Playbill Collectibles : Playbill+venice Price List
average value
-
low
-high
-Found 20 out of 56,978 items matching 'venice'
Sold on eBay Mar, 30th 2020
THE THREE STOOGES World Premier Program April 1st 1929 "A NIGHT IN VENICE" VF+
You are bidding on the OPENING NIGHT or WORLD PREMIER or FIRST APPEARANCE of the "THE THREE STOOGES"!!! Before their grand opening run in New York at the SHUBERT THEATER the Theatrical Production of "A NIGHT IN VENICE" with Ted Healy, Moe, Larry & Shemp...they opened a trial run of the Play at the BROAD STREET THEATER in NEW JERSEY to work out the kinks. This is the Program from OPENING NIGHT April 1st 1929 in NEW JERSEY at the BROAD STREET and it is in EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION with bright colors and only minor edge and seam wear! This is from my Private Collection and I have only seen one or
Sold on eBay May 8th, 2024
George Gershwin "DERE MABLE" George D. Cukor "BEN HUR" 1920 FLOP Tryout Program
This is a rare February 23rd, 1920 "Plays and "Players" program (playbill) from the two-week, out-of-town tryout of the ROSAMOND HODGES, EDWARD STREETER and JOHN HODGES musical comedy "DERE MABLE" at the Garrick Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (The production played two weeks in Philadelphia but closed on the road, cancelling the scheduled Broadway opening.) ..... Featuring three songs by GEORGE GERSHWIN (fifth scanned image)), the musical starred LOUIS BENNISON, JOHN JOHNSON, GEORGE ALLEN, RONALD ST. JOHN, PAUL HEPNER, future motion picture legend GEORGE D. CUKOR, ROBERT WOOLSEY, ELIZABETH HINES, SIDNEY REYNOLDS, CARL HALLER, HATTIE BURKS, FRANK WALZMAN, FRANK WALSH, JACK RUSSELL, JANET HORTON, EDWIN FORSBERG, SAM ASH, MAX MYERS, JACK RAFFAEL, GARRETT CARROLL, CERN PRENTICE, LILLIAN WELLS, GEORGIA SCOTT, ETHEL BURTON, KEWPIE COLLIER, FRANCES BURNS, MAY SHELDON, VIRGINIA LEE, RUTH ALEXANDER, GERTRUDE ORR, MAY SCOTT and SHIRLEY LOVE ..... Side note: Three of the songs, "Back Home", "We're Pals" and "I Want To Be Wanted By You" were composed by GEORGE GERSHWIN with lyrics by IRVING CAESAR (fifth scanned image) ..... CREDITS: Book and Lyrics by EDWARD STREETER and JOHN HODGES; Music composed by ROSAMOND HODGES; Additional Musical Numbers by GEORGE GERSHWIN ("Girl Crazy", "Lady, Be Good!", "Oh, Kay!", "Funny Face", "Rosalie", "Of Thee I Sing", "Porgy and Bess", "George White's Scandals"), IRVING CAESAR and LOUIS HARRISON; Scenery designed by HOMER EMENS; Costumes designed by SCHNEIDER ANDERSON; Choreographed by JOSEPH C. SMITH; Directed by GEORGE MARION; Produced by MARC KLAW ..... The program also includes the credits for the National Tour engagement of the General LEW WALLACE and WILLIAM YOUNG dramatic spectacle "BEN-HUR" at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beginning February 23rd, 1920. (The Original Broadway production opened November 29th, 1899 at New York's Broadway Theatre and ran for 194 performances. The play would be revived five times on Broadway in the next seventeen years, would tour the United States, England and Australia for the next 21 years and would be seen by more than twenty million people.) ..... Based on General Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, the key spectacle of the show recreated the novel's chariot race with live horses and real chariots running on treadmills against a rotating backdrop. The play starred RICHARD BUHLER in the title role and featured CHARLES H. RIEGEL, JAMES BROWNING, FREDERICK A. ARTHUR, T. JEROME LAWLER, LESLIE STOWE, WILLIAM H. LEYDEN, JAMES W. HAYES, HARRY COWAN, EDGAR BRYDE, JOHN R. LINDSEY, GEORGE WILKES, ADRIEN BELLEVUE, CASSIUS C. QUIMBY, EARL N. PINGREE, FREDERICK S. WILSON, BISSELL PUTNAM, VIRGINIA HOWELL, PEGGY MAY, LAURA BURT, THERESE MEEHAN and STELLA BONIFACE WEAVER ..... CREDITS: Original Book by General LEW WALLACE; Arranged for the Stage by WILLIAM YOUNG; Vocal and Instrumental Music composed by EDGAR STILLMAN KELLEY; Scenery designed by ERNEST ALBERT and ERNEST GROS; Costumes designed by F. RICHARD ANDERSON; Directed by JOSEPH BROOKS; Produced by KLAW and ERLANGER ..... The program also includes the credits for the National Tour engagement of ROBERT B. MANTELL in a repertoire of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and other classics at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beginning February 23rd, 1920 ..... The engagement included performances of Shakespeare's "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE", "JULIUS CAESAR", "HAMLET", "MACBETH" and Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's "RICHELIEU" and each production starred Mr. ROBERT B. MANTELL, FRITZ LEIBER and Miss GENEVIEVE HAMPER. The remaining members of the company included ABRAHAM IVORY, C. PORTER HALL, VAUGHAN DEERING, GUY LINDSLEY, GEORGE WILSON, HENRY BUCKLER, JOHN ALEXANDER, GEORGE STILLWELL, FRANKLIN SALISBURY, EDWIN FOOS, EDWARD LEWERS, LAWRENCE KREY, THOMAS LEAR, VIRGINIA BRONSON, ROY CLIFFORD, LINLEY HUBBELL, GILBERT SELLS, JAMES GRAY, FRANCES LOUGHTON, GUY HAWKS, JAMES KEENE, CAROLINE CONNOR, BESSIE JAMES and FRANK BARRY ..... CREDITS: Book by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE; Sets designed by SIGNOR MOLTENI; Costumes designed by Miss GREHEA; Produced and Directed by ROBERT B. MANTELL ..... Side note: ROBERT B. MANTELL was the Great-Uncle of ANGELA LANSBURY ..... DETAILS: The 36 page program measures 5 1/2" X 7 7/8" inches and includes full production credits, cast lists, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers, promotional text and wonderful vintage advertising, but no cast photos or bios ..... CONDITION: With the exception of a vertical fold and moderate edge wear, this rare program is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
Sold on eBay April 1st, 2025
Three Stooges "A NIGHT IN VENICE Ted Healy / Shemp Howard 1929 Antique Playbill
Immerse yourself in the nostalgia of early 20th-century theater with this authentic Ted Healy - Three Stooges "A NIGHT IN VENICE" playbill. Featuring the comedic genius of Ted Healy and Moe and Shemp Howard and Larry Fine - this antique piece hails from the transformative era of 1920-1929, offering a glimpse into the vibrant Broadway musical revue scene of the time. Very rare Three Stooges collectible at the absolute beginning of their illustrious career. The addition of Larry Fine happened with this Play. Moe, Shemp and Larry were the first iteration of the Three Stooges. This is near impossible to find and in near mint condition. I hope it is a must have for a lucky fan. I welcome serious offers. Crafted in the United States, this original playbill is a treasure for collectors and enthusiasts alike. It represents not only a piece of entertainment history but also a tangible artifact from the Theater industry's golden age. A must-have for those who cherish the rich heritage of American performance art.
Sold on eBay Apr, 12th 2020
The Three Stooges "A NIGHT IN VENICE" Ted Healy / Moe Howard / Larry Fine 1929
This is a rare June 17th, 1929 playbill from theOriginal Broadway production of the musical revue "A NIGHT IN VENICE" at theSamS ShubertTheatre in New York City. (The production opened May 21st, 1929 and ran for 175 performances.) ..... The revue starred TED HEALY and featured SHEMP HOWARD, MOE HOWARD and LARRY FINE (original members of "The Three Stooges") ..... With staging by the legendary BUSBY BERKELY the production also starred ANN SEYMOUR and featuredMlles BETH & BETTY DODGE, ARTHUR & MORTON HAVEL, STANLEY ROGERS, VI
Sold on eBay February 17th, 2024
Huge lot of 317 BROADWAY PLAYBILLS from the 1990's to early 2000's
*** HUGE PRICE REDUCTION ***You're looking a HUGE lot of 317 of random official BROADWAY PLAYBILLS from the 1980's to early 2000's only. Dimension are roughly 8.5" x 5.5" in size. They cover theaters all over America, but mostly from the NYC area. These playbills are unique for the theatre and years of issue. In other words, there are no exact duplicates, but plays from the same theater for a different date with different cover and contents. Some have black & white cover pages while other have colorized cover pages. These programs are used, but in good vintage condition overall. Some of the programs are in better condition than others (none of them is complete beat up). The programs have imperfections such as: corner dings, creases, fold marks, writing (like a date on the show), sticker on cover page (with date), staple marks (from ticket stub), clear tape on corner of cover page, very small insignificant tears, minor cover page/spine wear, discoloration or staining due to age, and other similar imperfections. See pictures. Other minor flaws may be present. What you see is what you get. A few of these programs may come with original inserts. To be sold as a lot only. Great starter collection or opportunity to add to your playbill collection Here s a link to my UPS, USPS or FedEx Ground shipping within Continental US. Priority Mail international shipping is $300..Please ask any questions before making a purchase. Thanks and good luck! Complete list of programs in mostly alphabetical order:1.) After-Play (Theatre Four, March 1996)2.) Agnes Of God (Music Box, April 1982)3.) Ain't Misbehavin' (Ambassador, November 1988)4.) Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (City Center, December 1998)5.) Amadeus (Broadhurst, June 1983)6.) Amy's View (Ethel Barrymore, May 1999)7.) And The World Goes 'Round (Westside, November 1991)8.) Annie (Uris, August 1982)9.) Annie Get Your Gun (Marquis, February 2000)10.)Annie Get Your Gun (Marquis, January 2000)11 )Anything Goes (Lincoln Center At The Vivian Beaumont, June 1988)12 )Anything Goes (Lincoln Center At The Vivian Beaumont, July 1989)13.)Arms And The Man (Roundabout, May 1989)14.)Arms And The Man (Circle In The Square, 19 )15 )Aspects Of Love (Broadhurst, May 1990)16.)Baby (Ethel Barrymore, May 1984) Centennial Edition17.)Baby (Ethel Barrymore, March 1984)18.)Beauty Queen Of Leenane (Walter Kerr, November 1998)19.)Beauty Queen Of Leenane (Atlantic, April 1998)20.)Beauty And The Beast (Palace, January 1997)21.)Beauty And The Beast (Wang, July 1998)22 )Benefactors (Brooks Atkinson, January 1986)23.)Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, The (Eugene O'Neill, May 1982)24.)Biloxi Blues (Neil Simon, November 1985)25.)Biloxi Blues (Neil Simon, 19??)26.)Black And Blue (Minkoff, December 1989)27.)Blood Brothers (Music Box, July 1993)28.)Blue Window (Manhattan Club, February 1996)29 )Breaking Legs (Promenade, February 1992)30 )Brighton Beach Memoirs (Neil Simon, 19 )31 )Brighton Beach Memoirs (46th Street, 19 )32 )Broadway Jukebox (John Houseman, August 1990)33 )Broadway (Imperial, February 1990)34 )Broadway (John Houseman, July 1992)35 )Broadway Sound (Broadhurst, December 1986)36 )Cabaret (Roundabout At Studio 54, 19??)37.)Caine Munity Court-Martial, The (Circle In The Square, June 1983)38 )Caretaker The (Circle In The Square, February 1986)39 )Carousel (Lincoln Center At The Vivian Beaumont, May 1994) 40.)Catskills On Broadway (Lunt-Fontanne, January 1992)41 )Catskills On Broadway (Lyric Opera House, 19??)42.)Cats (Winter Garden, January 2000)43 )Chairs The (John Golden, May 1998)44 )Chicago (Colonial, December 1997)45 )Chicago (Richard Rodgers, November 1996)46 )Checkmates (46th Street, November 1998)47.)Chorus Line, A (Shubert, December 1995)48.)City Of Angels (Virginia, April 1990)49.)Come Back To The 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Martin Beck, March 1982)50.)Comedy Tonight (Lunt-Fontanne, December 1994)51 )Conversations With My Father (Royale, January 1993)52.)Corn Is Green, The (Lunt-Fontanne, September 1993)53.)Crazy For You (Shubert, October 1994)54.)Crazy For You (Shubert, July 1992) colorized55 )Crucible The (Belasco, 1992)56 )Current Events (Manhattan Theatre Club, May 2000)57.)Dance Theatre Of Harlem (City Center, January 1982)58 )Dancing At Lughnasa (Plymouth, April 1992)59.)Death Of A Salesman (Broadhurst, April 1994)60.)Death Of A Salesman (Eugene O'Neill. June 1999 61 )Devil s Disciple, The (Circle In The Square, January 1989)62.)Dinah Was (Gramercy, August 1998)63.)Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Opera House, March 2000)64.)Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Wilbur, April 1985)65 )Doctor s Dilemma (Roundabout, January 1990)66.)Doll's House, A (Belasco, May 1997)67 )Doubles (Ritz, 1985)68 )Dreamgirls (Merriam, )69 )Dreamgirls (Imperial, March 1982)70 )Dresser The (Brooks Atkinson, March 1982)71 )Driving Miss Daisy (John Houseman, December 1989)72 )Exactly Like You (York, April 1999)73.)Evita (Shubert, November 1982)74.)Evita (Colonial, May 1994)75.)Evita (Broadway, October 1982)76 )Father The (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, January 1996)77.)Fences (46th Street, December 1987)78.)Few Good Men, A (Music Box, November 1989)79 )Fiddler On The Roof (Gershwin, March 1991)80.)Five Guys Named Moe (Eugene O'Neill, March 1992)81 )Flowering Peach. The (Lyceum, March 1994)82.)Food Chain, The (Westside August 1995)83 )Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act! (Stardust, December 1998)84 )Forever Tango (Marquis, June 1998)85 )Forever Tango (Walter Kerr, January 1998)86.)84 Charis Cross Road (Nederlander, January 1983)87.)42nd Street (St. James, June 1988)88.)42nd Street (Shubert, June 1984)89.)42nd Street (Majestic, January 1982)90 )Footloose (Richard Rodgers, February 1999)91.)Fosse (Broadhurst, August 1999)92.)Four Dogs And A Bone (Lucille Lortel, June 1994)93 )Foxfire (Ethel Barrymore, November 1982)94 )Foxfire (Colonial, October 1982)95 )Frankie And Johnny In The Clair De Lune (Westside Arts, September 1988)96.)Fuddy Meers (Minetta Lane, February 2000)97 )Grandma Sylvia's Funeral (Soho Playhouse, January 1996)98.)G.B. Shaw's Getting Married (Circle In The Square, July 1991)99.)Ghosts (Brooks Atkinson, September 1982)100 )George M. Cohan's Give Me Regards To Broadway (Playhouse 91, July 1989)101.)Glass Menagerie, The (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, November 1994)102.)Grand Hotel The Musical (Martin Beck, May 1991)103.)Gross Indecency The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde (Minetta Lane (July 1998)104.)Guys And Dolls (Martin Beck, April 1993)105.)Guys In The Truck, The (New Apollo, June 1983)106.)H2$ (Richard Rodgers, December 1995)107.)Hay Fever (Music Box, March 1986)108.)Heidi Chronicles, The (Plymouth, April 1990)109.)Heidi Chronicles, The (Plymouth, May 1989)110 )Hello Dolly (Lunt-Fontanne, January 1996)111 )Hello Dolly (Lunt-Fontanne, October 1995)112 )Holiday Heart (Manhattan Club At City Center, April 1995)113 )Homecoming The (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, October 1991)114 )Hurrah At Last (Gramercy, June 1999)115 )Harrigan 'N Hart (Longacre, 1994)116.)Ian McKellen Acting Shakespeare (Ritz, January 1984)117.)Ice Cream With Hot Fudge (New York Shakespeare Festival, April 1990)118.)Ideal Husband, An (Ethel Barrymore, December 1996)119 )Impossible Marriage (Roundabout Criterion Center Laura Pels, October 1998)120 )Inside Out (Cherry Lane, November 1994)121.)Into The Woods (Martin Beck, July 1988)122 )Irish And How They Got That Way (Wilbur, March 1998)123.)Is There Life After High School? (Ethel Barrymore, April 1982)124.)Isn't It Romance (Walnut Street, November 1985)125 )Jackie (Belasco, February 1998)126 )Jackie Mason (Neil Simon, January 1991)127 )Jackie Mason's The World According To Me! (Brooks Atkinson, January 1987)128 )Jake s Women (Neil Simon, August 1992)129 )Jacques Brel Is Alive & Well & Living Paris (Arden, ?)130.)Jeffrey (Minetta Lane, May 1993)131 )Jekyll & Hude (Plymouth, July 1997)132 )Jekyll & Hyde (Plymouth, May 1998)133 )Jerry s Girls (St. James, February 1986)134.)Joe Turner's Come And Gone (Ethel Barrymore. April 1988)135 )Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Royale, Januar 1982)136 ) Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Minskoff, December 1993)137 )Joyicity (Actors' Playhouse, September 1982)138.)Judas Kiss, The (Broadhurst, June 1998)139.)June Moon (Variety Arts, February 1998)140.)Kat And The Kings (Cort, August 1999)141 )Kentucky Cycle, The (Royale, November 1993)142.)King And I, The (Neil Simon, May 1997)143.)King And I, The (Neil Simon, April 1996) colorized144 )Knife The (New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater, March 1987)145.)King Lear by William Shakespeare (Roundabout, October 1990)146.)Kiss Me Kate (Martin Beck, January 2000)147.)Kiss Of The Spider Woman (Broadhurst, June 1994)148.)Labor Day (Manhattan Theatre Club, June 1998)149.)La Cage Aux Folles (Palace, 1985)150 )Legends (Shubert, August 1986)151.)Les Miserables (Broadway, February 1988)152.)Les Miserables (Imperial, January 1996)153.)Les Miserables (Colonial, ?)154.)Lettice & Lovage (Ethel Barrymore, September 1990)155 )Lieutenant Of Inishmore (Atlantic Theater Company, March 2006)156.)Life On The Third Rail (Theatre At Saint Peter's Church, October 1990)157 )Lighthouse The (Boston Shakespeare, November 1983)158 )Lillian (Ethel Barrymore, February 1986)159.)Lips Together Teeth Apart (Manhattan Theatre Club At City Center (December 1991)160 )Little Family Business, A (Martin Beck, November 1982)161 )Little Hotel On The Side, A (Belasco, February 1992)162 )Little Like Magic, A (Lyceum, October 1986)163 )Little Me (Roundabout Theatre Company Criterion Center Stage Right, December 1998)164.)Long Day's Journey Into Night (Broadhurst, May 1986)165.)Lost In Yonkers (Richard Rodgers, March 1992)166.)Love Letters (Promenade, September 1989)167.)Love Thy Neighbor (Booth, December 1996)168.)M. (Eugene O'Neill, December 1988)169.)Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Cort, October 1984)170 )Machinal (New York Shakespear Festival Public Theater, October 1990)171.)Magic On Broadway (Lamb's, April 1997)172.)Mamma Mia! (Colonial, April 2003)173.)Man And Superman (Arden, October 1993)164.)Marie Christine (Lincoln Center At The Vivian Beaumont, December 1999)165 )Master Class (John Golden, October 1996)166 )Master Harold...And The Boys (Lyceum, August 1982)167 )Matchmaker The (Roundabout At The Haft Theater, July 1991)168.)Me And My Girl (Marquis, July 1987)169.)Medea (Longacre, June 1994)170 )Merchant Of Venice, The (46th Street, February 1990)171 )Merlin (Mark Hellinger, March 1983)172 )Misalliance (Roundabout Criterion Center Laura Pels, September 1997)173 )Misanthrope The (Circle In The Square, February 1983)174 )Miser The (Circle In The Square, December 1990)175.)Miss Saigon (Broadway, January 1998)176 )Mizlansky Zilansky Ar Schmucks (Manhattan Theatre Club, March 1998)177 )Moliere Comedies The School For Husbands The Imaginary Cuckold (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, February 1995)178.)Molly Sweeney (Roundabout Criterion Center Laura Pels, May 1996)179.)Month In The Country, A (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, May 1995)180.)Moon For The Misbegotten (Walter Kerr, May 2000)181 )Moonlight (Roundabout Criterion Center Laura Pels, December 1995)182.)Music Man, The (Neil Simon, June 2000)183.)Music Of The Night (Colonial, November 1996)184.)My One And Only (St. James, August 1983)185 )Mystery Of Edwin Drood, The (Imperial, January 1986)186 )National Theatre Magazine, The (NTM, December 1983)187 )National Theatre Magazine, The (NTM, January 1984)188 )National Theatre Magazine, The (NTM, November 1983)189 )National Theatre Magazine, The (NTM, March 1984)190 )National Theatre Magazine, The (NTM, September 1984)191 ) Night Mother (John Golden, July 1983)192.)Night And Her Stars (Manhattan Club At The American Place Theatre, April 1995)193.)Nine (46th Street, May 1983)194.)New England (Manhattan Theatre Club At City Center, December 1995)195.)No Man's Land (Roundabout Theatre Company Criterion Center Stage Right, March 1994)196.)Not About Nightingales (Circle In The Square, May 1999)197 )Noises Off (Brooks Atkinson, 1984)198 )Noises Off (Brooks Atkinson, May 1984) Centennial Edition199 )Nunsense (Charles Playhouse, ?)200.)Nunsense (Boston Shakespeare, November 1986)201 )Nunsense (Douglas Fairbanks, November 1991)202.)Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me..., The (Actor's Playhouse, June 1995)203.)Open Admissions (Music Box, February 1984)204 )Orpheus Descending (Neil Simon, December 1989)205 )Oedipus (Blue Light At CSC Theater, October 1998)206 )Othello (Winter Garden, January 1982)207.)Over The River And Through The Woods (John Houseman, July 1999)208.)Mo Show: Parallel Lives (Westside Arts, July 1989)209.)Park Your Car In Harvard Yard (Music Box, ?)210.)Passion (Plymouth, October 1994)211.)Penn & Teller Rot In Hell (John Houseman, August 1991)212.)Peter Nero And The Philly Pops (Academy Of Music, 1991)213 )Phantom Of The Opera (Majestic, September 1991)214 )Phantom Of The Opera (Wang, February 2001)215 )Phantom Of The Opera (Majestic, March 1997)216 )Philadelphia Here I Come (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, October 1994)217.)Piano Lesson, The (Walter Kerr, May 1990)218 )Picnic (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, April 1994)219.)Play Me A Country Song, A (Virginia, June 1982)220 )Plenty (Plymouth, February 1983)221 )Politically Correct (John Golden, July 1994)222.)Porgy And Bess (Radio City Music Hall, April 1983)223 )Pounding Nails (Minetta Lane, March 1994)224.)Power Plays (Promenade, October 1998)225 )Prelude To A Kiss (Helen Hayes, October 1990)226 )Present Laughter (Circle In The Square, July 1982)227 )Present Laughter (Walter Kerr, January 1997)228 )Present Laughter (Walter Kerr, February 1997)229 )Private Lives (Lunt-Fontanne, May 1983)230 )Privates On Parade (Roundabout, October 1989)231 )Producers The (Colonial, July 2003)232 )Price The (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right. July 1992)233.)Price Of Fame (Roundabout, June 1990)234.)Queen And The Rebels, The (Plymouth, October 1982)235 )Ragtime The Musical (Ford Center For The Performing Arts, January 2000)236 )Ragtime The Musical (Ford Center For The Performing Arts, November 1998)237.)Real Thing, The (Plymouth, 1984)238.)Red Diaper Baby (Actor's Playhouse, July 1992)239.)Rise Of David Levinsky, The (John Houseman, February 1987)240.)Road Show (Circle Repertory Company, June 1987)241.)Rose Tattoo, The (Circle In The Square, June 1995)242 )Salome (Circle In The Square, June 1992)243 )Scapin (Roundabout Criterion Center Laura Pels, December 1996) 244.)Scarlet Pimpernel, The (Minksoff, November 1998)245 )Scarlet Pimpernel, The (Minksoff, January 1998)246 )Search And Destroy (Circle In The Square, February 1992)247 )Search For intelligent Signs In The Universe, The (Plymouth, June 1986)248 )Secret Garden, The (St. James, February 1992)249 )Secret Rapture, The (New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater, September 1989)250 )Shadowlands (Brooks Atkinson, January 1991)251 )Shakespeare For My Father (Helen Hayes, April 1993)252 )Shirley Valentine (Booth, November 1989)253.)Show Boat (Lyric Opera House, 1982)254.)Show Boat (Gershwin, September 1996)255.)Side Show (Richard Rodgers, January 1998)256 )Singin In The Rain (Gershwin, 1985)257 )Sisters Rosensweig, The (Ethel Barrymore. July 1993)258.)Six Degrees Of Separation (Lincoln Center At The Mitzi E. Newhouse (September 1990)259.)Six Degrees Of Separation (Lincoln Center At The Vivian Beaumont, January 1991)260 )Smokey Joe's Cafe The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller (Virginia, December 1998)261 )Smokey Joe's Cafe The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller (Virginia, August 1995)262 )Social Security (Ethel Barrymore, September 1986)263 )Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Booth, February 1993)264 )Sophisticated Ladies (Lunt-Fontanne, June 1982)265.)Speed The Plow (Royale, August 1988)266.)Speed The Plow (Royale, November 1988)267.)Spunk (New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater, April 1990)268 )Starlight Express (Gershwin, August 1987) colorized269 )Starlight Express (Gershwin, October 1987)270 )Street Corner Symphony (Brooks Atkinson, November 1987)271 )Strike Up The Band (City Center, February 1998)272 )Steaming (Brooks Atkinson, January 1993)273.)Stomp (Wilbur, November 1997)274.)Stomp (Orpheum, May 1994)275 )Student s Prince, The (Playhouse 91, February 1989)276 )Streetcar Named Desire, A (Ethel Barrymore, May 1992)277.)Suds The Rocking 60's Musical Soap Opera (Criterion, November 1988)278 )Summer And Smoke (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Company, September 1996)279 )Taffetas (Village Gate Upstairs, February 1989)280.)Talk Radio (New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater, May 1987)281.)Tap Dance Kid, The (Minskoff, 1985)282.)Tap Dance Kid, The (Broadhurst, February 1984)283 )Tempest The (Roundabout, October 1989)284 )Tenderloin (City Center, March 2000)285.)Texts For Nothing (Joseph Papp, ?)286.)Three Birds Alighting On A Field (Manhattan Theatre Club At City Center, February 1994) 287.)Three Days Of Rain (Manhattan Theatre Club, December 1997)288.)Three Tall Women (Promenade, April 1994)289.)Tis Pity She's A Whore (New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater, April 1992)290 )Titanic (Lunt-Fontanne, May 1998)291.)Torch Song Trilogy (Little Theatre, July 1982)292.)Torch Song Trilogy (Helen Hayes, 1985)293 )Treatment The (Joseph Rapp, November 1993)294.)Tru (Booth, March 1990)295.)Twice Around The Park (Cort, November 1982)296.)Two Trains Running (Walter Kerr, June 1992)297.)Wake Of Jamey Foster, The (Eugene O'Neill, October 1982)298.)Water Engine, The (Atlantic, October 1999)299 )What s Wrong With This Picture? (Brooks Atkinson, December 1994)300 )Welcome To The Club (Music Box, April 1989)301 )Whoop Dee Doo (Actors' Playhouse, September 1993)302 )Whoopi Goldberg (Lyceum, 1984)303.)Who's Tommy (St. James, September 1993)304.)Woman Of The Year (Palace, August 1982)305.)Woman Of The Year (Palace, February 1982)306 )Wonderful Town (Al Hirschfeld, January 2004)307.)World According To Me, The (Brooks Atkinson, April 1987)308 )Unidentified Himan Remains And The True Nature Of Love (Orpheum, October 1991)309 )Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom And Sleeping Beauty Or Coma (Provincetown Playhouse, January 1989)310 )Victor Victoria (Marquis, January 1996)311.)View From The Bridge, A (Ambassador, April 1983)312 )Visit The (Roundabout Criterion Center Stage Right, January 1992)313.)Vita & Virginia (Union Square, January 1995)314.)Will Rogers Follies A Life In The Revue (Palace, June 1991)315 )Years The (Manhattan Theatre Club At City Center, January 1993)316.)You Can't Take It With You (Plymouth, April 1983)317.)You Never Can Tell (Circle In The Square, November 1986)318.)Your Arms Too Short To Box With God (Alvin, October 1982)319.)Zorba (Broadway, December 1983)
Sold on eBay Nov 24, 2021
Antique Edwin Booth WALNUT STREET THEATRE RARE Theater Playbill Broadside 1869
Antique Edwin Booth WALNUT STREET THEATRE RARE Theater Playbill Broadside 1869. Measures 9â? x 5 1/2â? In good condition some toning and small amounts of damage shown in photos. Lady of lions, Richelieu, Much Ado About Nothing, Merchant of Venice all with Edwin Booth as the lead . Booth was The famous actor brother of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth . Thanks for looking! I will be listing more of the same in the next coming weeks including a signed autographed cabinet card of Booth . Cheers, Sophie
Sold on eBay August 22nd, 2023
*STAGE LEGENDS EDWIN BOOTH HENRY IRVING ELLEN TERRY RARE 1881 OTHELLO PROGRAM*
It's one of the most historic productions in the history of the stage. A rare original May 6, 1881 second night program for Edwin Booth, Henry Irving, and Ellen Terry in Othello at the Lyceum Theatre. Booth and Irving alternated Othello and Iago, with Booth here playing Othello in the first week of the run. Future playwright Arthur Wing Pinero plays Roderigo. Future Dracula author Bram Stoker is listed as acting manager. Four pages. Dimensions eight and a quarter by six and a quarter inches. Light wear, light fold, and soiling otherwise good. See the Edwin Booth, Henry Irving, and Ellen Terry's extraordinary biographies below. Ships first class insured in US and airmail overseas. Shipping discounts for multiple purchases. Inquiries always welcome. Please visit my other eBay items for more early theatre, opera, film, magic, and historical autographs, photographs, programs and broadsides and great actor and actress cabinet photos and CDV's. From Wikipedia: The Booth family was an English American theatrical family of the 19th century. Its most famous and well known members were Edwin Booth, one of the leading actors of his day, and John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. The patriarch was Junius Brutus Booth, a London-born lawyer's son who eventually became an actor after he attended a production of Othello at the Covent Garden theatre. The prospects of fame, fortune and freedom were very appealing to young Booth, and he displayed remarkable talent from an early age, deciding on a career in the theatre by the age of seventeen. He performed roles in several small theaters throughout England, and joined a tour of the Low Countries in 1814, returning the following year to make his London debut. Booth abandoned his wife and their young son in 1821 and ran off to the United States with Mary Ann Holmes, a London flower girl. They settled in Harford County near Baltimore, and built a house named "Tudor Hall" in 1847, which still survives. There they started a family; they had ten children, six of whom survived to adulthood [1][2] Junius Sr. and Edwin toured the Western United States during the Gold Rush, performing plays by Shakespeare for illiterate miners, who nevertheless had no tolerance for bad acting. Edwin Booth bought an interest in the Winter Garden Theatre at 667 Broadway in New York City together with his brother-in-law John Sleeper Clarke. The brothers John Wilkes, Edwin, and Junius Brutus, Jr. performed there in the play Julius Caesar at a benefit in 1864, the only time they were seen together on a stage, playing Mark Antony, Brutus and Cassius, respectively. Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was a famous 19th-century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time.[2] Some theatrical historians consider him the greatest American actor, and the greatest Hamlet, of the 19th century.[3] However, his achievements are often overshadowed by his relationship with his brother, John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), born John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility (supervision of sets, lighting, direction, casting, as well as playing the leading roles) for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as representative of English classical theatre. In 1895 he became the first actor to be awarded a knighthood, indicating full acceptance into the higher circles of British society.Irving is widely acknowledged to be one of the inspirations for Count Dracula, the title character of the 1897 novel Dracula whose author, Bram Stoker, was business manager of the theatre.Dame Alice Ellen Terry, GBE (27 February 1847[1] – 21 July 1928), known professionally as Ellen Terry,[2] was a renowned English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured throughout the British provinces in her teens. At 16, she married the 46-year-old artist George Frederic Watts, but they separated within a year. She soon returned to the stage but began a relationship with the architect Edward William Godwin and retired from the stage for six years. She resumed acting in 1874 and was immediately acclaimed for her portrayal of roles in Shakespeare and other classics.In 1878 she joined Henry Irving's company as his leading lady, and for more than the next two decades she was considered the leading Shakespearean and comic actress in Britain. Two of her most famous roles were Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. She and Irving also toured with great success in America and Britain.In 1903 Terry took over management of London's Imperial Theatre, focusing on the plays of George Bernard Shaw and Henrik Ibsen. The venture was a financial failure, and Terry turned to touring and lecturing. She continued to find success on stage until 1920, while also appearing in films from 1916 to 1922. Her career lasted nearly seven decades.
Sold on eBay July 24th, 2023
*D'OYLY CARTE RARE 1886 GILBERT & SULLIVAN HOLLIS STREET THEATRE MIKADO PROGRAM*
A rare original March 1886 D'Oyly Carte Hollis Street Theatre, Boston program for Gilbert and Sullivan's brilliant comic light opera The Mikado, with Richard Mansfield as Ko-Ko. Four pages on card stock. Dimensions nine and three quarters by seven and a half inches. Light edgewear and a few small tears otherwise good. See the stories of The Mikado and Richard Mansfield below. Shipping discounts for multiple purchases. Inquiries always welcome. Please visit my other eBay items for more early theatre, opera, film and historical autographs, photographs and programs and great actor and actress cabinet photos and CDV's. From Wikipedia: The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, which was the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time.[1][n 1] Before the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing the opera.[2]The Mikado remains the most frequently performed Savoy Opera, and it is especially popular with amateur and school productions. The work has been translated into numerous languages and is one of the most frequently played musical theatre pieces in history.Setting the opera in Japan, an exotic locale far away from Britain, allowed Gilbert to satirise British politics and institutions more freely by disguising them as Japanese. Gilbert used foreign or fictional locales in several operas, including The Mikado, Princess Ida, The Gondoliers, Utopia, Limited and The Grand Duke, to soften the impact of his pointed satire of British institutions Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.Life and careerMansfield was born in Berlin and spent his early childhood on Heligoland, Germany, an island in the North Sea, then under British rule. His parents were Hermine Küchenmeister Rudersdorf a Russian-born operatic soprano, and Maurice Mansfield, a British London-based wine merchant (died 1861). His grandfather was the violinist Joseph Rudersdorff [1][2] Mansfield was educated at Derby School, in Derby, England, where he studied painting in London. His mother took him to America, where she was performing, but he returned to England at age 20. Finding that he could not make a living as a painter, he gained some success as a drawing-room entertainer, eventually moving into acting.[3]Early career, D'Oyly Carte and first London was well known in the dual roles of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeHe first appeared on the stage at St. George's Hall, London, in the German Reed Entertainments and then turned to light opera, joining Richard D'Oyly Carte's Comedy Opera Company in 1879 to appear as Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore on tour. He continued to play the Gilbert and Sullivan comic "patter" roles on tour in Britain until 1881. Mansfield created the role of Major General Stanley in the single copyright performance of The Pirates of Penzance in Paignton, England, in 1879. In addition to Sir Joseph and the Major General, in 1880 he also began to play John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer.[3]He left the D'Oyly Carte company in 1881, returned to London, and soon made his London debut in Jacques Offenbach's La boulangère. He played several further roles in London and then travelled to America in 1882, where he made his Broadway debut as Dromez in Bucalossi's Les Manteaux Noirs with a D'Oyly Carte touring company. He then played the roles of Nick Vedder and Jan Vedder in another D'Oyly Carte production, Robert Planquette's Rip Van Winkle (1882) [3]Mansfield then appeared in Baltimore, Maryland, with another D'Oyly Carte troupe, as the Lord Chancellor in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe in December 1882. He suffered a bad ankle sprain only two days later, however, and left the production, returning to New York. In 1883 he joined A. M. Palmer's Union Square theatre company in New York, and made a hit as Baron Chevrial in A Parisian Romance. Mansfield's portrayal of Chevrial, a "realistic exhibition of depravity in dotage, by a young and comparatively unknown actor, was a surprise to the public, the managers, and the critics, and soon became a town topic."[1] He next played the role of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner in The Mikado, in Boston in early 1886, his last production with a D'Oyly Carte cast.[3]He appeared successfully in an original play, Prince Karl, and in several plays adapted from well-known stories, and his 1887 rendering of the title characters in Thomas Russell Sullivan's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for Palmer's company at Madison Square Theatre, only a year after publication of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella, created a profound impression.[4] It was with this play that he made his London reputation during the 1888 season at the Lyceum Theatre, by invitation of Henry Irving. He also reprised the role in Broadway revivals [5]Actor producerMansfield as English king Richard III, c. 1889Mansfield continued his acting career but had also begun a career as a theatrical manager in America in 1886. He produced the play Richard III in 1889 at the Globe Theatre. He was back on Broadway in 1890 in Beau Brummell (he reprised this role several times).[6] He was one of the earliest to produce George Bernard Shaw's plays in America, appearing in 1894 as Bluntschli in Arms and the Man, and as Dick Dudgeon in The Devil's Disciple in 1897. The latter production was the first Shaw production to turn a profit. As a manager and producer of plays, Mansfield was known for his lavish staging. He often produced, starred in (often opposite his wife), and directed plays on Broadway, sometimes also writing under the pseudonym Meridan Phelps. His other Broadway roles in the 1890s included Napoleon Bonaparte (1894), the title role in The Story of Rodion, the Student (1895), Sir John Sombras in Castle Sombras (1896), Eugen Courvoisier in The First Violin (1898 and 1988), the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1898 and 1899).[5]He began the new century on Broadway in the title role in King Henry V (1900), followed by the title character in Monsieur Beaucaire, Brutus in Julius Caesar (1902), Karl Heinrich in Old Heidelberg (1903 and 1904), and roles in Ivan the Terrible (1904), A Parisian Romance (1904 and 1905), The Merchant of Venice (1905), Richard III (1905), Alceste in The Misanthrope (1905), The Scarlet Letter (1906) and Don Carlos (1906), among others. He continued to perform until his final year. One of his last performances, just a few months before his death, was the title role in a Broadway production of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, the play's U.S. premiere [5]Mansfield s popularity as a Shakespearean actor was immense. Upon his death, The New York Times stated: "As an interpreter of Shakespeare, he had no living equal in his later days, as witnessed by the princely grace, the tragic force of his Richard, his thrilling acting in the tent scene of "Caesar", the soldierly dignity and eloquence of his Prince Hal, and the pathos of the prayer in that play. He was the greatest actor of his hour, and one of the greatest of all times [3]Mansfield died in New London, Connecticut, in 1907 at age 50, from liver cancer [5]Suspected in Jack the Ripper caseMansfield lecturing in St. Louis in 1906; illustration by Marguerite MartynMansfield was performing in the London production of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1888 during the time that Jack the Ripper was murdering women in London. One frightened theatre-goer wrote to the police accusing Mansfield of the murders because he could not believe that any actor could make so convincing a stage transformation from a gentleman into a mad killer without being homicidal. Mansfield attempted to gain public favour and stem the criticism that he was receiving by offering a performance of the comedy Prince Karl for the benefit of the Suffragan Bishop of London's home and refuge fund for reformed prostitutes.
Sold on eBay September 17th, 2023
*GREAT JAPANESE ACTORS OTOJIRO KAWAKAMI & SADO YACCO RARE 1900 NEW YORK PROGRAM*
A rare original March 1900 Bijou Theatre, New York program clip for the great Japanese actors Otojiro Kawakami & Sado Yacco in Scarlet Snow and Teijo, the Loyal Wife. Dimensions twelve by four and thre quarters inches, mounted to a twelve by nine inch Victorian album page. Light wear otherwise good. See Otojiro Kwakami's extraordinary biography below. Ships first class insured in US and airmail overseas. Shipping discounts for multiple purchases. Inquiries always welcome. Please visit my other eBay items for more early theatre, opera, film, magic, and historical autographs, photographs, programs and broadsides and great actor and actress cabinet photos and CDV's. From Wikipedia: Kawakami Otojir? (?? ???, 8 February 1864 – 11 November 1911) was a Japanese actor and comedian.Early lifeKawakami was born in present-day Hakata-ku, Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu, "the second son of a second son" of a merchant family.[1]: p54 At age eleven his mother died, and when he didn't get along with his stepmother he stowed away on a cargo ship to Osaka.[1]: p54 Taking odd jobs to support himself, at eighteen he became a policeman in Kyoto.[1]: p54 "Shortly after that, fired by the political turmoil and the strident calls for democracy, he had joined Itagaki Taisuke's Liberal party (Liberal Party of Japan (1881)) as a radical, rabble-rousing soshi agitator Soon his scurrilous tongue and subversive speeches were getting him into trouble. He was arrested time and time again- a hundred and eighty times in all, he bragged. At nineteen he was banned from speaking in public in Kyoto for a year and from using the name "Liberty Kid" (????). He also went to prison six times."[1]: pp54-55 was inspired to start his own acting troupe after receiving acting training under a rakugo master [1]: p55 and after seeing the shosei shibai ("student theater" or "amateur theater") of fellow activist Sadanori Sudo, which "aimed at being realistic, just like in the West, and thus could claim to be following government directives to be as Western as possible in every possible way. … Far from being career-driven professionals, like the kabuki actors, they portrayed themselves as romantic, devil-may-care bohemians. Their amateur status freed them from all the constraints and conventions of the traditional theater."[1]: pp55-56 Under the influence of philosopher Chomin Nakae, Kawakami began staging theatre productions as an outlet for his political views.In 1888, Kawakami developed a satirical song that would make him famous.[2] At the end of his troupe's play "The true story of our Itagaki's disaster" (based on a failed 1882 assassination of the aforementioned Itagaki) "a lone figure wearing a jaunty white headband swaggered out and with a flourish knelt in macho samurai-style, his knees spread wide apart, in front of a gold leaf screen...He was wearing a red samurai surcoat with exaggerated pointed shoulders above a plaid men's kimono Flourishing a black fan emblazoned with a red rising sun...while a rhythmic shamisen strummed, he spat out the words in a husky rapid-fire patter, improvising verses as he went along. He sneered at the government, the rich, and the kind of people who dressed in Western clothes, aped Western ways, and spent all their money on geisha....The catchy chorus Oppekepe imitated the sound of a bugle or a trumpet:In these days when the price of rice is rising,You completely ignore the plight of the poor.Covering your eyes with tall hats,Wearing gold rings and watches,You bow to men of influence and positionAnd spend your money on geisha and entertainers. …If you think you can get to ParadiseBy … using a bribe when you encounterThe King of Hades in hell, you'll never make it!Oppekeppe, oppekepeppo, peppoppo.[1]: pp52-53 Impressed by this troupe, then-Prime Minister It? Hirobumi invited them to a private party where he would introduce Kawakami to one of his favorite geisha, the woman her Western fans would later dub Sada Yacco.[1]: pp57-58 From January to May 1893, under the suggestion of a mutual friend Baron Kentaro Kaneko, Otojir? traveled to Paris to study European theater and learn how to improve his troupe's success.[1]: pp62-64 The innovations he instituted on his return, from lighting nothing but the stage and using only electric lights to using only light coatings of makeup and speaking naturally, "could no longer be dismissed as 'student theater.' It was a radical new drama in its own right—New Wave theater, shinpa."[1]: p64 Five months after his return, he and Sada Yacco were married.[1]: p64 "Otojir? had a genius for giving the public what it wanted. He had a string of hits with some spine-tingling melodramas based on contemporary events. … But he could never break free of his money problems. Right in the middle of a successful run his debtors would appear with a demand or bailiffs would come to seize some of his property."[1]: p65 In an attempt to overcome his financial problems, Otojir? decided to construct his own theater the Kamakami-za, "one of Japan's very first modern theaters, designed on the French model with electric lighting throughout and no hanamichi … instead of being open and welcoming like an old-style Japanese theater, with slatted wooden doors that slid out of the way and an upper floor displaying colorful posters of the latest production, it was a hefty three-story brick-and-stone building in the Palladian style with narrow doors, small windows, and a large auditorium. Emblazoned on the proscenium arch above the stage, framed within a frieze of chrysanthemums, was the legend THEATRE KAWAKAMI."[1]: pp68, 72 With a deposit of fifty thousand yen,[1]: p68 it took three years to construct and had its grand opening on June 6, 1896.[1]: pp68, 72 Political campaignDespite their success, the newly named Kawakami Theatre Troupe was still beset with debt. Otojir? thus decided to run for the Japanese Diet. Moving the couple to "a six-sided Western-style house" in the village of Omori,[1]: p78 Kawakami threw a large outdoor campaign celebration and courted the wealthy landowners and geisha of the area, even employing his wife to contact her previous geisha clients.[1]: pp78-79 "The press, however, was implacably hostile. Here was he, a riverbed beggar, an outcast, barely human, daring to think of sullying the purity of parliament with his presence. Even national papers targeted his small local campaign."[1]: p79 The negative press would ultimately lead to Otojir?'s defeat, putting the Kawakamis even deeper in debt.[1]: p80 "Desperately depressed,"[1]: p81 the couple decided to buy a small sailboat and escape to Kobe. At each village they stopped at they would exchange stories for lodging.[1]: p86 The newspapers, catching wind of this, reported on the couple with such furor that upon their arrival in Kobe large crowds gathered to greet them.[1]: p87 Adding to the sensation was Otojir?, who, being "an inveterate self-publicist, sent off letters to the papers reporting their progress and declaring that they were on their way to Korea or possibly Shanghai, to board a ship for Europe."[1]: p86 First overseas tour in Kobe, the couple met Japanese impresario Kushibiki Yumindo, who, hoping to improve his business providing all things Japanese to the West, offered to sponsor their theater troupe on a tour across the United States.[1]: p88 They immediately accepted and gathered a troupe, setting sail for San Francisco April 30, 1899.[1]: p91 Over the next two years, the Kawakami troupe would tour theaters in the United States, London, and Paris, becoming the first Japanese theatre company to ever tour the West.Otojir?, no doubt in consultation with Yakko, had pondered long and hard about what would best suit Western audiences. New Wave drama depended on language and was too tied to current events to travel well. Instead he presented some of the most famous and well-loved scenes from kabuki plays. These were timeless and would be exotic for what he judged to be Western taste. He cut back the dialogue, which, being in Japanese, would be to the audience, and beefed up the visual elements, putting in plenty of dancing, exciting sword fights, and comic interludes.He also simplified the plays and cut them to digestible lengths. When the troupe performed to Japanese audiences, two plays had taken up the entire day. For the Americans he had crammed four into two and a half hours. … Otojir? was later panned for having offered up bastardized kabuki to Western audiences. But his changes, though radical, were not entirely outside the spirit of the traditional theater…. In the past kabuki had been every bit as subversive as Otojir?’s New Wave theater.”[1]: p98 RepertoireIn San Francisco, the troupe performed four pieces:The Duel (Sayaate Clashing Swordhilts") – two samurai, one handsome and heroic and one comic (Otojir?), fight for the attention of the same Yoshiwara courtesan (Yakko)The Royalist (Kusunoki or Kojima Takanori) – a patriotic drama with "vividly realistic fights. It ended with a dramatic battle in which swords flashed and the actors leapt around, performing agile judo throws."[1]: pp99-118 The Maiden at D?j?-ji Temple (Musume D?j?-ji) – a woman (Yakko) is scorned by a monk and, pursuing him to a temple, kills him in her furyDewey Day Celebration on the Pine-Fringed Shores of Miho (Miho no Matsubara) – a series of folk dances celebrating Admiral George Dewey "who had overseen the destruction of a Spanish flotilla in Manila Bay at the start of the War the previous year"[1]: p100 For their first performance in Chicago, the group performed "The Royalist" and "The Maiden" to great success.[1]: pp118-119 By the time the troupe arrived in Boston, they had developed Geisha and the Knight, a pastiche that became a universal success throughout America and Europe. As Sadayakko remembered it, "It was a queer mixture of Japanese plays, but it appealed to the American mind with love, and delighted with our gorgeous costumes."[1]: p125 "The Geisha and the Knight," also billed in mock Japanese as Geisha to Somaray, was the highlight of their repertoire. It was a stroke of genius—a knitting together of The Duel (Sayaate) and the hugely popular Dojoji to make a single drama. The new play embodied all their choreographed fight scenes, humor, split-second costume changes, and gorgeous scenery. Above all it provided the perfect showcase for Yakko's exquisite dancing and spine-tingling death scene.The first act, "The Duel," is set in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, before a spectacular backdrop showing a street of wooden teahouses fading in sharp perspective into the distance. Cherry trees laden with brilliant pink blossoms adorn the stage. A beautiful geisha has rejected the advances of a boorish samurai named Banza in favor of her true love, Nagoya. Banza challenges Nagoya, striking his sword hilt. A fierce battle ensues between the two samurai and their bands of retainers, with plenty of energetic sword play, hand-to-hand combat, and acrobatic throws.For the second act, "Dojoji," Yakko's piece de resistance, had been subtly altered so as to merge seamlessly with the first. The backdrop was the temple courtyard with a great bell covered by a tiled roof and mountains in the background. There the geisha has discovered that Nagoya is betrothed to another. He and his bride-to-be have fled into the temple grounds. She dances before the gates, trying to seduce the monks into allowing her to pass. Then the bride-to-be appears and the geisha tries to kill her, but is prevented by the samurai. Loosing her luxuriant waist-length tresses, which fly about like a lion's mane, she turns into a raging fury and dies of a broken heart in her lover's arms.[1]: pp125-126 Second overseas tour and Yakko, eager to tour Europe once again, organized a new acting troupe of twenty actors, including a female actress and four geisha. On April 10, 1901 the troupe set sail for London, arriving on June 4 of the same year.[1]: p184 After touring several cities in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Spain, France, and Belgium, the troupe returned to Japan on August 19, 1902.[1]: p203 Later years"In the West the pair had introduced Japanese plays in a palatable form with stunning success. Now they intended to repeat that success at home, by introducing Western plays in a palatable form to Japanese audiences. Having already produced their own Merchant of Venice to surprising acclaim in the West...the couple wanted to make Shakespeare's powerful dramas accessible to everyone. With these startingly new, realistic, and up to the minute plays, they hoped to lure into the theater new audiences, who had been put off by the stylization and old-fashioned forms of kabuki."[1]: pp205-206 Performances included revised versions of Othello[1]: p206 and Hamlet,[1]: p211 as well as the German play The Trial of the Fox for the newly created otogi shibai( fairy tale theater") for children.[1]: p214 When the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, the Kawakami Troupe produced The Battle Report Drama based on what troupe members themselves observed on the front.[1]: p216 "In 1906 Yakko starred in Maurice Maeterlinck's Monna Vanna, the dramatic tragedy of a suffragette-era New Woman. She also played Dona Rafaele in Patrie! (play) by Victorien Sardou, the author of Tosca. Both were parts that Sarah Bernhardt had made her own. Yakko, still Japan's sole actress, was determined to prove herself worthy of her billing as 'the Sarah Bernhardt of Japan.'"[1]: p219 In July 1907, Otojir? and Yakko assembled a group of eight to study in Paris "every aspect of Western theater —theater design, stage management, scenery, props, music, and acting techniques.[1]: pp220-221 Upon their return the next May, the Kawakamis established two new institutions: the Imperial Actress Training Institute, the country's first school of aspiring actresses, and the Imperial Theatre in Osaka to permanently house the troupe,[1]: p224 opening February 15, 1910.[1]: p233 "It was a magnificently playful piece of architecture, like an Edwardian music hall transposed to Japan and embellished with Japanese flourishes. Built of brick and stone, it had decorative mock-Ionic pillars, three imposing arched entranceways topped with balconies, and a motif of the rising sun in white stone splashed across the rounded tops of the windows at either end of the building. Inside there was an area of tatami matting and rows of rather hard wooden benches. The upper circles were narrow, like promenade circles, with swagged velvet drapes reminiscent of the Criterion Theatre, where the troupe had performed in London. The domed ceiling was adorned with curvaceous Art Nouveau motifs. The curtain featured an elaborate portrayal of a Shinto goddess performing an erotic dance, a famous scene from Japanese mythology. The lighting and stage machinery were the very latest Western imports but there was also a hanamichi walkway, a revolving stage, and an orchestra box, as in a kabuki theater. It was Japan's most up to the minute theater."[1]: p233 After a week of dance performances by Sadayakko and her acting institute, the Imperial Theater hosted a loose adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days, a science fiction piece entitled Star Worlds (to show off the theater's new lighting technology), an adaptation of The Student Prince, and La Dame aux Camelias featuring Yakko as Margeurite.[1]: pp233-234 DeathDuring the summer of 1911 the Kawakami Troupe embarked on a tour of Japan. Upon their return to Osaka, while working on an adaptation of An Enemy of the People, Otojir? began to suffer from a swelling abdomen.[1]: p235 "Complaining of dreadful weakness and nausea," Otojir? was diagnosed with abdominal dropsy with complications from inflammation of his appendix area. (Otojir? had had his appendix removed while performing in Boston, but would suffer from pain and inflammation in that area for many years after.[1]: p233 )Despite abdominal surgery, Otojir? fell into a coma after several days[1]: p237 and it was revealed that the inflammation had spread to his brain.[1]: p237 At 3 AM on November 11, seeming to be on the point of death, Otojir? was carried from the hospital to the Imperial Theatre at Yakko's request.[1]: p237 There on the stage, surrounded by his wife, son Raikichi, relatives, and fellow Kawakami actors, he would die three hours later.[1]: p238 Otojir? was buried at Jotenji, a Zen temple on the outskirts of Hakata.[1]: p243 A lock of his hair was buried at Sengakuji, the Kawakami family temple.[1]: p248 Sengakuji was also to be the site of a near life-size bronze statue Sada had commissioned of him; however, "the local worthies were horrified. They did not want a statue of a 'riverbed beggar' defiling their revered temple. It would be a pernicious influence on children, they protested, who might even think of following the same disgraceful profession [1]: p248 It would not be until September 1914 that the statue would instead be erected at Tokyo's Yanaka Ceemetery,
Sold on eBay January 28th, 2025
Playbills (Broadway and Off Broadway)
I have Playbills from hundreds of Broadway and Off Broadway shows from the past 25 years moslty. They’re almost all in excellent condition. The listed price is for each individual Playbill (see list below). Please specify which Playbill you want. Or we can come to an agreement for reduced per-item pricing if you’d like to purchase multiple ones. Some of the more popular ones may have higher special pricing. I’ll mail them the least expensive way to keep your costs low or if you’re in NYC, I can arrange pickup or to meet you somewhere. Obviously, if you buy multiple Playbills, I bundle them together to keep shipping costs at a minimum. Not looking to make money on shipping so happy to refund you any overage in what you pay for shipping with what I actually end up paying for shipping (postage and packaging). If you have any questions, please contact me!PLAYBILLS and Off Broadway PLAYBILLS:& Juliet1984The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee33 on Shook UpAmerican in America Osage CountyAvenue and the Behanding in SpokaneBengal Tiger at the Baghdad ZooBig FishBilly ElliotBlithe SpiritBloody Bloody Andrew JacksonBoeing BoeingBrian Stokes Mitchell Love/LifeThe Bridges of Madison County Brighton Beach MemoirsBring It OnBullets Over BroadwayCatch Me If You CanA Chorus ParkCome From Away Company (2020)Company (2006)The CottageThe Country GirlCult of at SeaThe Dancer’s Life Dear Evan Rotten ScoundrelsDisaster Don’t Dress for DinnerDriving Miss DaisyDrowsy ChaperoneEnd of the RainbowEquus EvitaExit the KingThe Farnsworth on the RoofFinding Gentleman’s Guide to Love and MurderThe Glass Menagerie (2014)God of Great Comet of 1912Guys & DollsGypsy (Patti on a and the Angry InchHello, DollyHighThe HomecomingThe House of Blue LeavesHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Ratcliffe)If ThenThe Importance of Being Only A PlayJersey BoysJesus Christ AkimboKinky BootsThe King & IKing Charles IIILa BetrLa Cage Aux Folles (Hodge)Leap of FaithLend Me A TenorA Life in the TheatreThe Light in the PiazzaLion KingThe Little Dog LaughedA Little Night MusicLittle Shop of Letters Mamma MiaManilow on BroadwayMary GirlsMemphis The Miracle WorkerA Moon for the RougeMovin’ OutMrs Warren’s ProfessionThe Mystery of Edwin DroodThe NapNext FallNext to NormalThe Normal Odd CoupleOh, MaryOn the TownOnceOnce On This and the of the of Penzanxe (City Center)The Play That Goes WrongPresent Queen of the DesertThe ProducersRadio City Christmas Speaking RentRock of AgesRockySchool of RockThe Scottsboro BoysShatner’s ActSix Degrees of RottenSondheim on SondheimSouth PacificSpeed the PlowSpider-man: Turn Off the DarkSpring AwakeningSpring Awakening (Deaf West)Sunday in the Park With George Sunset Boulevard (Close)Sunset Boulevard Superior DonutsSwan Lake (City Center)Sweet Championship SeasonTime Stands StillTootsieThe Boys (Met Opera)The and Sonia and Masha and SpikeVenus in FurA View from the Bridge (Van Hove)The VisitWaiting for Godot (Nathan Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Letts)The Wedding SingerWest Side Story (Jeremy Xanadu Young FrankensteinOFF BROADWAY PLAYBILLS:All in the TimingAltar Boyz Angels in America Around the World in 80 DaysThe Bald Soprano & The LessonBig BillBloody Bloody Andrew JacksonBob & Carol & Ted & Alice The Break of of a Mormon BoyCookin’The Cripple of InishmaanCurvy WidowDie Mommie DieDisaster DisenchantedThe Divine Dead: The MusicalFatal Attraction: A Greek Broadway: Special Victims UnitThe Love You, You’re Perfect, Now ChangeThe KidLittle Miss SunshineLittle Shop of HorrorsLives of the SaintsLucky GuyThe Merchant of Venice (Abraham)A Midsummer Night’s DreamMurder for TwoThe Musical of Musicals: The MusicalThe Mystery of Irma VepNaked Boys SingingThe Normal HeartOld HatsPuppet Titus AndronicusRated P for School for LiesScotland, PAToxic Tribute ArtistThe Woodsman
Sold on eBay Jul 11, 2021
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Full Cast Russell Tovey Signed Opening Night Playbill
This extremely rare Opening Night Playbill has been autographed by the full cast of Russell Tovey (Being Human, Doctor Who, The History Boys, Looking), Mark Strong (Kick-Ass, The Imitation Game, Low Winter Sun, Sherlock Holmes), Nicola Walker (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Last Tango in Halifax, Spooks, Touching Evil), Phoebe Fox (Black Mirror, The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, The Hollow Crown), Michael Gould (In Extremis, The Bletchley Circle, Waking the Dead), Thomas Michael Hammond (Lucky Guy, The Merchant of Venice, Death of a Salesman), Richard Hansell (Miracle Lan
Sold on eBay Jul 13, 2022
AL PACINO LILY RABE signed MERCHANT OF VENICE playbill Broadway Autograph NYC
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for AL PACINO LILY RABE signed MERCHANT OF VENICE playbill Broadway Autograph NYC at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
Sold on eBay September 19th, 2023
*EDWIN BOOTH RARE 1869 THEATRE PROGRAM Walnut Theatre Merchant of Venice
Edwin Booth playbill broadside Merchant of Venice October 2 1869 Walnut Street Theatre Philadelphia. Condition as shown check out the other 19th c theater related ephemera I will be listing in the coming week. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Sophie.
Sold on eBay Sep 20, 2022
Edwin Booth Lawrence Barrett Othello Merchant Of Venice Playbill Program 1890
Edwin Booth Lawrence Barrett Othello Merchant Of Venice Playbill Program 1890. Park theatre . Ticket glued on and Playville glued down to card. Some staining condition as shown. Check out the other Edwin Booth booth family theater related items I will be listing this week. Cheers, Sophie
Sold on eBay Feb 7, 2023
*EDWIN BOOTH RARE 1889 MERCHANT OF VENICE PROGRAM*
Light wear otherwise fine. See Edwin Booth and and the Booth family's extraordinary biographies below. He was the elder brother ofJohn Wilkes Booth, himself a successful actor who gained notoriety as theassassin of President Lincoln.
Sold on eBay Aug, 3rd 2020
Dustin Hoffman "MERCHANT OF VENICE" Geraldine James 1989 London Program
This is a rare oversized programme (playbill) from the West End revival of the WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE classic "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE" at the Phoenix Theatre in London. (The London production opened June 1st, 1989 and ran for almost four months, closing September 23rd, 1989. The production would then cross the Atlantic, opening nbsp;December 19th, 1989 at New York's Forty-Sixth Street Theatre and playing 80 performances.) ..... The playstarred DUSTIN HOFFMAN as "Shylock" and GERALDINE JAMES as "Portia" and featured ROBERT ARNOLD, IAN BOLT, FRANCESCA BULLER, MICHAEL
Sold on eBay Jan 14, 2022
Dustin Hoffman "MERCHANT OF VENICE" Geraldine James 1989 Souvenir Program
(The production opened December 19th, 1989 and closed March 10th, 1990 after 80 performances.).
Sold on eBay April 17th, 2025
Patti LuPone (Signed) "CRADLE WILL ROCK" Marc Blitzstein 1983 Revival Playbill
This is a rare autographed May 1983 "Showbill" playbill from the Off-Broadway revival of the MARC BLITZSTEIN musical "THE CRADLE WILL ROCK" at the American Place Theatre in New York City. (The production opened May 9th, 1983 at the American Place Theatre, transferred to the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre on July 12th, 1983 and ran for 64 performances.) ..... The cast included PATTI LuPONE, MICHAEL BARRETT, CASEY BIGGS, DANIEL CORCORAN, GERALD GUTIERREZ, JAMES HARPER, LAURA HICKS, JOHN HOUSEMAN, RANDLE MELL, BRIAN REDDY, TOM ROBBINS, MARY LOU ROSATO, SUSAN ROSENSTOCK, DAVID SCHRAMM, CHARLES SHAW-ROBINSON, HENRY STRAM, PAUL WALKER and MICHELE-DENISE WOODS ..... (Note: The title page was signed by cast members PATTI LuPONE, MICHAEL BARRETT, JAMES HARPER and MARY LOU ROSATO) ..... Historical background: Originally part of the Federal Theatre Project, The Cradle Will Rock is a Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed which takes place in Steeltown, U.S.A. during a union drive. The WPA temporarily shut down the original project four days before it was to begin previews on June 16th, 1937 at New York's Maxine Elliott Theatre. The WPA claimed that due to budget cuts, it would be reorganizing all of its arts projects (WPA plays, musicals, concerts and gallery showings), putting everything on hold until after July 1st, 1937; however, many asserted that the musical had been censored because the pro-union plot was too radical. The theatre was padlocked and surrounded by security to prevent anyone from stealing the props and costumes, as these were considered U.S. Government property. Director ORSON WELLES, producer JOHN HOUSEMAN and composer MARC BLITZSTEIN, seeking a way to privately produce the show, rented out the much larger Venice Theatre and a piano just in time for the scheduled preview. The 600 audience members, who had gathered outside the Maxine Elliott Theatre for the preview, traveled 21 blocks north to the Venice Theatre, many on foot. The sold-out house grew even larger when the show's creators invited people off the street to attend for free. The musician's union refused to play for the show unless producer JOHN HOUSEMAN could provide their full salaries, and Actors' Equity Association stated that its members could not perform onstage at the new theatre without approval of the show's original producer (the Federal Government). The show's creators thus planned for Blitzstein to perform the entire musical at the piano and the cast members would sing their parts from the audience. On June 18th, 1937, HELEN DEUTSCH, press agent for the Theatre Guild, agreed to serve as the new financial backer for The Cradle Will Rock. John Houseman announced that the musical would continue to be performed with Blitzstein playing piano onstage and the cast members singing from the audience. The success of the production led ORSON WELLES and JOHN HOUSEMAN to form the MERCURY THEATRE. The Mercury Theatre's production of The Cradle Will Rock opened January 3rd, 1938 at the Windsor Theatre and ran for 108 performances. The show was recorded with the original cast and Blitzstein's piano accompaniment making it the first Original Cast recording. (Wikipedia) ..... CREDITS: Book, Music and Lyrics by MARC BLITZSTEIN; Sets designed by MARK FITZGIBBONS; Costumes designed by JUDITH DOLAN; Musical Direction by MICHAEL BARRETT; Directed by JOHN HOUSEMAN; Produced by MARGOT HARLEY for THE ACTING COMPANY ..... DETAILS: The 40 page playbill measures 5 5/8" X 8 1/2" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, a tribute to MARC BLITZSTEIN and bios of each of the leading actors and members of the creative team as well as rehearsal photos from the original 1937 production and the 1983 revival (last scanned image) ..... CONDITION: With the exception of minor edge discoloration, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
Sold on eBay January 2nd, 2024
*EDWIN BOOTH RARE 1869 THEATRE PROGRAM Walnut Theatre Much Ado About Nothing
eBay Edwin Booth playbill broadside Merchant of Venice October 2 1869 Walnut Street Theatre Philadelphia. Condition as shown check out the other 19th c theater related ephemera I will be listing in the coming week. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Sophie.
Sold on eBay October 5th, 2023