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Chapter 6 1850-1900
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a highly popular novel that was released in 1852 by author Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel was written to be a protest against slavery in the push to abolish slavery at the time being. Stowe's novel was read throughout the United States and it was quickly added to the stage. The play of the novel was brought to the National Theatre in New York and ran over two hundred performances in the span of two years. The play was one of the first dominations of American Theatre. -
Copyright In the U.S.
Irish dramatist Dion Boucicault led the charge for a new legislation to be passed on U.S soil. The legislation would be the first documented copyright protection for play writers. The law would keep others from stealing or claiming others work as their own to make profits or to gain any type of credit. This would forever change the way the plays, novels, or music would be presented. Their couldn't be anymore stolen ideas. -
Well-Made Plays
The late 19th century brought a new form of plays called the "well-made plays". it was a popular genre through the 19th century, but it hit its peak in the later years. One of the most well-known play writers for this specific type of genre was Victorien Sardou. He was able to connect this style of plays to every dramatic type from comedies to historical events. He left his mark in the industry from 1860 to 1900. -
The Fist Musical
Niblo's Theatre would go down in history as it held the first book musical. " The Black Crook" is the first musical recorded released in 1866. It ran for a promising 474 performances in the span of just two years. It returned two more times in 1870 and 1871. " The Black Crook" is considered the prototype for the musicals of today. -
Actor-Managers
The 19th century was dominated by actor-managers. Actor-managers were the creators and directors of plays, but they also stared as the lead role in their plays. Henry Irving was a well-known actor-manager during his time. He performed most of his productions in the Lyceum Theatre. He ran the show for nearly 30 years from 1871-1899. He left a mark on the world of theatre and was highly acknowledge when he died. He had condolences sent from officials like Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII. -
A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen was a significant drama play writer that took over in the late 19th century. in 1879 he released on of his most well-known plays, "A Doll's House". The play attacks social norms of women being controlled by men. The play's main character Nora strives to break those barriers and question her life as it has been controlled by her father and her husband. -
Electrified Theatrical Lighting System
The Savoy Theatre was the first theatre ever built with electric lighting system included with the structure. The designer of the theatre was Richard D'Oyly Carte. He stated that the electric lighting would not produce any extra added on heat that made a huge problem in previous theatres from the gas powered lights. The electric lighting went along with the rise of realism that was on the up rise during the time period. -
Electrical lighting
Thomas Edison is best known for his improvement of the light bulb, but his light bulbs would play a bigger role by improving theatre. In 1883. He teamed up with the Kiralfy brothers and they created a spectacular finale to their musical ballet called "Excelsior". 500 lightbulbs were attached to the performers in the final number. This event allowed Edison to promote his invention and it started a new era in theatre for the principles of scenic design. -
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre was built in London in 1889. The theatre had an underground river that flowed beneath the cite, which made it difficult to construct. The theatre was named after David Garrick who was an author, play writer, manager, and producer who influenced a lot of the work produced in the 19th century. The Garrick Theatre was the first theatre named after an actor to honor their legacy. The doors opened as well in 1889. -
Burt Theatre
Theatre was becoming a bigger event in the U.S, which meant it expanded throughout the country. The most well-known was in New York, but this theatre originated in Toledo, Ohio. The Burt Theatre average 45,000 people in the audience a month and 488 performances from 64 different plays. You could grab your tickets for 35 cents a seat to watch show that originated from New York. They were popular for showing Melodrama plays.
