Part 436: Thomas G. Moses and “The Village Postmaster”
Thomas G. Moses recorded that he created settings for “The Village Postmaster,” a domestic drama in four acts that was originally written by Alice E. Ives and Jerome H. Eddy in 1894. By the time Moses created the scenery for the third revival production, it was wildly successful production.
The show premiered at Haverly’s 14th Street Theatre on April 3, 1896. As an original melodrama for Broadway, the first scenic design was credited to Homer F. Emens. The show was revived a few times at Haverlys 14th Street Theatre. By January 6, 1902, the “Star-Gazette” reported that the production had recently celebrated its one thousandth performance, having most recently played at the 14th Street Theatre in New York 227 times and in Chicago for 125 nights (Elmira, NY, page 3). When the show reached it’s 100th performance mark in Chicago, silver pie knives were handed out as souvenirs (The Daily Review, 29 Oct. 1902, page 3). The show also played numerous runs in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and other large cities, with 100 nights in Boston (The Buffalo Enquirer, 13 Sept. 1902, page 7). In 19continued on its tour.
The play begins in the Autumn of 1852. The central figure is a local mail official, who is also the general shopkeeper. The captain of the militia is a perpetual candidate for minor political honors and, in short, a sort of “poobah of the town” (Portsmouth Herald, 8 March 1902, page 4).
The story begins on the morning of training day in Bridgewater, a New Hampshire Village. A note in the script explains, “Up to about 1853 in New England, and in many of the Northern states the law compelled every able-bodied citizen to assemble spring and autumn for a drill in the manual of arms, there being at this time no regular state militia. The event was a holiday of considerable importance to the villagers, and was called “General Training Day.” The action of “The Village Postmaster” begins on this day.
“The Portsmouth Herald” reported, “The cities of New York and Chicago were most lavish in their praise of the play during its long run in those cities. The Herald said of it, ‘New York has never seen a better drama of rural life than The Village Postmaster. The play carried with it the smell of new mown hay, apple blossoms and pure country air and it is enacted by a company fully capable of retaining this atmosphere.’ (Portsmouth Herald, 8 March 1902, page 4). The article continued, “The scenes of the play were a general store, the village green, with a country dance on Training Day, ending with a realistic shower of rain; the minister’s donation party; a realistic farm scene, with an old-fashioned threshing machine at work, and a village church where great preparations are being made for the night wedding of the postmaster’s daughter.” Can you imagine handling a hors-drawn threshing machine during load in, especially if the theatre was located on the second floor?
“The Fort Smith Times” published a scene from the play and reported, “It takes two baggage cars to carry the scenery and properties of ‘The Village Postmaster’” (23 November 1902, page 9). The “Fitchburg Sentinel” commented, “In the matter of scenery and setting it is the most elaborate production ever made of any rural play” (14 March 1902, page 6). The “Austin Statesman” noted, “A thunderstorm with real rainwater” ended the first Act (14 Dec. 1902, page 10).
“The Quad City Times” published a very entertaining article about the production in regard to the stage pig (17 Oct 1902, page 5): “The education of the pig in “The Village Postmaster” is no light matter to all concerned, ‘and the worst of it is,’ said ‘Props’ plaintively, ‘I no sooner get him beautifully broken in, so that he doesn’t balk at his cue, nor run over the footlights in to the bass drum, than he gets too large to play small parts, and has to be sold to the butcher for pork. If I only knew some way for keeping him from being a hog.”
To be continued…
