Part 305: After the Party’s Over
Sosman, Landis & Hunt also managed the Grand Opera House in Indianapolis and the Grand Opera Stock Company there. This was at the same time that they ran the Pike Theater in Cincinnati. By 1900 the firm was contemplating a move to Detroit due to a noticeable reduction in patronage at their productions in Indianapolis. (Indianapolis News 21 Nov. 1900, page 8). The Indianapolis Journal commented on the characteristics of the Grand Stock Company (23 Nov. 1900, pg. 3) reporting that the Grand Opera House “had a fixed payroll of a very large aggregate amount, most of which is spent within the limits of Indianapolis.” In 1900 the Grand Opera Stock Company was getting ready to present a revival of “Trilby,” “Camille,” “The Social Highwayman,” and “The Girl With the Auburn Hair.”
The Grand Opera was initially under the management of “Dickson and Talbott.” George A. Dickson and Henry M. Talbott rented the playhouse to the new theatrical management company of Sosman, Landis & Hunt in 1896. This was two years after their theatrical management company began in Cincinnati. They would continue to manage the Grand Opera and stock company until 1901. From 1900-1902, weekly receipts began to plummet, forcing a new company to take over the venue. It became a vaudeville house under the next management team of Anderson and Ziegler in 1901. Anderson and Ziegler were credited with introducing vaudeville in Indianapolis during 1900, the same time that profits at the Grand Opera House started to diminish (Indianapolis Star 26 May 1916, page 11). The Grand Opera House would later be known as one of B. F. Keith’s venues too.
What I find interesting about the Sosman, Landis & Hunt business venture is the timing. Business slows after the World Fair of 1893 and they are left with two studios and a huge staff of artists. They take elements of the Midway and produce a touring show that they manage. In addition to managing the Masonic Temple Roof scenic electric theaters, they also start to invest in stock companies. This is on top of their involvement with the American Reflector Company, the manufacture of theatrical rigging and stage hardware, as well other investments. It appears that the significant profits made during the fair were invested in other business ventures. None of the wealth amassed during 1893 trickled down to their employees and this caused many of the artists to leave the following year, including Thomas G. Moses. I am sure that after all of their had work, they felt slighted when asked to take a pay cut after such a successful year.
At the beginning of 1893, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The big Fair progressing nicely and a world of work for us in sight.” That was not the case after the close of the fair. By the end of 1893, Moses wrote about business after returning from a trip to New York, “On my return home, I found business very bad, as we all thought it would be at the close of the Fair.” Moses further wrote about his situation, commenting, “There were no more contracts and all I could see was a salary of $10.00 per day.” That is today’s equivalent of approximately $250 a day.
$10.00 a day was the same amount offered to Moses by David Hunt to replicate a few scenes from the Columbian Exposition’s Midway Plaisance, including the electric theatre. Hunt also wanted him to paint at the Pike Theater. In 1894, Thomas G. Moses went to work for David H. Hunt as scenes from the Columbian Exposition’s Midway toured the country. Highlights from the fair were appearing all over in the comfort of local venues.
Moses traveled to Philadelphia to install and open Hunt’s Midway show on February 15, 1894. The Buffalo Commercial (Buffalo, New York) reported “The Famous Midway” was in town. A “very realistic exhibition” was on display at the 74th regiment armory. Hunt was also the manager of the Midway Plaisance Company in addition to starting his business venture with Sosman & Landis. The article continued that those who went to the Columbian Exposition and attended the Midway “were pleased to note that an excellent reproduction on a much larger scale than might have been expected had been made, and they were well pleased with what they saw” on February 8, 1894 (page 10). Scenes included the Chinese Theatre, Dahomey village, Indian village, German village, the Turkish Theatre Hagenbeck’s animal show, the Streets of Cairo, and Old Vienna. Other scenes, such as the Ferris Wheel” were included in the distance. The article commented that the scenery was painted “so faithfully that you believe for a moment that it is the real thing. In short you have a picture of the Midway as you might have seen it in Chicago by looking through an inverted opera glass.”
Moses next traveled with the show to install it at the Madison Square Garden in March of 1894. Moses wrote, “We got the whole show up in a day, including the Electric Theatre.” He continued that they “opened to big business.” Yet he saw none of the profits and continued to work for $10 a day, while traveling with large expenses.
Of his time spent away from Chicago with Hunt, Moses write, “Sosman and Landis didn’t like my being with Hunt as they felt I was slipping away again, which I did.” This was a turning point and we see things come full circle for Moses. Throughout his entire career he impressed people. He impressed them with his artistry, speed, and personality. Wherever he went, jobs magically appeared before him and whatever studio he was working for. It was as if Moses were one big magnet, constantly drawing future projects to his doorstep. Why not leave the studio and ensure himself a share of the profits?
To be continued…
