On July 17, League of Historic American Theatre (LHAT) conference attendees toured the famous Walnut Street Theatre. Located at the corner of Ninth & Walnut Street in Philadelphia, the theater opened its doors on February 2, 1809. Initially the structure featured a ring for equestrian acts. Initially built for the Circus by Victor Pepin and Jean Breschard, over the course of two centuries, the building underwent many renovations. The building was initially enlarged between 1811 and 1816, transitioning from a circus arena into a legitimate theatre with elevated stage. Remodeled again between 1827 and 1828, gaslights were added in 1837 and air conditioning in 1855, an American first for both. By 1863, Edwin Booth and John Sleeper Clarke purchased the venue, initiating a new era under their leadership. Throughout the duration of the 19th century and well into the 20th, the Walnut Street Theatre underwent a series of renovations, including multiple scenery purchases.
The LHAT tour in July coincided with Walnut Street Theatre’s summer camp. Seated in the second to last row of the auditorium, I watched young performers below on the stage. It reminded me of our eldest child’s summer camp
There is something very heartwarming about watching young children on a very old stage, as they become part of the theater’s legacy. With these future thespians in the background, our animated host explained the history of the building. The Walnut’s website also does an amazing job at presenting the past. Here is the link: https://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/about/history.php
Despite the gracious welcome by Walnut Street Theatre staff, I was very disappointed with the current interior, somewhat reminiscent of a grey shell. I understand that the interior aesthetic of many theaters shift over time, their interiors constantly being re-envisioned by a variety of personalities. It is unusual for a theater to remain its original glory, exact in every detail. I understand the push for change or modernization of any space. However, I should have prepared myself for the Walnut Street Theatre before my visit. Over the past few years I have repeatedly written about the variety of artisans that contributed to the Walnut’s past, primarily focusing on scenic contributions. Whatever I had been expecting to see was not the current decor. I really didn’t have the heart to take any pictures of the space, a first for me. The stage was also unavailable due to summer camp, an element that I had really hoped to see.
Fortunately, images from the venue’s past were prominently displayed everywhere. The hallway behind the balcony contained a variety of images ranging from performers and shows, to historic floor plans and broadsheets. Blurry images that I have repeatedly encountered online were hanging in their full-scale glory. For that alone, the trip was worth it.
One of the artistic contributions by a scenic artist was mentioned in an 1894 “Philadelphia Inquirer” article. A drop curtain by scenic artist Matt Morgan was installed in 1877.
Here is the section about Morgan’s drop curtain at the Walnut Street Theatre:
“The drop curtain at the Walnut Street Theatre is strikingly different from any other in town. It is skillfully painted to represent silk, and appears to be made of sixty-four squares of white silk deftly sewn together, on which, in a large oval in the center of the curtains is painted a charming picture, representing Shakespeare reading his play, “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” before Queen Elizabeth. It is known as the Shakespeare curtain, and was painted by that versatile artist, Matt Morgan, in 1877. Matt Morgan, now deceased, was a prominent figure in the art world. Though born in Ireland, he was educated in London, and worked on a number of illustrated papers. He was also a figure artist of marked ability, but was unsuccessful in his business ventures. The curtain was first unrolled September 10, 1877, and shows none of the effects of the seventeen years of constant use. Through the oval occupies less than a third of the square surface of the curtain, it contains more than a score of personages. The aged queen, habited in a robe of yellow silk with pointed bodice of coquelicot satin, puffed sleeved trimmed with velvet and an enormous white lace collar and lace cuffs, is seated upon a throne surrounded by courtiers, pages and attendants, while she listen with rapt attention to the reading of the play” (Dec. 18, 1894, page 45).
A celebrated scenic artist and caricaturist, Morgan was an Irishman trained in London. The favorite pupil of well-known artist Clarkston Stanfield, in 1866 Morgan was working as an assistant to Thomas Grieve at the Covent Garden Theater in London (The Era, 23 Dec. 1866, page 8). By 1870, Morgan immigrated to America, soon making a name for himself as an illustrator at Frank Leslie’s Illustrated paper. He became a rival of Thomas Nast, the German-born caricaturist and editorial cartoonist (Reading Times, 12 Oct, 1876, page 4). Before immigrating to America, however, Morgan worked as a cartoonist for “Tomahawk,” a weekly comic paper during the 1860s. Later Morgan became the head of the art department of the Stowbridge Lithographing Company in Cincinnati. In America, Morgan worked as both illustrator and scenic artist all across the country, and by 1875, a Chicago newspaper article described Morgan as “far above the ordinary level of scene-painters” (Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb 1875, page 10).
In 1886, Morgan organized a scenic art company in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was to “present a series of accurate and historic pictures of the decisive battles of the late war between the states. These great pictures, now approaching completion for the northern victories, are to be exhibited throughout the country under the directions of competent lecturers; well known officers of both armies” (The Pulaski Citizen, Pulaski, Tennessee, 12 Aug. 1886, page 2).
Newspapers report that Morgan died of pleurisy, brought on by his work at the new Madison Square Garden (Logansport Reporter, 3 June 1890, page 3).
By 1905, the “Pittsburgh Daily Post” described one of Morgan as a “forgotten artist” when his work was exhibited at the 1905 Scene Painters’ Show. Held at the Grafton Galleries by the Scenic Artists association, the exhibit featured Theater Artists of Great Britain, including cartoons by Morgan. (14 May 1905, page 26).
To be continued…
