Federal Street Theatre
The Federal Street Theatre (1793–1852), also known as the Boston Theatre,[1] was located at the corner of Federal and Franklin streets in Boston, Massachusetts. It was "the first building erected purposely for theatrical entertainments in the town of Boston."[2]
History
The original building[3] was designed by Charles Bulfinch. It was "the first professionally designed American theater by a native architect."[4] It occupied land formerly owned by Thomas Brattle, Edward H. Robbins and William Tudor.[4] In 1798 fire destroyed the theatre; it was rebuilt the same year. The second building existed through 1852.[4]
Management included Charles S. Powell (1794–1795); John Steel Tyler (1795–1796); John Hodgkinson (1795–1796); John Brown Williamson (1796–1797); John Sollee (1797); Giles Leonard Barrett (ca.1798); Joseph Harper (ca.1798).[4][5]
Musicians affiliated with the theatre included Trille La Barre; Peter Von Hagen Sr.; R. Leaumont; and Gottlieb Graupner.[6] Scene painters included Christian Gullager (1793–1797).[4]
Events
- 1794
- 1795 - Judith Sargent Murray's "The Medium, or Happy Tea-Party," debuts 2 March 1795.[10] Judith Sargent Murray wrote the first two plays by an American, male or female, to be performed in Boston.
- 1796
- March 9 - Judith Sargent Murray's "The Traveller Returned," debuts.[11]
- John O'Keefe's "Farmer," with Susanna Rowson[12]
- 1802 - A young Hawaiian called "Bill" performed in the pantomime "The Death of Captain Cook."
- 1832 - Shakespeare's Richard III, with Charles Kean.[13]
- 1834 - Jonathan Harrington (ventriloquist)
- 1846 - James Sheridan Knowles' "Hunchback," with Charles Kean and Ellen Kean.[13]
- 1851
Image gallery
-
The Federal Street Theatre burnt in February 1798. -
February 1824 -
Detail from 1834 broadsheet of "L-a-w," sung by Mr. Andrews -
December 1846 -
Detail from advertisement for Macallister's performance, November 1851
References
- ^ Boston Directory. 1823.
- ^ Thomas Pemberton. "A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston, 1794." Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1st ser., III (1794, reprinted 1810), 255-56. Quoted in Stoddard. 1970; p.191.
- ^ "Architectural Description of the Boston Theatre." Federal Orrery (Boston) 11-10-1794
- ^ a b c d e Stoddard. 1970
- ^ Elias Nason. A Memoir of Mrs. Susanna Rowson. NY: Munsell, 1870.
- ^ H. Earle Johnson. The Musical Von Hagens. New England Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Mar., 1943); p.112.
- ^ Early American Imprints, Series 1
- ^ American Apollo, Feb. 27, 1794
- ^ American Apollo, 24 April 1794.
- ^ Skemp, Sheila (2009). First Lady of Letters. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-8122-4140-2.
- ^ Skemp, Sheila (2009). First Lady of Letters. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-8122-4140-2.
- ^ Nason. 1870.
- ^ a b c American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1
- ^ "Lucrezia Borgia". Gleason's Pictorial. 1. Boston, Mass. 1851.
Further reading
- John Alden. "A Season in Federal Street: J. B. Williamson and the Boston Theatre, 1796-1797." Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 65 (1): 9-74. 1955.
- Martin Banham (1998). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. New York: Cambridge University Press. Cf. especially p. 361, article on the "Federal Street Theatre".
- Frank Chouteau Brown. "The First Boston Theatre, on Federal Street: Built 1793, finally discontinued 1852. Charles Bulfinch, Architect," Old-Time New England, v.36 (1945), 1-7.
- Brooks McNamara. The American Playhouse in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969), pp. 121–27.
- Douglass Shand-Tucci (1999). Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800-2000. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. Cf. p. 209
- Caleb Snow. History of Boston, 2nd ed. 1828.
- Richard Stoddard. A Reconstruction of Charles Bulfinch's First Federal Street Theatre, Boston. Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 6 (1970), pp. 185–208.
- Richard Stoddard. "Aqueduct and Iron Curtain at the Federal Street Theatre, Boston," Theatre Survey, VIII (1967), 106-11.
External links
- Boston Public Library. Federal Street Theatre Collection
- Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library. Early American playbills: Guide; includes playbills from the Federal St. Theatre
- Paul Lewis (2012). "The First Seasons of the Federal Street Theatre: 1794–1798". Forgotten Chapters of Boston's Literary History: an Exhibition at the Boston Public Library and Massachusetts Historical Society, March 28 - July 30, 2012. Boston College. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- "Object of the Month". Massachusetts Historical Society. May 2012.
- Theatres completed in 1793
- Former buildings and structures in Boston
- 1793 establishments in Massachusetts
- 1852 disestablishments in the United States
- Cultural history of Boston
- 18th century in Boston
- 19th century in Boston
- Former theatres in Boston
- Financial District, Boston
- Event venues established in 1793
- Charles Bulfinch buildings