firm and able hand upon the lever as 
 editor in chief of the Daily News; Barron, expatriated but still 
 faithful to his mother country and to the host of friends who 
 remain on these shores, is writing plays and gaining fame in 
 England; McConnel, Peattie, Larned, Chisholm, DeFoe and 
 Ade are giving their best thoughts and abilities to editorial and 
 other newspaper writings, while the others who once sharp- 
 
 92 
 
 THE TRIBUNE
 
 ened a ready pencil for the play have either passed over to the 
 majority or are engaged in business. 
 
 One bright light in this galaxy was snuffed out all too soon, 
 as those who remember the brilliant talents of that poetic soul 
 will sadly agree. Edward J. McPhelim flamed out fitfully but 
 with no uncertain fire, and as poet and critic, illumined the 
 pages of a great newspaper for a time with such bits of word 
 painting as might have come from one of 
 the masterful essayists and critics of old, 
 and then fell by the wayside, before 
 realizing the certain eminence in store for 
 him. 
 
 Old friend and comrade, hail and 
 farewell ! The rude blasts of earth were 
 too harsh, the problem of life too diffi- 
 cult for your gentle soul, but there is a 
 tablet in our heart of hearts sweetly en- 
 twined with the rosemary of perpetual 
 remembrance. 
 
 And what of to-day ! How shall 
 this humble souvenir, a passing tribute to 
 a great and historic theater, speak of 
 those who now act their part as dramatic 
 reviewers for the Chicago press ? 
 
 It is a saying and a belief that no ade- 
 quate perspective nor fair conclusion in re- 
 gard to any man's capacity or labors can be obtained until he 
 has passed away. His just honors, together with the insurance 
 money must be enjoyed and monopolized by others after he 
 has entered that undiscovered country where the wicked cease' 
 from troubling. But happily it is not a necessity of the 
 moment, nor any part of the present purpose, to describe at 
 length, justly praise or criticise the critics who are now serving 
 the Chicago newspapers with all of their ability. 
 
 One of the number, however, who is proud of his associates 
 and delights in their friendship, may, not only as an impulse of 
 
 93 
 
 II 
 
 INTER OCEAN
 
 his own affection, but also impelled by the kindly desire of 
 Mr. Powers, devote a few lines to a friendly introduction. 
 Having spoken for themselves so well and projected their own 
 individuality into columns that have addressed an innumerable 
 congregation every morning, it is unnecessary to speak in detail 
 of their literary style and manner of thought. 
 
 Of the eight critics representing the important daily papers 
 of Chicago, one is a lady, Miss Amy 
 Leslie, feuilletonist and critic of the Daily 
 News, and her professional associates, all 
 of the sterner sex, have singled her out 
 for special regard not only in consequence 
 of those brilliant talents she displays, but 
 for the additional reason that by the 
 unaffected arts of friendship and good 
 fellowship she has won their sincere 
 affection. Commanding all the resources 
 of the English language and possessing 
 the natural bouyancy and high spirits of 
 an enthusiast, Miss Leslie is a most 
 delightful and always interesting extrem- 
 ist. Half measures of praise or blame 
 are not for her, and thus her trenchant 
 pen carries great delight to those who 
 win her favor, and corresponding terror 
 to others less fortunate. But in all literary 
 
 moods she is brilliant and interesting, and to the readers 
 of the Daily News whose name is legion, the column bearing 
 her familiar and famous signature is a source of unfailing profit 
 and pleasure. Equally at home in the discussion of dramatic, 
 musical and literary topics, she adorns whatever her bright 
 fancy plays upon and with an infinite variety of word painting 
 allures and fascinates the reader. 
 
 Taken at random and with no thought of precedence, the 
 other members of the corps dramatic pass in mental review, each 
 man bearing the stamp of his own individuality. Charles E. 
 
 94 
 
 TIMES-HERALD
 
 Nixon, the Inter Ocean writer, served a long term as musical 
 editor of that journal, and when Elwyn A. Barren went away 
 was made dramatic critic as well. Genial, whole souled and 
 indefatigable in his labors, Mr. Nixon justly sustains a reputa- 
 tion as everybody's friend. Cordial and conscientious to a 
 degree, he writes with extreme care and labors, above all, to do 
 justice and properly represent 
 the subject of his comments. 
 No other member of the craft 
 is more kindly regarded by his 
 fellows, or more respected by 
 the theatrical guild. His dispo- 
 sition is so pacific that no con- 
 tentious grit ever flows from his 
 pen, but he reflects justly and 
 admirably the best dramatic in- 
 terests of the day. 
 
 Hepburn Johns, the dra- 
 matic and musical critic of the 
 Chronicle, possesses all the 
 manly qualities of the English- 
 man, for he was born across 
 seas, fused with the more re- 
 sponsive manner of the good 
 American citizen which he now 
 is. An ardent lover and student 
 of the drama, he has enjoyed a 
 wide experience in theatrical 
 affairs, and is so animated by a 
 sense of justice that his criticisms bear the impress]of authority and 
 genial good sense. With a light touch and an agreeable play of 
 humorous fancy, he plunges into many happy dissections of 
 plays and players, never indulging, however, in a censorious 
 tone or seeking to inflict unnecessary wounds. A man of many 
 friendships in the dramatic profession he nevertheless permits 
 no personal consideration to bias his views, but firmly adheres 
 
 95
 
 to the theory that the critic who serves his readers most faith- 
 fully is the best friend of actor and manager. 
 
 D. M. Halbert, one of the young and growing critics of the 
 West, has gained and sustained respectful consideration for the 
 column over which he presides in the Evening Post. Having 
 
 enjoyed a liberal education, and 
 possessing a thoughtful and 
 scholarly disposition, all of his 
 work is studious and refined. 
 His evident determination in 
 every case is to get at the bot- 
 tom facts and present them, to- 
 gether with his conclusions, in 
 a dignified, coherent and logical 
 manner. For all that is gross 
 and inartistic in plays, or among 
 the players, he entertains the ut- 
 most abhorrence, and possessing 
 high ideals and excellent taste 
 his judgment is developing along 
 the bestlines of dramatic thought, 
 while his personal charms are 
 recognized by all who know 
 him well. 
 
 H. J. Whigham, the Trib- 
 une critic, is a Scotchman by 
 birth, and possesses the charac- 
 teristic firmness, determination 
 and good sense of a race that has 
 made a distinct mark for itself 
 in all parts of the world. He also exhibits genial personal 
 qualities not always associated with those who come from 
 old Scotland, and during his comparatively brief service as 
 dramatic critic has gained many friends. The qualities that 
 enable him to excel in golf and win national honors, are being 
 reflected in his newspaper work, which is always vigorous and 
 
 96
 
 driving. An educated, well schooled and well read man, he is 
 a recognized addition to the critical corps in Chicago, and 
 enjoys the high esteem of his fellows. 
 
 James O'Donnell Bennett is critic for the Evening Journal, 
 and his familiar signature is an endorsement that always bears 
 assurance of an interesting bit of 
 writing good in any bank where 
 sentiment counts. Young, but 
 to the manner born, his sincer- 
 ity and genuine feeling are so 
 distinctly felt in every article, 
 that his work is followed with 
 unceasing interest and admira- 
 tion. A picturesque individual 
 style marks all of his writing, 
 together with an irresistible en- 
 thusiasm which will be steadied 
 one of these days by judicial 
 temper. Mr. Bennett's sincere 
 and lovable disposition has en- j/fj[| 
 deared him to all his associ- 
 ates, who agree with the public 
 that he is worth reading. / / 
 
 Howbert Billman is the pains- 
 taking and efficient critic of the 
 Daily Record, and enjoys the 
 distinction, jointly with Mr. 
 Whigham and Mr. Bennett, of 
 an exciting war experience dur- 
 ing the heat of our difficulties 
 with Spain. As correspondent he performed valiant service, 
 and then returned to resume the post of dramatic critic, which 
 he had inherited from George Ade, the genial story-teller, 
 who abandoned the drama for another form of fiction. Mr. 
 Billman, with an experience gained through service with the 
 Journal and the Tribune, is an able chronicler of dramatic 
 
 97
 
 events. Industrious, reliable, and with a quick appreciation 
 of the salient points in any dramatic composition, he deserves 
 and enjoys the confidence of readers and the personal esteem 
 of many friends. 
 
 Only one remains to complete the list, and of him it may 
 only be said that he is proud to figure in such good company. 
 
 The dramatic critic is, not unlike other men, subject to 
 infirmities of health and temper. Care preys upon him at 
 times, and annoyances ruffle his temper or disturb that equipoise 
 necessary to a judicial spirit. And then his work must be 
 done under a most intolerable pressure of haste. The presses 
 yawn for his work scarcely more than an hour after the theater 
 closes, and the work to which the magazine writer devotes per- 
 haps several days the critic must perform as best he may in a 
 period almost too brief for the mechanical labor of writing, 
 leaving no margin for careful thought. Hurried in the prepara- 
 tion, errors will creep in and unhappy omissions occur, and then 
 the composition, with all its imperfections, must run the gauntlet 
 of worn and weary compositors and proofreaders, who cannot 
 always guess the meaning buried in unsightly hieroglyphics. 
 Small wonder then that the next morning hour, with newspaper 
 in hand, is often a season of greater torture for the critic than for 
 the player he has excoriated. Small wonder indeed that the 
 sins of omission and commission are not graver and more 
 deadly! Wherefore, dear reader, visit some Christian charity 
 upon the critic when his views do not meet with your approval, 
 and above all believe him quite honest however mistaken he 
 may be.
 
 The Theaters of Chicago. 
 
 "A Brief Chronicle and Abstract." 
 
 RICE'S FIRST THEATER. The real beginning of theatrical 
 history in Chicago was made by J. B. Rice, who erected and 
 dedicated, June 28, 1847, the first theater building constructed 
 in Chicago. It was erected on the south side of Randolph 
 Street, 50 feet east of Dearborn, and was opened by a stock 
 company, in "The Four Sisters. " The company included 
 Mrs. Hunt, afterwards Mrs. John Drew, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. 
 Rice and Dan Marble. On May 2, 1848, J. H. McVicker 
 made his first appearance, the farce being " My Neighbor's 
 Wife." Edwin Forrest and Junius Brutus Booth were among 
 the attractions of that year. The theater burned July 30, 
 1850, during a performance of "La Somnambula," and it is 
 stated that Mr. McVicker was on the stage when the alarm 
 was given. 
 
 RICE'S SECOND THEATER. On February 3, 1851, Mr. 
 Rice opened his second theater, which was built of brick at a 
 cost of $11,000, on Dearborn Street, between Randolph and 
 Washington. With a frontage of 80 feet and many improve- 
 ments and conveniences, it was regarded as a great step in 
 advance and was destined to be the home of the drama in Chi- 
 cago for six years, during which period all the important stars 
 of that early day visited the city, which at that time boasted a 
 population of less than 5,000 souls. The theater was opened 
 on the evening already mentioned. The stock company joined 
 first in singing the "Star Spangled Banner" and then presented 
 
 99
 
 a triple bill: "Love in Humble Life," ''Captain of the 
 Watch," and "The Dumb Belle." It was transformed into 
 a business house in 1861, having outlived its usefulness by- 
 several years. 
 
 NATIONAL THEATER, south side of Monroe near Wells. 
 At first North's Amphitheater opened in 1856 with a stock 
 company, including Mr. and Mrs. E. Thorne, L. Mestayer 
 and W. F. Johnson. Subsequently J. H. Wallack, Dion 
 Boucicault, Agnes Robertson, Maggie Mitchell, and the 
 comedian Burton appeared at this house, which fell into decay 
 in 1859, an d in 1864 was demolished to make room for a 
 business block. 
 
 McViCKER's THEATER. James H. McVicker built his first 
 theater upon the spot ever since identified with his name in 
 1857, at a cost of $85,000. It was opened November 5, 
 
 1857, by a stock company in "The Honeymoon" and "The 
 Rough Diamond." Edwin Booth first appeared here May 31, 
 
 1858, playing "A New Way to Pay Old Debts," followed 
 by "Richelieu," "Brutus" and "Richard III." Sothern 
 first appeared here in 1861. J. H. Hackett, 1863. Lotta, 
 1864. Charles Kean, 1865. Mrs. Siddons, 1869, and 
 other noted actors of the day at intervals. The theater was 
 rebuilt in 1871, after having been remodeled in 1864, at a cost 
 of $90,000, and reopened August 29 with "Extremes." A 
 play called "Elfia" was running when the house was 
 destroyed in the great fire of October 9, 1871. The theater 
 was rebuilt at a cost of $200,000 and reopened August 15, 
 1872, with Douglas Jerrold's "Time Works Wonders." 
 This building served until 1885, when it was remodeled at a 
 cost of $145,000. It was destroyed by fire August 26, 1890, 
 during the run of "Shenandoah," and when rebuilt was 
 reopened March 31, 1892, with the Jefferson-Florence Com- 
 pany in "The Rivals." The lease of the theater fell to Jacob 
 Litt, May I, 1898, for a term of ten years.
 
 101
 
 WOOD'S MUSEUM, at first Aiken's, 111-117 Randolph 
 Street, Kingsbury Hall site. Opened August 17, 1863, with 
 curiosities. November, 1863, the new stage was dedicated 
 by the Holman Opera Company in the "Bohemian Girl." 
 The "Lady of Lyons" was the first play, given in December. 
 When burned in 1871 "Divorce" was running. Was 
 bought by C. J. H. Wood, January, 1 864. A stock com- 
 pany was organized at this house in 1869, including McKee 
 Rankin, M. V. Lingham, J. W. Jennings, A. D. Bradley, J. 
 D. Germon, May Howard, Katy Fletcher and Anna Marble. 
 
 CROSBY'S OPERA HOUSE. Finished in 1865 at a cost of 
 $600,000, and opened April zoth by J. Graus Italian Opera 
 Company in "II Trovatore," Clara Louise Kellogg prima 
 donna. The lopation was on the north side of Washington 
 Street, between State and Dearborn. Refitted in 1871 at a 
 cost of $80,000, and was to have reopened October 9th with 
 the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, Maria Krebs pianist and 
 Bernhard Listemann violinist, but was destroyed by the great 
 fire on that date and never rebuilt. 
 
 BRYAN HALL, Clark Street, the site of present Grand Opera 
 House, was built in 1860, and devoted to concerts, conven- 
 tions and miscellaneous entertainments. 
 
 HOOLEY'S OPERA HOUSE. Bryan Hall was secured by 
 R. M. Hooley in 1870, and transformed into a handsome thea- 
 ter called Hooley's Opera House. Opened January 2, 1871, 
 by Hooley's Minstrels, and devoted to varied entertainments. 
 For the week of October 9, 1871, Giacomatti's tragedy 
 "Elizabeth," with Mrs. Lander, was announced, but the 
 building was swept away by the big fire. 
 
 In August, 1871, prior to the fire, Mr. Hooley associated 
 himself with Frank E. Aiken, and engaged a regular dramatic 
 stock company for his Clark Street opera house. This organiza-
 
 tion included Frank E. Aiken, J. H. Fitzpatrick, Frank Lawler, 
 M. C. Daly, J. R. Vincent, S. L. Knapp, George A. Archer, 
 Harry Gilbert, David Osborn, J. C. Morrison, Augusta Dargon, 
 Fanny Burt, Lizzie Herbert, Annie Champion, Mrs. M. C. 
 Daly, Belle Remick, Lizzie Osborne, Kate and Anna Tyson. 
 Various plays were produced during the brief life of the com- 
 pany, the first being "The Two Thorns." 
 
 AIKEN' s THEATER (afterwards the Dearborn Theater, at 1 15 
 and 117 Dearborn Street), opened January 18, 1869, with a 
 stock company in "Cyril's Success." Transformed into the 
 Dearborn August, 1 869, it was occupied by Emerson & Man- 
 ning's Minstrels, and subsequently by other attractions, includ- 
 ing German opera, Charles Wyndham and other notable attrac- 
 tions. For the week of October 9, 1871, the Dearborn 
 Minstrels had announced a burlesque on "Love and War." 
 The house was not rebuilt after the fire. 
 
 FIRST ACADEMY OF Music, 1 24 Washington Street, opened 
 December I, 1863. Arlington, Kelly & Co.'s Minstrels. 
 Afterwards Campbell & Castle's English Opera. 
 
 FIRST OLYMPIC, corner Clark and Monroe, July 13, 1868. 
 Arlington's Minstrels. 
 
 THE GLOBE, Desplaines Street. Opened November 21, 
 1870, by a stock company in " The Rivals." Subsequently 
 John Dillon, Oliver Doud Byron and others played here. It 
 was the only theater surviving the fire. 
 
 ACADEMY OF Music, Halsted Street, near Madison. Built 
 by W. B. Clapp. Opened January 10, 1872, by the Wyndham 
 Comedy Company in "Ours." Lucille Western, Aimee, 
 Chanfrau, Edwin Adams, the Vokes Family, Sothern, Mc- 
 Cullough, Toole, Jefferson, and many other notables, played 
 
 103
 
 here during the period of rebuilding the city. Destroyed by 
 fire February 4, 1878. Rebuilt and reopened September 15, 
 1879, by William Emmett as a* dramatic and variety house. 
 Again burnt out October 12, 1880. Rebuilt and reopened 
 December 2Oth the same year by Stetson's " Neck and Neck." 
 Dan Shelby assumed management in 1882; H. R. Jacobs in 
 1888, continuing until 1897; when E. P. Simpson became 
 manager. 
 
 HOOLEY'S THEATER. Built on Randolph Street site and 
 opened October 17, 1872, with the Abbott-Kiralfy Company. 
 Was the second down-town theater opened after the fire. In 
 1876 and '77 it was known as Haverly's, and then restored to 
 the firm of Hooley & Quinlan, and subsequently to R. M. 
 Hooley, who was exclusive manager up to the time of his death, 
 September, 1893. May I, 1898, passed from the control of 
 the Hooley estate on a ten-years' lease to Harry J. Powers, 
 who was forbidden to use the name of Hooley except for an 
 extraordinary and prohibitive bonus, and consequently, under 
 the advice of friends, changed the name to Powers' Theater, 
 and opened under that name after complete reconstruction 
 August 22, 1898, with Clyde Fitch's play "The Moth and 
 the Flame," played by Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon. 
 
 AIKEN'S THEATER (the Second). Built at the northwest cor- 
 ner of Wabash Avenue and Congress Street, and opened Octo- 
 ber 7, 1872, the anniversary of the big fire, with the Theo- 
 dore Thomas orchestra. It was a failure, and after a time was 
 rechristened the Adelphi, and conducted as a variety house by 
 Leonard Grover. It burned in the second big fire, July 14, 
 1874, and was not rebuilt. 
 
 The stock company organized for Aiken's Theater included 
 Frank Lawler, Milton Nobles, F. R. Pierce, George Reed, C. 
 R. Graves, W. C. Crosbie, Charles Rogers, H. B. Howland, 
 A. M. Clark, J. Cline, Miss Anna Lonergan, Miss Emma 
 Maddern, Miss Ada Gilman, Mrs. Clara Maeder, Mrs. 
 
 104
 
 105
 
 Charles Hill, Miss Mollie Maeder, Miss Belle Remick and 
 others. The season was a total failure, and the company soon 
 fell apart. 
 
 THE NEW ADELPHI, afterwards Haverly's. The walls of^ 
 the old postoffice building, left standing after the great fire, on 
 the corner of Dearborn and Monroe Streets, were utilized as the 
 shell of a theater called by this name, and opened January 1 1, 
 1875, w ith burlesque, under the direction of Leonard Grover. 
 Reconstructed in 1878, it was reopened by J. H. Haverly 
 under the name of Haverly's Theater, August 4, 1878, with 
 the Colville Folly Company in "The Babes in the Wood," 
 and was used for general theatrical purposes until 1880, when 
 demolished to make way for the First National Bank building. 
 
 COLUMBIA THEATER, known for four years as Haverly's 
 Theater, south side of Monroe Street between Dearborn and 
 Clark Streets. Managed by J. H. Haverly and then C. H. 
 McConnell. Name changed to Columbia in 1885, during 
 Irving engagement, Ellen Terry officiating at the ceremony. 
 Reconstructed by J. D. Carson and reopened October i, 1888, 
 by the Duff Comic Opera Company in the "Queen's Mate." 
 Leased by Al. Hayman and W. J. Davis in 1 890, and con- 
 ducted by them since that time as a high class combination house. 
 Their opening was with the " County Fair," August 24, 1890, 
 since which time the Columbia has become one of the most 
 noted theaters in the United States. 
 
 GRAND OPERA HOUSE, on the site of Bryan Hall, Hooley's 
 Opera House, the Coliseum and Hamlin's Theater. Rebuilt 
 in its present form in 1880 by Wm. Borden at a cost of 
 $55,000, and leased to J. H. Hamlin. Opened September, 
 1880, by Hoey & Hardy with "A Child of the State." 
 Continuously managed since that time by the Hamlins, and 
 now owned by them. 
 
 106
 
 THE BIJOU, formerly The Standard, corner of Jackson and 
 Halsted Streets. Built by C J. Whitney, of Detroit. Opened 
 December 31, 1883, by Fay Templeton in " Girofle Girofla." 
 Variously occupied until 1897, when it was renamed "The 
 Bijou" and devoted to popular melodramas. 
 
 CHICAGO OPERA HOUSE, corner Washington and Clark 
 Streets. Opened August 18, 1885, by John W. Norton & 
 Co., David Henderson, manager. The attraction being Tom 
 Keene in "Richard III." For a little more than ten years 
 under the same management, the house was leased December 
 22, 1895, by Kohl & Castle, and devoted first to combinations 
 and to continuous vaudeville. It was opened under this man- 
 agement by Eddy Foy in "Little Robinson Crusoe." 
 
 THE AUDITORIUM. Built by the Auditorium Association. 
 Dedicated Monday evening, December 9, 1889, by a special 
 programme, of which Adelina Patti was the bright particular 
 star. Clarence Eddy, and the Apollo Club appeared, and 
 there were addresses by Mayor Cregier, Hon. John S. Run- 
 nells, Ferd W. Peck and Governor Fifer. On the next even- 
 ing the Abbey & Grau Company gave "Romeo and Juliet," 
 with Patti as Juliet, and Tamagno followed on the next night 
 in "William Tell." Milward Adams has managed this opera 
 house, one of the greatest in the world, from the opening until 
 the present time. 
 
 CLARK STREET THEATER, North Clark and Michigan Streets, 
 opened October 27, 1889, by H. R. Jacobs, with "Said 
 Pasha" by the California Opera Company. 
 
 THE LINCOLN THEATER, formerly Windsor, Clark and 
 Division Streets, was opened September 26, 1886, under the 
 management of Philip H. Lehnen, with the Redmond-Barry 
 Company in "A Cure for the Blues." Burned April, 1889. 
 
 107
 
 Rebuilt and reopened October, 1889, under the direction of 
 M. B. Leavitt. Leased to James S. Hutton, August 26, 
 1894, and name changed to Lincoln Theater, the opening 
 attraction being Gustave Frohman's "Charity Ball" Company. 
 Burned again December, 1898. 
 
 HAVLIN'S THEATER, formerly Baker's, opened November 6, 
 1888, with "The Pearl of Pekin." Leased to J. H. Havlin 
 May 27, 1889, and the name changed to Havlin' s. The 
 opening attraction under this management was May 27, 1889, 
 with the first American production of Lecocq's comic opera 
 "La Jolie Parisienne." After a number of years during 
 which the theater was managed with great ability by James S. 
 Hutton, Mr. Havlin relinquished the lease and the theater 
 under various names was the scene of many failures. On 
 August 15, 1898, the house was reopened by Will H. Barry, 
 who changed the name to the New Adelphi. 
 
 THE HAYMARKET, Madison Street near Halsted. The 
 doors were thrown open under the management of William J. 
 Davis, December 24, 1887, the attraction being Thomas 
 Keene in "Richard III." The house prospered greatly under 
 this management for nearly ten years. Mr. Davis relinquish- 
 ing the control December 5, 1896, when the theater pas'sed 
 under the control of Kohl & Castle, who have since devoted 
 it to continuous vaudeville of the best class, with Jay Rial as 
 the active manager. 
 
 THE ALHAMBRA, State Street and Archer Avenue, H. R. 
 Jacobs, manager. Was dedicated September I, 1890, by the 
 Emma Juch Grand English Opera Company in "Faust." 
 Mr. Jacobs retained the management until April, 1897, when 
 W. H. Barry became manager and conducted the theater until 
 June, 1898, when James S. Hutton of the Lincoln Theater 
 obtained the lease and reopened the theater August, 1898. 
 
 108
 
 L 
 
 *t*^/4*r^5^Hwr 
 
 ^*&*zz^m Of vU) 
 
 109
 
 SCHILLER THEATER (now Dearborn). Built by the German 
 Opera House Company, and opened under the direction of 
 Anson Temple, October 17, 1892, by Charles Frohman's 
 Company in "Gloriana." Subsequently managed by Thos. 
 W. Prior, Ira J. La Motte, David Henderson, Robert Blei, R. 
 C. Gardner, E. L. Webster, Geo. A. Fair and Gustav 
 Luders. September 4, 1898, this theater was rechristened 
 The Dearborn by the Tri-State Amusement Company, and 
 reopened under the business management of J. J. Brady, with 
 a stock company in "Too Much Johnson," supplemented by 
 vaudeville. 
 
 GREAT NORTHERN THEATER. Opened November 9, 1896, 
 by A. M. Palmer, with Henry Miller in "Heartsease." 
 Subsequently managed by the Hopkins-Thayer Hight Com- 
 pany and David Henderson, the latter taking possession No- 
 vember, 1897, and relinquishing the house June 25, 1898. 
 Reopened August 27, 1898, as a vaudeville house by Salisbury 
 & Tate. 
 
 HOPKINS' THEATER, formerly the People's, was built by 
 Jonathan Clark and opened by Joseph Bayliss, October I, 
 1884, with Robert Graham in "Wanted a Partner." After 
 some years the house fell into disuse despite the efforts of vari- 
 ous managers to revive it. In 1 894 it was leased by the Tri- 
 State Amusement Company, and opened as Hopkins' Theater 
 under the immediate management of Col. J. H. Hopkins, who 
 catered drama and vaudeville in a most successful manner. 
 September 4, 1898, Hopkins became sole lessee, and reopened 
 with "Trilby," given by his regular stock company. 
 
 MYERS' OPERA HOUSE. In the building on Monroe Street, 
 long identified with Chapin & Gore, Samuel Myers, formerly 
 connected with McVicker, constructed a theater which was 
 opened September 23, 1872, and devoted for some years
 
 chiefly to minstrelsy. Nearly all the prominent minstrels 
 played there during the few years that this house was in 
 existence. 
 
 THE OLYMPIC THEATER, formerly the New Chicago, built 
 upon the site of old Kingsbury Hall. Reconstructed and re- 
 opened under the management of J. H. McVicker, August, 
 1875, Thos. A. Hall managing, with a stock company includ- 
 ing Louis James, Thomas Whiffen, Harry Lee, W. B. Chip- 
 pendale, Helen Tracy and Ada Gilman. The opening play 
 was "Apple Blossoms," but the venture was not successful. 
 The house was devoted to various uses until it was leased May, 
 1885, to Kohl & Middleton, who called it the New Olympic, 
 opened with Laura Dainty in "A Mountain Pink," and have 
 conducted it ever since as a variety house, with George Castle 
 as manager. In 1 896 the house was rebuilt.
 
 Who Did It. 
 
 THE New Powers' Theater is believed to be a model 
 house for theatrical use. The official Inspector of 
 Buildings for the city of Chicago has placed his 
 stamp of approval upon it. The department of 
 electricity certifies the perfection of one important feature, 
 critics have pronounced the decorations and the furnishings a 
 symphony of tasteful art, and last, but most important of all, 
 the public expresses so much satisfaction with the work that 
 there can be no doubt of its complete success. That such a 
 transformation from the old Hooley's to the New Powers' 
 could be effected in the short period of nine weeks is a marvel 
 to all who understand how radical the changes were, and it is 
 only fair that those who brought about this reconstruction under 
 such a speed pressure should be given credit for their effective 
 work. First upon the roll of honor must be placed the archi- 
 tects, Messrs. Wilson & Marshall, who devised all the archi- 
 tectural changes, designed the new boxes and proscenium, and 
 superintended all of the work with so much energy and enthu- 
 siasm that all difficulties melted away, and the drama of recon- 
 struction was brought promptly to a happy climax. The 
 decorations and paintings were done by the W. P. Nelson 
 Company, whose skilled artist and general designer is respon- 
 sible for the mural paintings that have been so much admired. 
 And then to these many others credit must be given for their 
 admirable work: 
 
 Mr. George Messersmith, General Contractor. 
 Mr. W. D. Kent, outside iron stairways, pronounced by 
 Chief Swenie the best he ever saw. 
 
 112
 
 Mr. E. Baggot, sewerage and sanitary plumbing. 
 
 Plumbers' supplies in dressing and toilet rooms, by J. B. 
 Clow & Sons. 
 
 Chicago Edison Company, electric switch board, and elec- 
 trical wiring in the latest improved iron conduits, pronounced by 
 electrical experts as the best and safest insulation ever put into 
 a theater. 
 
 Opera chairs by A. H. Andrews & Co. 
 
 Ornamental compo, stucco and relief work by Decorators' 
 Supply Company. 
 
 Carpets and draperies by Chicago Carpet Company. 
 
 Terra Blanco fire-proofing in dressing rooms and stage by 
 Terra Blanco Company. Mr. F. W. Blockie superintended the 
 fire-proofing. 
 
 Iron front and canopy by Chicago Architectural Iron 
 Works. 
 
 Entire theater plastered on wire late by McNulty Bros. 
 
 The asbestos curtain is by F. B. McGreer, Scenic Artist 
 of Powers' theater. 
 
 Steam heating, by Mr. Simmons. 
 
 Iron shutters and sheet iron shelves in dressing rooms by 
 Mr. Ricketts. 
 
 Marble wainscoting by Frank Henry. 
 
 Marble floors by Keating Sons & Co. 
 
 Chandeliers and electrical fixtures from T. W. Wilmarth 
 & Co., Mr. J. N. Dimmery, President. 
 
 Decorative mosaic work in exterior by Hawes & Dodd. 
 
 114
 
 Sound Endorsements 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS, 
 
 CITY OF CHICAGO. 
 
 JAMES MCANDREWS, Commissioner. 
 T. O'SHEA, Deputy Commissioner. 
 
 WILLIAM J. MCALLISTER, Secretary. 
 
 CHICAGO, August 25, 1898. 
 MR. HARRY J. POWERS, Mngr. Powers' New Theater, Chicago, 111. 
 
 DEAR SIR: After careful examination of your new theater, I have no hes- 
 itancy in saying that the changes you have made from the old building are 
 simply marvelous. The 25 exits (apportioned as follows: Gallery 9, balcony 
 10, and lower floor 6, which lead to Randolph Street and the open court on 
 the east, and alleys on the west and north of your auditorium proper) are the 
 best means I ever saw for dismissing an audience. I was particularly impressed 
 with the outside iron stairways, leading from the emergency exits, and your 
 system of lighting them. Also the new fire-proofing which you have placed 
 in your dressing rooms and under your stage. You have really covered every- 
 thing that is conducive to the safety and comfort, and the means of ingress 
 and egress of your audiences. 
 
 I shall always hold your emergency exits, the system of electric wiring 
 through iron conduits, and the fire-proofed dressing rooms as models for other 
 theaters to follow. The new theater is perfect in every way. 
 
 Yours very truly, (Signed) JAMES MCANDREWS, 
 
 Commissioner of Buildings. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICITY, 
 
 CITY OF CHICAGO. 
 EDWARD B. ELLICOTT, City Electrician. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL., August 25, 1898. 
 MR. HARRY J. POWERS, Mngr. Powers' New Theater, Chicago, 111. 
 
 DEAR SIR : In reply to your inquiry regarding the safety and efficiency of 
 the electrical wiring and apparatus in your new theater, I am pleased to state 
 that the system is installed in the most modern manner. 
 
 All the concealed wires are placed in insulated iron pipes, rendering it 
 impossible to cause a fire. The exposed wires are mounted on porcelain 
 insulators throughout, and in no instance do they come in contact with the 
 woodwork of the building. The new switchboard is properly installed, and by 
 manipulation you can secure any desired scenic effects. 
 
 "5
 
 The entire installation is admirable and absolutely safe from an electrical 
 standpoint. I wish to compliment you for the manner in which you have 
 carried out the installation regardless of the cost, and I trust that the patrons 
 of your theater will appreciate the results of your efforts to secure for them the 
 safety found only in theaters similarly equipped. 
 
 Very truly yours, (Signed) EDWARD B. ELLICOTT, 
 
 City Electrician. 
 
 116
 
 Bookings For Twenty Years. 
 
 HOOLEY'S THEATER 
 
 1877-1897 
 
 It was in 1877 that the connection of Harry J. Powers 
 with Hooley's Theater commenced and this record of bookings 
 is, therefore, coincident with his entire career in the service of 
 the theater now bearing his own name. 
 
 SEASON OF 1877-1878. 
 
 July 4 July 30,1877.... Danicheffs. 
 
 Aug. 4 Aug. 9 "Smike." 
 
 Aug. 11 Aug. 16 " Miss Moulton." 
 
 Aug. 18 Aug. 25 Paul Graudet. 
 
 Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Union Square Company in " Poor Joe " and " For- 
 bidden Fruit." 
 
 Sept. 5 Sept. 10 Lawrence Barrett. 
 
 Sept. 12 Sept. 17 Lawrence Barrett. 
 
 Sept. 19 Sept. 22 Worrall Sisters. 
 
 Sept. 24 Oct. 6 Tne Lingards. 
 
 Oct. 13 Oct. 25 Jarrett & Palmer Company in " Sardanapalus." 
 
 Oct. 27 Nov. 5 " Evangeline " Company. 
 
 Nov. 10 Nov. 23 Frayer Opera Company. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Nov. 25 Dec. 5 " Struck Oil." 
 
 Dec. 10 Dec. 22 Hess Opera Company. 
 
 Dec. 24 Jan. 3, 1878. ... Joe Murphy. 
 
 Jan. 5 Jan. 10 Aim6e. 
 
 Jan. 14 Jan. 19 Von Stamwitz. 
 
 Jan. 21 Feb. 31 Robson and Crane. 
 
 Feb. 2 Feb. 14 Kellogg Opera Company. 
 
 Feb. 16 Feb. 28 Janauschek. 
 
 Mar. 2 Mr. 9 Alice Oates. 
 
 Mar. 11 Mar. 16 Fanny Davenport. 
 
 Mar. 18 Mar. 30 E. H. Sothern (Elder). 
 
 April 1 April 6 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 April 8 -April 18 J. C. Duff Opera Company. 
 
 April 20 May 2 Modjeska. 
 
 May 4 May 9 Billy Emerson Minstrel Company. 
 
 May 11 May 16 Tony Hart. 
 
 119
 
 May 18 June 7 New York Park Theater Company. 
 
 June 8 July 18 New York Union Square Company. 
 
 July 20 July 27 Clara Morris and Union Square Company. 
 
 July 29 Aug. 3 Robinson's Minstrels. 
 
 Aug. 5 Aug. 10 Maj eroni. 
 
 SEASON OF 1878-1879. 
 
 Aug. 11. 1878. ... . . The Maieronis in " Camille." 
 
 Aug. 19 Henry Webber in "Nip and Tuck." 
 
 Aug. 26 John T. Raymond in " Risks." 
 
 Sept. 2 John T. Raymond in "The Gilded Age." 
 
 Sept. 9 John McCullough in ' ' Virginius ' ' and repertoire . 
 
 (Two weeks.) 
 
 Sept. 23 Rice's " Evangeline." 
 
 Oct. 7 Lawrence Barrett. 
 
 Oct. 14 Robson and Crane. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Oct. 28 Salsbury's Troubadours. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Nov. 11 The Famous Lingards. 
 
 Nov. 18 Eliza Weathersby and N. C. Goodwin in " Hob- 
 bies." (Two weeks.) 
 
 Dec. 2 The celebrated actress, Mrs. D. P. Bowers. 
 
 Dec. 9 Miss Effie Ellsler. 
 
 Dec. 16 Emerson's Minstrels. 
 
 Dec. 23 Fanny Davenport. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Jan. 6, 1879 Miss Emma Abbott and the Hess English Opera 
 
 Company. 
 
 Jan. 13 Mr. John Dillon. 
 
 Jan. 20 Mr. Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Jan. 27 Boston Opera Company in " Pinafore." * 
 
 Feb. 3 The New York Criterion Comedy Company. 
 
 Feb. 10 Janauschek. 
 
 Feb. 17 New York Criterion Company in " Whims." 
 
 Feb. 24 J.K. Emmet in "Fritz." 
 
 Mar. 3 George S. Knight in " Otto." 
 
 Mar. 10 Lotta. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Mar. 24 Modjeska and Company. (Two weeks.) 
 
 April 7 Emma Abbott and the Hess English Opera Com- 
 pany. 
 
 April 14 Robson and Crane. (Two weeks.) 
 
 April 28 Maggie Mitchell. (Two weeks.) 
 
 May 12 KateClaxton. 
 
 May 19 Pauline Markham Burlesque Company in " Pina- 
 fore." 
 
 May 26 Miss Pauline Pomeroy in " Adirondacks. " 
 
 June 2 Gilmore's Original New York Juvenile Pinafore 
 
 Company in " Pinafore." 
 
 June 9 Steele Mackaye's New York Madison Square Com- 
 pany in " Won at Last." (Two weeks.) 
 
 June 23 Emerson's Minstrels. (Four weeks.) 
 
 July 28 " Ticket-of-Leave-man," Wallack's Company. 
 
 (Three weeks.) 
 
 Aug. 20 Aimee. (Four nights.) 
 
 Aug. 25 Fifth Avenue Comic Opera Company in " Fati- 
 
 Sept. 8 Salsbury's Troubadours. 
 
 Sept. 15 Rice's " Evangeline." 
 
 Oct. 6 Robson and Crane. 
 
 Oct. 20 J.K.Emmet. (Twoweeks.) 
 
 120
 
 Nov. 3 New York Criterion Company. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Nov. 17 Lawrence Barrett. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Dec. 1 John T. Raymond. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Dec. 14 The Lingard Folly Company. 
 
 Dec. 22 Joseph Murphy. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Jan. 5, 1880 Collier's Union Square Company. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Jan. 19 Adele Belgarde. 
 
 Jan. 26 Weathersby-Goodwin Froliques in " Hobbies." 
 
 Feb. 2 Miss Dickie Lingard in "Les Fourchambault." 
 
 (One night Sunday.) 
 
 Feb. 9 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Feb. 16 Big Four Minstrels. 
 
 Feb. 22 Dickie Lingard in" La Cigale." 
 
 Feb. 23 New York Criterion Comedy Company. (Sunday 
 
 only.) 
 
 Mar. 1 Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 Mar. 8 Alice Gates Opera Company. 
 
 Mar. 14 Miss Dickie Lingard. (One night Sunday.) 
 
 Mar. 15 James A. Hearne. 
 
 Mar. 29 Brown's Farce Company. 
 
 April 5 Robson and Crane. 
 
 April 11 Dickie Lingard. (One night.) 
 
 April 12 Robson and Crane. 
 
 April 19 " Our Girls." 
 
 April 26 KateClaxton. 
 
 May 3 Mr. John Dillon. 
 
 May 10 Lingard's " Oaken Hearts." (One week.) 
 
 May 17 Powers' Paragon Comedy Company. 
 
 May 31 Ed. Arnott in " Victims of Faro." 
 
 June 4 Collier's " Celebrated Case " Company. 
 
 June 14 Narthals English Opera Company. 
 
 June 21 Joseph Murphy. (Two weeks.) 
 
 July 5 Mr. George Holland. 
 
 Aug. 9 New York Criterion Comedy Company. (Two 
 
 weeks.) 
 
 Aug. 23 The Harrisons. 
 
 Aug. 30 Haverley's Juvenile Opera Company. 
 
 Sept. 6 Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 Sept. 13 Robson and Crane. (Three weeks.) 
 
 Oct. 4 Lawrence Barrett. (Two weeks. ) 
 
 Oct. 17 M. B. Leavitt's Combination. 
 
 Oct. 25 The Harrisons. 
 
 Nov. 1 Comley-Barton Comedy Company 
 
 Nov. 8 "The Banker's Daughter" Collier's Company. 
 
 Nov. 15 Clark & Marble's Tile Club "Idle Hours." 
 
 Nov. 22 Willie Edouins-Sparks Company. 
 
 Nov. 29 Mrs. Scott-Siddons. 
 
 Dec. 6 John T. Raymond. 
 
 Dec. 13 A. M. Palmer's Union Square Company. 
 
 Dec. 20 Jarrett & Rice's Company in "Fun on the Bristol." 
 
 Jan. 3,1881 Nat C. Goodwin. 
 
 Jan. 10 Mr. Chas. L. Davis in "Alvin Joslin." 
 
 Jan. 17 Rice's Opera Company. 
 
 Jan. 24 Morton and Homer's Big Four Minstrels. 
 
 Jan. 31 "My Geraldine," Bartley Campbell's Play. 
 
 Feb. 14 Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 Feb. 20 Hearne's" Hearts of Oak." 
 
 Feb. 28 Mr. Neil Burgess. 
 
 Mar. 7 Salsbury's Troubadours. 
 
 Mar. 14 Willie Edouins-Sparks. 
 
 121
 
 Mar. 20 ................... Mr. and Mrs. MeKee Rankin. 
 
 Mar. 27 ................... Comley-Barton Company in "Olivette." 
 
 Apr. 11 ................... Robson and Crane (Two weeks.) 
 
 Apr. 24 ................... "MyGeraldine." 
 
 May 2 ................... Hartley Campbell's Play "Fairfax." 
 
 May 9 ................... Nat C. Goodwin. 
 
 May 16 ................... Steele Mackaye's Comedy Company in "Won at 
 
 Last." (Three weeks.) 
 May 29 ................... San Francisco Minstrels. 
 
 June 6 ................... Harrigan & Hart. (Two weeks.) 
 
 June 20 ................... Augustin Daly's Company. 
 
 July 18 ................... James O'Neill. (One week.) 
 
 SEASON OF 1881-1882. 
 
 Aug. 1,1881 .............. James O'Neill. (Two weeks.) 
 
 Aug. 29 ................... Henrietta Vaders. 
 
 Sept. 5 ................... Hooley's Comedy Company. 
 
 Sept. 12 ................... J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Sept. 18 ................... Salsbury 's Troubadours. 
 
 Sept. 25 ..... .............. Edouins Sparks. 
 
 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 ......... Thomas Keene. 
 
 Oct. 16 ................... "MyGeraldine." 
 
 Oct. 23 ................... " The Banker's Daughter." 
 
 Oct. 30 ................... Joe Murphy. 
 
 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 ......... McKee Rankin in "The Danites" and "49." 
 
 Nov. 21 ................... Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 Nov. 27 ................... " The Galley Slave." 
 
 Dec. 5 ................... John S. Clark. 
 
 Dec. 11 ................... John A. Stephens. 
 
 Dec. 18 ................... Hague's Minstrels. 
 
 Dec. 25 Jan. 1, 1882. ..." Fun on the Bristol." 
 
 Jan. 8 ................... N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 Jan. 16 ................... Rose Eytinge. 
 
 Jan. 23 ................... Genevieve Ward. 
 
 Jan. 29 ................... "The Farmer's Daughter." 
 
 Feb. 5 ................... "Hearts of Oak." 
 
 Feb. 12 Feb. 19 ......... " Mother-in-Law." 
 
 Feb. 27 ................... Salsbury's Troubadours. 
 
 Mar. 6 ................... Yokes Family. 
 
 Mar. 13 ................... Janauschek. 
 
 Mar. 20 ................... J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Mar. 27 ................... KateClaxton. 
 
 April 3 ................... Fanny Davenport. 
 
 April 10 ................... Edouins Sparks. 
 
 April 17 ................... " The Galley Slave." 
 
 April 24 ................... " The Jolly Bachelors," Robson and Crane. 
 
 May 1 ................... Barlow, Wilson, Primrose & West's Minstrels. 
 
 May 8 ................... Roland Reed. 
 
 May 15 ................ "The Colonel." 
 
 May 21- May 28 ......... "The Tourists." 
 
 June 4 ................... Tony Pastor. 
 
 June 11-July 2 ......... James O'Neill in "The Celebrated Case," "The 
 
 Brothers" and " American King." 
 July 9 ................... Minnie Maddern.
 
 SEASON OF 1882-1883. 
 
 Aug. 12 Sept. 3 Kiralfy Brothers in" Michael Strogoff" and "The 
 
 Black Crook." 
 
 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Edouins Sparks. 
 
 Sept. 24 Sept. 30 Marion Elmore. 
 
 Oct. 2 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Oct. 8 Salsbury's Troubadours. 
 
 Oct. 15 Oct. 21 Robson and Crane. 
 
 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 " The White Slave." 
 
 Nov. 12 Adams' " Humpty-Dumpty." 
 
 Nov. 19 Mr. and Mrs. McKee Rankin in " 49 " and "Dan- 
 
 ites." 
 
 Dec. 4 Dec. 11 Charles Wyndham in " 14 Days ' ' and " Brighton. ' ' 
 
 Dec. 17 Dec. 24 Jos. Murphy in "Kerry Gow" and "Shaun Rhue." 
 
 Dec. 13 Jan. 7, 1883... Nat C. Goodwin and Thorne. 
 
 Jan. 15 Maggie Mitchell 
 
 Jan. 21 Catherine Lewis. 
 
 Jan. 28 "Hearts of Oak." 
 
 Feb. 4 W.Stafford. 
 
 Feb. 11 "The Tourists." 
 
 Feb. 18 "The Planter's Wife." 
 
 Feb. 25 Minnie Maddern. 
 
 Mar. 4 Mar. 11 "Lights o' London." 
 
 Mar. 18 "Ranch 10." 
 
 Mar. 27 W. J. Scanlan. 
 
 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Robson & Crane. 
 
 Apr. 16 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Apr. 22 "The White Slave." 
 
 Apr. 20 Hess Acme Opera Company. 
 
 May 6 May 13 Catherine Lewis Opera Company. 
 
 May 20 Edouins Sparks. 
 
 May 27 Rose Eytinge. 
 
 June 4 June 25 Augustin Daly's Company in "7-28." 
 
 July 2 July 23 McKee Rankin Company. 
 
 SEASON OF 1883-1884. 
 
 Aug. 26 M. B. Curtis Company. 
 
 Sept. 2 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Sept. 10 "The Planter's Wife." 
 
 Sept. 16 "A Bunch of Keys." 
 
 Sept. 23 Mr. and Mrs. McKee Rankin. 
 
 Sept. 30 "The White Slave." 
 
 Oct. 7 Oct. 14 Robson & Crane. 
 
 Oct. 21 .' W. J. Scanlan. 
 
 Oct. 28 Nov. 4 E. H. Sothern.? 
 
 Nov. 11 Janauschek. 
 
 Nov. 18 Geo. S. Knight. 
 
 Nov. 25 Barlow & Wilson Minstrels. 
 
 Dec. 3 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Dec. 9 Miss Prescott and Company. 
 
 Dec. 16 Dec. 23 Augustin Daly's No. 2 Company. 
 
 Dec. 30 Edwin Thorne in the "Black Flag." 
 
 Jan. 6, 1884 "Her Atonement." 
 
 Jan. 13 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Jan. 21 Feb. 4 Charles Wyndham and Company. 
 
 Feb. 25 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Mar. 3 Mar. 10 Fanny Davenport. 
 
 123
 
 Mar. 16 Annie Pixley. 
 
 Mar. 30 Apr. 6 Robson & Crane. 
 
 Apr. 13 "A Bunch of Keys." 
 
 Apr. 20 Rose Ey tinge. 
 
 Apr. 27 W. J. Scanlan. 
 
 May 4 N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 May 12 "Between Two Fires." 
 
 May 18 John T. Raymond. 
 
 May 25 Thatcher, Primrose & West's Minstrels. 
 
 June 2 to Aug. 10 Henry E. Dixey and Rice's Company in "Adonis.' 
 
 Aug. 18 Aug. 24 The Carleton Opera Company. 
 
 SEASON OF 1884-1885. 
 
 Aug. 21,1884 M.B.Curtis. 
 
 Sept. 7 John T. Raymond. 
 
 Sept. 14 "A Bunch of Keys." 
 
 Sept. 21 "The White Slave." 
 
 Sept. 29 Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 Oct. 5 N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Robson & Crane 
 
 Oct. 27 Fanny Davenport. 
 
 Nov. 2 Theo and Grau's French Opera. 
 
 Nov. 9 Maubury and Overton's Company. 
 
 Nov. 16 Edwin Thome. 
 
 Nov. 23 Barlow & Wilson Minstrels. 
 
 Nov. 30 Aimee. 
 
 Dec. 8 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Jos. Murphy. 
 
 Dec. 28 Harrison & Gourley. 
 
 Jan. 5,1885 Mme. Janish. 
 
 Jan. 11 "A Parlor Match." 
 
 Jan. 18 M.B.Curtis. 
 
 Jan. 26 Madison Square Company. 
 
 Feb. 1 McKee Rankin Company. 
 
 Feb. 8 McCaull Opera Company. 
 
 Feb. 15 Grace HaAvthorne. 
 
 Feb. 22 Mar. 1 Maubury & Overton's Company. 
 
 Mar. 8 The Dalys in "Vacation." 
 
 Mar. 15 Redmund and Barry Company. 
 
 Mar. 22 "A Bunch of Keys." 
 
 Mar. 29 Dickson's Sketch Club. 
 
 Apr. 5 Apr. 12 Robson and Crane. 
 
 Apr. 26 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 May 3 Harrison and Gourlay. 
 
 May 10 Joseph Polk. 
 
 May 17 Theo and Grau's Opera Company. 
 
 May 25 Mile. Rhea. 
 
 Jun. 1 to Jun. 29 Augustin Daly's Company. 
 
 July 5 July 12 Haverley's Minstrels. 
 
 SEASON OF 1885-1886. 
 
 Aug. 2 Eustis & Tuthill's Company. 
 
 Aug. 16 Milton Nobles. 
 
 Aug. 23 Evans & Hoey in "A Parlor Match." 
 
 Aug. 30 Harry Lacey's Company in "Satan's Diary." 
 
 Sept. 6 John T. Raymond in "For Congress." 
 
 Sept. 13 M. B. Curtis in "Sam'l of Posen." 
 
 Sept. 20 "A Bunch of Keys." 
 
 124
 
 Sept. 27 Barlow & Wilson's Minstrels. 
 
 Oct. 4 Oct. 11 N. C. Goodwin in "The Skating Rink." 
 
 Oct. 18 Louis Aldrich in "In His Power." 
 
 Oct. 25 Sidney Rosenfeld's Company in "Mikado." 
 
 Nov. 1 W.H. Power Co. in "Ivy Leaf." 
 
 Nov. 9 EffieEllsler. 
 
 Nov. 15 Nov. 22 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Nov. 29 Kelley & Mason Company in "The Tigress." 
 
 Dec. 6 The Dalys in "Vacation." 
 
 Dec. 13 Lillian Russell Opera Company. 
 
 Dec. 20 Aimee. 
 
 Dec. 27 Evans & Hoey in "A Parlor Match." 
 
 Jan. 3,1886 George S. Knight. 
 
 Jan. 10 Milton Nobles. 
 
 Jan. 17 Jan. 24 Carleton Opera Company in "Nanon." 
 
 Jan. 31 Feb. 7 Hanlon's "Fantasma." 
 
 Feb. 15 Feb. 22 Bartley Campbell's Company in "Clio." 
 
 Feb. 28 Roland Reed. 
 
 Mar. 8 ,. Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 Mar. 15 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Mar. 21 "A Bunch of Keys." 
 
 Mar. 28 Apr. 4-. James O'Neill in "Monte Cristo." 
 
 Apr. 11 John L. Sullivan and Lester & Allen Minstrels. 
 
 Apr. 18 Apr. 25 John T. Raymond. 
 
 May 2-May 9 N. C. Goodwin in "The Skating Rink." 
 
 May 16 J. Little in "In the World." 
 
 May 30 to Aug. 15 (12 wks). Rice's "Beautiful Evangeline." 
 
 SEASON OF 1888-1889. 
 
 Aug. 25 Sept. 1, 1888 Frank Daniels. 
 
 Sept. 8 Geo. K. Adams. 
 
 Sept. 16 to Sept. 29 "The Wife." 
 
 Oct. 6 W. J. Scanlan. . 
 
 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Johnson & Slavin. 
 
 Nov. 24 to Dec. 2 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Dec. 8 Rose Coghlan. 
 
 Dec. 15 "Held by the Enemy." 
 
 Dec. 22 "Later On." 
 
 Dec. 30 Minnie Palmer. 
 
 Jan. 5 to Jan. 12, 1889 .... E. H. Sothern.? 
 
 Jan. 19 Frank Daniels in "Little Puck." 
 
 Jan. 26 "A Hole in the Ground." 
 
 Feb. 2 Feb. 9 "A Brass Monkey." 
 
 Feb. 16 "A Legal Wreck." 
 
 Feb. 23 "A Parlor Match." 
 
 Mar. 2 Howard's Athenaeum. 
 
 Mar. 9 "Jim the Penman." 
 
 Mar. 16 Mar. 23 "Paul Kauvar." 
 
 Mar. 31 Verona Jarbeau. 
 
 Apr. 6 Apr. 13 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Apr. 20 Apr. 27 Barry and Fay. 
 
 May 4 N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 May 11 Cora Tanner. 
 
 May 18 May 25, June 2.. Howard Athenaeum Company. 
 
 June 8 June 22 Augustin Daly's Company. 
 
 June 30 July 6 E. H, Sothern. 
 
 July 14 July 27 "Enoch Arden." 
 
 125
 
 SEASON OF 1889-1890. 
 
 Aug. 24 to Aug. 31, 1889. . . J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Sept. 7 Sept. 21 Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Sept. 28- Oct. 5 A. M. Palmer's Company. 
 
 Oct. 12 Oct. 26 N. C. Goodwin, 
 
 Nov. 2 Evans & Hoey. 
 
 Nov. 9 "Pearl of Pekin." 
 
 Nov. 16 "Held by the Enemy." 
 
 Nov. 23 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Nov. 30 "A Brass Monkey." 
 
 Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Howard Athenaeum Company. 
 
 Dec. 21 Dec. 28 Frank Daniels in 'Little Puck. 1 
 
 Jan. 4, 1890 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Jan. 11 Jan. 18 Mr. and Mrs. Kendall. 
 
 Jan. 25 Feb. 2 "Our Flat." 
 
 Feb. 8 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Feb. 15 Howard Athenaeum Company, 
 
 Feb. 22 Mar. 2 Carleton Opera Company. 
 
 Mar. 9 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Mar. 15 Margaret Mather. 
 
 Mar. 22 to April 5 "Prince and Pauper." 
 
 Apr. 12 Charles Arnold. 
 
 Ap*. 19 W. J. Scanlan. 
 
 Apr. 29 to May 3 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 May 10 May 17 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 May 28 to June 29 James O'Neill. 
 
 SEASON OF 1890-1891. 
 
 Aug. 23 Sept. 6, 1890 Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Sept. 20 Sept. 27 A. M. Palmer's Company. 
 
 Oct. 4 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Rosina Vokes. 
 
 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Nov. 8 Nov. 15 "Prince and Pauper." 
 
 Nov. 22 W. J. Scanlan. 
 
 Nov. 29 James O'Neill. 
 
 Dec. 6 Dec. 13 Howard Athenaeum Company. 
 
 Dec. 20 Dec. 28 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Jan. 3 Jan. 17, 1891. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 Jan. 24 Jan. 31 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Feb. 7 J. K. Emmett. 
 
 Feb. 14 Clara Morris. 
 
 Feb. 21 Mar. 1 Russell's Comedians. 
 
 Mar. 7-Mar. 14 Rosina Vokes. 
 
 Mar. 21 Mar 28 Pauline Hall. 
 
 Apr. 4 Apr. 12 "Ship Ahoy! " 
 
 Apr. 18 May 2 E. S. Willard. 
 
 May 9 May 16 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 May 23 May 30 June 6. "Alabama." 
 
 June 13 June 27 Augustin Daly's Company. 
 
 SEASON OF 1891-1892. 
 
 July to Aug. 29 "The County Fair." 
 
 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Oct. 3. Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Rosina Vokes. 
 
 Oct. 24 Nov. 14 E. S. Willard. 
 
 126
 
 Nov. 21 Dec. 5 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Dec. 12 James O'Neill. 
 
 Dec. 19 Dec. 26 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 Jan. 2, 1892, to Jan. 9. .. E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Jan. 16- Jan. 23 Richard Mansfield. 
 
 Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Pitou Stock Co. 
 
 Feb. 13 E. S. Willard. 
 
 Feb. 20 Feb. 28 Wm. Barry and Company. 
 
 Mar. 5 Mar 12 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Mar. 19 Mar. 26 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Apr. 2 Fanny Rice. 
 
 Apr. 9-Apr. 24 "Niobe." 
 
 May 1 Maggie Mitchell. 
 
 May 7 May 14 ' 'Alabama. ' ' 
 
 May 28 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 June 4 June 12 Effie Ellsler. 
 
 June 18 July 2 Augustin Daly's Company. 
 
 SEASON OF 1892-1893. 
 
 July 9 July 30, 1892. . . . "The County Fair." 
 
 Aug. 6 Aug. 13 Joseph M urphy . 
 
 Aug. 20 Aug. 28 Donnelly and Girard. 
 
 Sept. 4 Oct. 1 Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Oct. 8 Oct. 16 "Imagination." 
 
 Oct. 22 -Oct. 29 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Nov. 5 Hart's "Friends." 
 
 Nov. 12 Nov. 19 "Across the Potomac." 
 
 Nov. 26 Dec. 3 Joseph Murphy. 
 
 Dec. 10 Dec. 17 "Niobe." 
 
 Dec. 25 Digby Bell in "Jupiter." 
 
 Dec. 31 Jan. 21, 1893.... E. S. Willard. 
 
 Jan. 28 Feb. 11 N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 Feb. 18 Feb. 25 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Mar. 4 Mar. 11 Ramsey Morris in "Joseph.' 
 
 Mar. 19 James O'Neill. 
 
 Mar. 25 Apr. 8 Eleanora Duse. 
 
 Apr. 15 Modjeska. 
 
 Apr. 22 Apr. 30 "Niobe." 
 
 May 7 May 13 Fanny Davenport. 
 
 May 20 June 3 Augustin Daly's Company. 
 
 June 10 to July 15 E. S. Willard. 
 
 SEASON OF 1893-1894. 
 
 July 12 Aug. 5 E. S. Willard. 
 
 Aug. 12 Aug. 26 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Sept. 2 Sept. 23 E. S. Willard. 
 
 Sept. 30 Evans and Hoey. 
 
 Oct. 7 Oct. 28 Coquelin and Hading. 
 
 Nov. 4 Nov. 11 A. M. Palmer's Company. 
 
 Nov. 18 Nov. 26 Rosina Yokes. 
 
 Dec. 2 Dec. 9 Modjeska. 
 
 Dec. 16 Dec. 23 Manola-Mason Company. 
 
 Dec. 30, Jan. 3, 1894, Jan. 20 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 Jan. 27 N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 Feb. 4 Closed. 
 
 Feb. 10 Feb. 24 Wilson Barrett. 
 
 Mar. 4 "Wilkinson's Widows." 
 
 127
 
 Mar. 10 Modjeska. 
 
 Mar. 17 Mar. 25 Chauncey Olcott. 
 
 Mar. 31-Apr. 29 E. S. Willard. 
 
 May 6 to Aug. 12 (15wks) "Charley's Aunt." 
 
 SEASON OF 1894-1895. 
 
 Aug. 1825, 1894, Sept. 1. Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Sept. 23 Oct. 6 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal . 
 
 Oct. 13 Nov. 3 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 AdaRehan. 
 
 Nov. 24 Daly's Comedians. 
 
 Dec. 1 Dec. 8 Johnstone Bennett "The Amazons." 
 
 Dec. 3 Jan. 613, 1895. E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Jan. 20 Jan. 27 John Drew. 
 
 Feb. 3 Feb. 10 Olga Nethersole. 
 
 Feb. 17 Feb. 24 "The Foundling." 
 
 Mar. 3 Mar. 16 "Princess Bonnie." 
 
 Mar. 23 Apr. 14 "Charley's Aunt." 
 
 Apr. 21 Apr. 27 Marie Burroughs. 
 
 SEASON OF 18951896. 
 
 May. 4, 1895 ... .. N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 May 11 May 18 Mr. and Mrs. Kendal. 
 
 May 25 June 1 "Birth of Venus." 
 
 June 9 -June 22 "The Gaiety Girl." 
 
 July 6 to Aug. 24 (9 wks) "Trilby." 
 
 Aug. 31 Sept. 14 Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Sept. 22 "Charley's Aunt." 
 
 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Ada Rehan. 
 
 Oct. 12 Nov. 2 William Gillette in "Too Much Johnson." 
 
 Nov. 9 Nov. 23 "Little Christopher." 
 
 Dec. 1 Dec. 8 "Hansel and Gretel." 
 
 Dec. 14 Jan 4, 1896 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Jan. 11 Feb 1 N.C.Goodwin. 
 
 Feb. 15 "His Excellency." 
 
 Feb. 22 Feb. 29 "Trilby." 
 
 Mar. 7 Mar. 15 "The Strange Adventures of Miss Brown.' 
 
 Mar. 21 Apr. 5 Olga Nethersole." 
 
 Apr. 12 Apr. 18 John Hare. 
 
 Apr. 26 John Drew. 
 
 SEASON OF 1896-1897. 
 
 May 2 to May 16, 1896. . . John Drew. 
 
 May 23 to Aug. 12 (13 wks> "The Gay Parisians." 
 
 Sept. 13 Sept. 19 Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 "Thoroughbred." 
 
 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Empire Stock Company. 
 
 Oct. 25 Clay Clement. 
 
 Nov. 1 Nov. 7 "Sue." 
 
 Nov. 14 Wilton Lackaye. 
 
 Nov. 21 Nov. 28 Albert Chevalier. 
 
 Dec. 5 Robert Hilliard. 
 
 Dec. 12 "Too Much Johnson." 
 
 Dec. 19 26 Jan. 2, 1897. E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Jan. 2 Jan. 30 N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Feb. 6 "The Sign of the Cross." 
 
 128
 
 Feb. 13 Feb. 20 Olga Nethersole. 
 
 Feb. 27 to Mar. 6 "My Friend from India." 
 
 Mar. 13 -Apr. 10 E. S. Willard. 
 
 Apr. 17 Apr. 24 John Hare. 
 
 SEASON OF 1897-1898. 
 
 May 1 May 8, 1897 John Drew. 
 
 May 15 May 23 "Two Little Vagrants." 
 
 May 29 June 5 Ada Rehan. 
 
 June 12 Aug. 14 (10 wks) "Never Again." 
 
 Aug. 21 Sept. 4 Lyceum Theatre Company. 
 
 Sept. 11 Sept. 25 Empire Theatre Company. 
 
 Oct. 2-Nov. 6 (6 wks) . . William Gillette in "Secret Service." 
 
 Nov. 13 Nov. 27 W. H. Crane. 
 
 Dec. 4 Dec. 18 Sol Smith Russell. 
 
 Dec. 25 Jan. 1, 1898 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 Jan. 15 Feb. 12 (5 wks). N. C. Goodwin. 
 
 Feb. 12 Feb. 19 Charles Coghlan. 
 
 Mar. 5 Mar. 12 Julia Arthur. 
 
 Mar. 19 E. S. Willard (closed two weeks account illness) . 
 
 Apr. 9 Apr. 16 John Drew. 
 
 Apr. 23 Apr. 30 E. H. Sothern. 
 
 129
 
 PRINTED BY R. R. DONNELLEY 
 AND SONS COMPANY AT THE 
 LAKESIDE PRESS, CHICAGO, ILL.