Production Cost – Page 3

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 961 – The Smileage Campaign, 1917

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We closed a contract with H. Robert Law of New York City for a lot of scenery for the Government Cantonment Theatres. First contract was $12,600.00, second $3,600.00, third $980.00 for installing one job. All to be completed November 7^th – some hustling. I went down to the studio on five Sundays – something I haven’t done in fifteen years, and every night until 8:30. Some of the boys slept in the studio. Everyone hustled. We completed the work on the day set and inside of a week it was all out of the studio.” This was a project to help the war effort; a big one that brought in $17,180 in a short period of time. That is the monetary equivalent of $364,438.00 today.

In 1917, the War Department Commission acknowledged that it was important to keep American troops entertained as they trained for combat. This stance resulted in a new entertainment program implemented across the country.

From the “Evening Index” (Greenwood, SC) 14 Feb 1918, page 2.

“The Salina Daily Union” described the program, reporting, “The government has made arrangements whereby the best Broadway attractions will be staged at cantonments with a nominal admission to soldiers. Lectures and other entertainment of high class are also being arranged for. The object of the ‘Smileage’ campaign is the sale of coupon books, from one dollar up. The coupons are admission tickets to the government cantonment theatres. Citizens will be asked to purchase coupons books for the soldiers” (28 Jan 1918, page 8).

From the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Here is the link: https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/615639/smileage-book/

Smileage books were produced by the Globe Ticket Co. and purchased for loved ones in the military. Books were sold, containing either one dollar or five dollars worth of admissions. Soldiers could use tickets in the books for scheduled events at Government Cantonment Theatres.

The Smileage Books noted. “The coupons in this book will be accepted in purchase of admission and seat tickets at Liberty Theatres, Liberty Tents and auditoriums under the management of the commission on training camp activities in National Army Cantonments and National Guard Camps.

There is a lovely article in “The New York Age” from Dec. 22, 1917 (page 6):

“New names and phrases galore are being coined incident to the world war, and latest word to attract general attention in America is ‘SMILEAGE.’ The Military Entertainment Service working under the direction of the War Department Commission and Training Camp Activities, in a pamphlet just issued, entitled ‘SMILEAGE,’ gives the following definition for the most recent wartime terms added to our vocabulary: ‘Mileage means a stretch of miles; smileage means a span of smiles.’ Additional information in the pamphlet as to the mission of the newly-coined word reads: Smileage Books are books that contain transportation for the soldier from gloom and homesickness to smiles and gladness. The world war has created the necessity for a new age of man – one that is applicable to present conditions – a ‘Smile-age.’ So to alleviate gloom and sorrow, the new age is beginning to see the light of day. In each cantonment a theatre has been erected. In these theatres from time to time will be given the very best of entertainment – the kind that is clean and wholesome, furnished by famous stars of the stage. The price for this entertainment will be very nominal. SMILEAGE BOOKS contain coupons that are exchangeable for admission to any entertainment given at these Liberty theatres. Don’t make your boy ask you for comforts. Think of them first and send them to him. Send them to the boys who have no friends, no home to turn to for these little luxuries. Perhaps you have a boy of your own in training. Buy him a SMILEAGE BOOK. Put in the next letter you send him. Otherwise he will have to stand on the outside and envy the other fellows whose folks remembered them.” This is the appeal being made by Raymond B. Fosdick, chairman of the War Department Commission for Training Camp Activities, and Marc Klaw, head of Military Entertainment Service, on behalf of draftees who crave for a little wholesome entertainment while undergoing a rigid course of training preparatory to going to Europe to help make this world safe for democracy. Our draftees are not hungry for food. They are not compelled to worry over the scarcity of food stuffs, for Uncle Sam sees to it that the boys in khaki are provided with plenty of good, substantial eats. But many a drafted man may be found who is hungry – starving for the proper kind of entertainment to drive away dull care. The soldier boy is like the rest of us – intensely human. He tires of constantly reading, writing, listening to the phonograph and playing checkers the same as those in civil life. For this reason Liberty theatres have been erected in each cantonment, and Broadway stars will appear at these playhouses in the latest productions. Provisions have been made to charge a nominal sum as price of admission. Some smileage books contain one hundred tickets and are sold for $5, while others contain twenty tickets and cost $1. On each ticket appears the signature of the Secretary of War Baker, who realizes that the gloom and homesickness in camp should be dissipated by furnishing the drafted men entertainment of the right sort. The work of transporting the boy many miles from home to ‘Smileland’ has become one of the most important functions of the War Department. The New York office of that branch of the War Department which is engaged in arranging the proper entertainment for the soldiers is located at 15 Broadway, and is in charge of Hollis Cooley, a showman of ripe experience and who stands high in the theatrical world. Mr. Cooley and his assistants are being kept busy at this time supplying smileage books to relatives and friends of soldier boys who regard the giving of a book containing ‘transportation for the holder from gloom and homesickness to smiles and gladness’ as a most appropriate Christmas gift. Banks, department store and secret societies are among the institutions to take an active interest in the campaign just begun to create a new age of man – a ‘Smile-Age.’”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 939 – Thomas G. Moses and the Ten Allies Costume Ball, 1916

In 1916, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Hurried to New York City, made a hasty model; closed a contract for $5,700.00 for Allied Ball Decoration.” Later that year he wrote, “…on to the big Allied Ball work…November 25^th, Mama and I started for New York. We expressed the scenery and November 28^th it was all up. I did the society stunt while Nadier and Pausback put all the work up, and for a wonder everything fitted.”

Ten Allies Costume Ball. Poster collection, Hoover Institution Archives, https://digitalcollections.hoover.org/objects/38561

The event mentioned by Moses was the Ten Allies Costume Ball. On Novemebr 28, 1916, the “Evening Sun” reported, “America’s greatest single effort on behalf of relief organizations of the Entente Allies will be staged tonight when the Ten Allies Costume Ball will be given in Madison Square Garden. Ten boxes will be decorated to represent each of the ten nations of the Allies. In each will be prominent persons f these nations. At a given hour the hall will be darkened and a spotlight turned on the French box from which Madame Chenal will sing the chorus of the “Marsaillaise.” Next will come “God Save the King” then the Russian, the Italian and the rest. Finally the light will be directed as the box draped in the Star and Stripes and the “Star Spangled Banner” will be sung. All of the national soloists and a chorus of 2,000 will join in the singing of the American anthem “ (Hanover, Pennsylvania, 28 Nov. 1916, page 3).

Among the organizations that benefitted were, the American Ambulance Fund, the British-American War Relief Fund, French Heroes LaFayette Fund, the Millicent Sutherland Ambulance Three Acts Fund for the Crippled and Maimed French Soldiers, the Blinded in Battle Fund, Refugees in Russia Fund, National Allied Relief Committee, Vacation War Relief Committee and the American Fund for French Wounded.

As I searched for more information, I came across a really interestingly article in the Chicago Tribune on Nov. 26, 1916 (page 36). “Chicagoan Goes East with Scenery for Allied Ball” was written by Mme. X, and the first few sentences say much of the theatrical relationship between New York and Chicago in 1916:

“When New York wants anything out of the ordinary accomplished it is not from the ranks of home talent that it seeks its organizers and leaders. Chicago supplies much of its bone and sinew. George W. Perkins, T. P. Shonts, Frank A. Vanderlip, Elbert H. Gary, and a host of others are all drawn from the ranks of Chicago capables. And now one more proof that the great metropolis is dependent on us, not alone in the realms of finance and big business, but in the domain of art and adornment is the departure of Mrs. John A Carpenter last Tuesday for New York and the much heralded Allied ball, which takes place next Tuesday in the Madison Square Gardens. Mrs. Carpenter was escorted by huge rolls of scenery for the East Indian background and setting for the ball, which had been painted here from her designs and under her direction. She is developing a genius for this sort of artist expression, which is making her name famous on both sides of the Atlantic…It is rather a stupendous affair, a costume ball, with remarkable stunts, and its proceeds are to go to the same cause as the big New York allied bazaar last spring and ours is coming this January.”

The day after the event, the “New York Herald” published an account of the eventnon November 29, 1916 (page 2):

“15,000 See Pageant at Ten Allies Ball. Brilliant Costumes Worn by Society and Stars at Fete. Notable in the Parade.

New York may be neutral, but not when there’s an Allied Ball going on. At least there were 15,000 or so Gothamites at Madison Square Garden last night who didn’t talk neutral, didn’t act neutral and didn’t dress neutral. And the old Garden, that has held everything from aristocracy’s horse show to Col. Cody’s Wild West in its day, never sheltered such a gathering before as far as brilliant costuming and bizarre disguises go.

The Ten Allies Costume Ball started at midnight according to the programme, but it was really nearer half past by the clock. It is true the doors opened at 9 and the music started for dancing some time after 10, but the real thing was the pageant.

A group of buglers sounded a fanfare and out from between hanging curtains at the east side of the Garden came the pageant. India led, with Rajah Ali Ben Haggin at the head on a big black Arab steed. Ben Ali had planned to ride in on an elephant, but the floor wouldn’t stand it. Behind him came Mrs. Haggin and Mrs. William Astor Chanier in palanquins borne on the shoulders of Hindus and surrounded by an entourage of military looking Ghurkas and Sepoys in khaki.

Next came Great Britain, with Lady Colebrook as Britannia, and Miss Louise Drew with a company of girl scouts. John Drew and sixty members of the Lambs and Players club stood for England of to-day, every man of them in khaki. In fact khaki was the color scheme for the men and there were many who wore the little cloth stripes that mean real service.

Ireland, color scheme green and leader Miss Elsie Janis, came next with some of the best known actresses on the Broadway stage in the train. Scotland of course was Burr McIntosh and William Faversham, with Bruce McRae and Cyril Scott and the like.

Canada was represented by a train of Red Cross nurses, and Mrs. Charles Greenough who led them, had culled the pick of society’s debutantes.
For Belgium marched Miss Ethel Barrymore, with a score or so of the “Four Hundred” and Miss Marie Louise de Sadeleer, daughter of the Belgian Minister.

Alla Nazimova led Russia’s contingent, with a company dressed in costumes from “War Brides” and “Women of the People.”

The theatre had charge of Italy, with Mrs. William Faversham leading a group of screen actresses and actors with Blanche Bates and the Washington Square Players in their “Bushido” costumes marched for Japan, and Miss Cathleen Nesbit and come others were for Portugal.

James K. Hackett as Louis XVI and Mrs. Hackett as Clothilde had charge of France’s pageant, and in the ranks were every one from Jeanne d’Arc to Robespierre. And at the end a big bunting covered tower was shoved out and Miss Anna Fitziu of the American Opera Company gowned as Columbia and wearing the Liberty cap closed the show with “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Up to the time of the pageant it was all music and dancing. The loge and arena boxes were filled with people whose autobiographies are in “Who’s Who,” while behind them, in the seats of the gallery, where the hoi polloi, who could only pay $5 for a seat. And everybody was there.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 936 – Rowland & Howard’s “Daughter of the Sun” 1916

From the “Indianapolis Star,” 7 Oct 1917, page 40.

In 1917, Moses wrote, “Another show for Howard, $1,500.00. “Daughter of the Sun.” It was very good in every way. Our scenery is making a big hit.”

Rowland & Howard’s production “Daughter of the Sun” is not to be confused with another 1917 production starring Anna Kellerman, “Daughter of the Gods,”

“Daughter of the Sun” was a play of Hawaiian life, written by Lorin J. Howard and Ralph T. Ketterling. By 1916, Sosman & Landis had already provided scenery for two other Rowland & Howard productions, “Which One Shall I Marry” and “The Smart Show.”

“Daughter of the Sun” blotter card for sale on eBay.

“Daughter of the Sun” was billed as a play combining “romance, international political intrigue and tropical setting in a drama that is replete with stirring incident” (“Indianapolis Star, 7 Oct 1917, page 46). The show was also advertised as a “massive scenic production,” telling the story of a “Hawaiian Butterfly” (“Suburbanite Economist,” 31 Aug, 1917, page 3).

From the ‘Pittsburgh Daily Post,” 23 Dec 1917, page 40.

From “The Fairmont West Virginian,” 23 Oct 1917, page 5.

On Dec. 23, 1917, “The Pittsburgh Daily Post” reported, “The story turns on the love of Dr. Grant, and American, for a Hawaiian girl, Loa, known as ‘The Daughter of the Sun.’ She is the sweetheart of Kama, a descendent of Kalakaua. The plot is fostered by a Japanese, posing as a scientist, who plans to aid a rebellion and then take the islands in the name of Japan. Meantime, X-17 of the United States secret service has been sent to get evidence. The Jap persuades Kama to give the young American doctor a germ of leprosy in his tea, but Kama loses his nerve. Nevertheless he retains the bottle in his possession, and when the villain demands it Kama yields and Dr. Grant is inoculated. He is sent to Molokai, but escapes. The physician comes back to face the villain and then it is that X-17, who is a young woman posing as a Broadway actress, reveals her identity and frustrates the Jap. A volcano begins to erupt and all flee for their lives except Grant, who remains to hunt Loa. There are three acts and seven scenes. In the cast are Freda Tymers, Jean Clarendon, James A. Bliss, Blosser Jennings. Virginia Stuart and Leah H. Hatch” (page 40).

From the “Sun News Journal,” (Lancaster, PA) 11 Dec. 1917, page 7.

“The Morning Call” added, “Rowland and Howard, the producers, have given the play an Hawaiian atmosphere by a wonderful scenic equipment and also a band of native Hawaiian singers….‘A Daughter of the Sun’ is a massive scenic production carrying a carload of their own special scenery” (Allentown, Pennsylvania, 19 Nov 1917, page 10). The article also added, “In all the plays of last season, the Hawaiian play seemed to have the greatest appeal, for throughout the entire season, the play, ‘The Bird of Paradise’ was greeted by wonderful audiences. The present season will no doubt see a number of plays founded on the Paradise of the Pacific.” Hawaii was, and remained, a popular stage subject.

Of the painted settings for “Daughter of the Sun,” newspapers reported, “Exceptional scenery is presented, especially the scene where the high priest calls down a curse upon the Hawaiian girl and man for disloyalty to their race. The curse seems to be answered by the eruption of a volcano and the wrecking of the village” (“Baltimore Sun,” 6 Nov. 1917, page 6).

Before the volcano erupts and the buildings crumble. The volcano scene produced by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Winona, Minnesota, 1909.

After the volcano erupts and the buildings crumble. The volcano scene produced by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Winona, Minnesota, 1909.

Moses’ previous business partner, Walter Burridge, made sketches of Kilauea while staying at the Volcano House. Burridge’s source material was used for a huge panorama at the 1893 world fair attraction. Volcanic eruptions drew crowds at not only world fair attractions, but also many other theatre spectacles. It was even incorporated in into degree production for Scottish Rite stage ceremonials. In fact, examples of volcano scene for the stage are still found at many fraternal theaters; they are a wonderful resource for theatre students and popular entertainment buffs alike. The erupting volcano effect is magical, still captivating the most seasoned stagehands when produced. Even under a century’s deposit of dust of dust, this particular stage illusion is fascinating. It may be an old school trick, with panels helping translucent areas simulating plumes of smoke and streams of flowing lava, but it still can make the audience spectator gasp with delight.

The “Allentown Leader” included the article “DAUGHTER OF THE SUN A LYRIC ATTRACTION” (Allentown, Pennsylvania, 13 Nov. 1917, page 2). Here is the article as it took a unique look at the show:

“On the island of Maui in the Hawaiian group, the second island in point of size is the extinct crater of Haleakala. The largest volcano crater in the world. While the crater is that of an extinct volcano; still the possibility of its again becoming active is an ever-present possibility. The crater of Haleakala has an area of 10 square miles or 6400 acres’ its circumference is 20 miles; is 7 ½ miles ling and has a depth of 10,032 feet. These figures are quoted to give some idea of what an enormous affair Haleakala really is. The word Haleakala means “The House of the Sun.” From this translation the idea for the play, “A Daughter of the Sun,” the story of the Hawaiian butterfly, was derived. The Kanaka, as the native Hawaiian is called, before the coming of the missionary in 1819, like all the world tribes, worshipped the Sun as the source of life and nothing was more natural than that this vast crater was the abode of the Sun, and hence it was held in great reverence. The play ‘The Daughter of the Sun,’ was written by Lorin J. Howard and Ralph T. Ketterling and is to be the attraction at the Lyric for the first three days of next week.”

Watching the sun rise from Mount Haleakala.

I was fortunate to see the sun both rise and set from the top summit at Haleakala National Park high above the crater. Gazing across the clouds at the big island of Hawaii it feels like you are sitting at the top of the world. This was on the 2017 trip to Maui when I acquired several Thomas G. Moses paintings from a great grandson. If all comes full circle.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 931 – The Oak Park Theatre, 1916

In 1916, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The Oak Park Theatre gave me $825.00 contract for vaudeville scenery.”

The Oak Park Theatre opened on October 20, 1913 and was a combination house, featuring both live vaudeville acts and silent films. Their advertisements promised continuous high-class vaudeville and first run motion pictures. Vaudeville acts for the venue were booked by Jones, Linick & Schaefer, the same firm that handled entertainment for McVickers Theatre, the Colonial Theatre, the Wilson Theatre and many others around Chicago.

Of the Oak Park Theatre, the “Historical American Building Survey” suggested that there was architectural evidence that the building was greatly enlarged in 1915. This coincides with Sosman & Landis delivering new vaudeville scenery in 1916; new scenery would have been ordered during the renovation. The original building structure had a footprint of 67 feet by 112 feet; the enlarged size after 1915 was 67 feet by 168 feet.

The Oak Park Theatre was located on Wisconsin Street, but the address later changed to 120 S. Marion Street. The venue was at the heart of Oak Park’s entertainment district and near Moses’ home. Many scenic artists and architects settled in Oak Park. The benefit to Oak Park residents was living a short train ride away from downtown Chicago.

There were three theaters in close proximately to one another– Oak Park’s Warrington Opera House (1902 stock theatre), the Oak Park Playhouse (1913 combination house) and the Oak Park Theatre (1913 combination house). The 800-seat Oak Park Theatre was adjacent to the Warrington Opera House, and promised “perfect ventilation.” This meant that the auditorium air was changed every ten minutes. In addition to many “fireproof” features, each seat boasted a “perfect view of the stage.”

In 1917, the “Chicago Eagle” reported, “Lubliner & Trinz” owned and operated the following high class theaters all over the city: Artcraft Theatre at Devon and Clark Streets, Biograph Theatre at 2433 Lincoln Ave, Covent Garden Theatre at 2655 North Clark Street, Knickerbocker Theatre at 6225 Broadway, Michigan Theatre at 55^th and Michigan Boulevard, Paramount Theatre at 2648 Milwaukee Ave., Vitagraph Theatre at 3133 Lincoln Ave, West End Theatre, at No. Cicero and West End Avenues, and the Oak Park Theatre in Oak, Park, Illinois (22 Dec. 1917, page 7). Lubliner & Trinz was operated by Harry M. Lubliner and Joseph Trinz, whose offices were at 510 Westminster Building.

In 1930, the Oak Park Theatre was remodeled and renamed the Lamar Theater. The marquee was added in 1929, the lobby remodeled in 1930 and the stairs relocated in 1936.The new name reflected its location on Lake Street and South Marion Street. Now advertisements forcused on “truly perfect sound” in this “new wonder talkie theatre.” Unfortunately, this Art Deco theater has did not last and was razed in 1988.

The Oak Park Theatre was later named the Lamar Theatre.

The Oak Park Theatre was later named the Lamar Theatre. Image posted at cinemareasures.org. Here is the link: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2641

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The 1879 Scenery Collection at the Tabor Opera House

Overlooking Turquoise Lake at the town of Leadville, Colorado.

The Tabor Opera House as it appeared in June 2018.

In “The History of the Tabor Opera House, a Captivating History,” author Evelyn E. Livingston Furman described the first scenery delivered to Leadville’s Tabor Opera House in 1879. Keep in mind that H. A. W. Tabor was consistently purchasing the best for his first opera house in Leadville, Colorado. For most features he ordered the best that money could buy. One only has to only look at the opera chairs, complete with plush seats and hat racks beneath, top of the line from the Andrews Company.

Advertisement for chairs that were purchased for the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

Original 1879 opera chairs at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

The opera chairs, and everything else for the Tabor Opera House were purchased and transported before the railway stopped in this mountain community.

Railroad tracks on the outskirts of Leadville, Colorado.

I cannot imagine that the focal point of the stage would have been treated any less. My guess is that the scenery cost was also considered top-of-the line goods. Furman notes explains that one backdrop, a scene depicting Royal Gorge, was purchased for $1000; that is the equivalent of a $25,000 today. An interesting aside before I move on with the remainder of the 1879 scenery: in 1880, “Western Magazine” mentions Royal Gorge as “located on the Leadville branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad” ( Vol. 4, page 176).

Furman explains that ten sets of scenes were delivered to the Tabor Opera House in 1879. This was a standard size stock collection for many smaller venues. Larger theaters ordered as many as 25 to 35 sets, while smaller musical halls may only purchase four sets.

By 1884, “Harry Miner’s American Dramatic Directory” noted there were 12 sets of scenery, increasing the original installation by two sets. This is also common, as new theaters continued to increase their stock, even within the first decade. We also know that scenery was again delivered in 1888 by scenic artist Frank Cox. So how do we know what’s up in the attic? We don’t, not yet, at least.

Signed scenic piece by scenic artist and theatre architect, Jesse Cox, at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

The original 1879 pieces are purportedly stored in the attic, but with an ever-expanding collection before the 1901 renovation it is hard to know what comprises the original collection. There is wing and shutter scenery, as well as roll drops, in the attic that pre-dates the 1902 Kansas City Scenic Co. scenery; of that there is no question. I dug through much of it and documented what I could on my 49^th birthday. I know, without any doubt at all, that the wing and shutter scenery in the attic pre-dates the 1901 building renovation, and I can easily identify the 1902 scenery, as it is too tall for the original stage, and many pieces even included studio stencils on the back.

Studio stencil by the Kansas City Scenic Co. on the 1902 scenery at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

In theatrical guides, the height of the original grooves for the Tabor Opera House stage was listed as 16’-0”. The height of the proscenium varied in publications from 17’-0” to 20’-0”. All of the 1902 scenery is 18’-0” tall.

Other 1879 scenery mentioned by Furman include a forest scene, a garden scene, a palace scene, a plain chamber scene with a balcony, and a prison scene. Amazingly, we uncovered what is likely the original balcony last week, albeit in very poor shape. It seems to be the appropriate age, complete with rough-hewn lumber and very unlike the 1902 scenery. Our roll drop discovery with the Palace composition was also constructed of rough-hewn lumber.

Palace arch roll drop and volunteer crew at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

Furman also recorded a set of double-painted flats: one depicting a New England Kitchen and the other a Baronial Hall scene on the other. I knew exactly what she was talking about as two of those flats were on stage last week; I knew that the rest were in the attic. However, we noticed that the Baronial Hall side (a Gothic interior) was over painted. Although it was an identical composition below, the flat had been repainted. This absolutely fascinated me, and I took several photographs of the under-painting that depicted an identical composition with slightly different coloration. Although exciting, it throws a wrench into the works. It will be harder to determine what is original painting.

Under and overpainting on historic flat at the Tabor Opera House, c. 1879-1888.

Grand tormentor discovered on site at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, c. 1879-1888.

Painted detail from grand tormentor discovered on site at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, c. 1879-1888.

Painted detail from grand tormentor discovered on site at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, c. 1879-1888. Notice the thick coat of paint, suggesting multiple layers from repainting of the theatrical flat.

Theatre scenery was, and remains, ephemeral in nature. Repainting and replacing are all part of our process; stock sets were never intended to be permanent. Those that remain are really the anomaly.

Finally Furman mentions three sets of wood wings for the exterior scenes and a mountain stream scene. I located the mountain stream scene shutters, and it is beautifully painted.

Painted detail from mountain stream scene shutter discovered on site at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, c. 1879-1888.

I also located a few wood borders. What I did notice about the collection in the attic, is how quickly the painting falls apart. It was during this time that the American scenic art wars were in full swing; those who used a series of glazes to paint stage settings versus those who used opaque washes. Opaque washes were employed in many Midwestern scenic studios and their artists, and condescendingly referred to as “slap dash.” Looking at the scenery in the attic, slap-dash certainly comes to mind. Unlike the refined techniques employed on the Sosman & Landis interior settings below, the wings, shutter, and borders in the attic appear in stark contrast. This is a fascinating time to examine the aesthetic shift that was occurring n the American stage.

Painted detail of “slap dash” painting found on a scenic piece at the Tabor Opera House, c. 1879-1888.

Painted detail on Sosman & Landis interior setting piece at the Tabor Opera House, c. 1902.

In the attic during 2018, I noticed there was a grand border and two matching torms, complete with marble columns and draperies. I caught glimpses of fancy interiors, Gothic exteriors, garden walls with colorful vines, brilliant wood borders and so much more. The Tabor Opera House is a treasure trove of scenic art and stagecraft. Their collection shows the delightful transition from itinerant artists employing the slap-dash on site to mass-produced scenery produced at a major scenic studio and shipped from a distant location. I am left with great anticipation to catalogue what’s in the Tabor Opera House attic this spring.

Painted detail, wood border at the Tabor Opera House, c. 1879-1888.

Stencil detail, interior set piece at the Tabor Opera House, c. 1879-1888.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 916 – Chicago’s Spanish Ball, a Charity Event in 1915

From the “Chicago Tribune,” 18 Dec 1915 page 17.

In 1915, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We did another society stunt, ‘The Spanish Ball.’ I think we made about $20,000.00 for one evenings entertainment.” In addition to producing stock scenery for various theaters and special scenery for touring productions, these themed events netted the studio thousands of dollars in profit each year. I am curious if the $20,000 amount mentioned by Moses was what the studio netted for the project or his estimation on the charitable donations. Reports indicate that Chicago’s Spanish Ball raised $25,000 for charity.

From the “Chicago Tribune,” 9 Dec 1915 page 13.

On Monday Dec. 13, 1915, the “Day Book” included the article “Women in Red Socks and Red Sashes at Spanish Ball.” The article reported, “No charity ball this winter. Instead, the Spanish ball. By calling it Spanish ball, everybody on it is saved the smell that goes with the word ‘charity’ these days.”

Photograph for the Chicago Daily News, now part of the Chicago History Museum.

The upper echelon of Chicago society gathered on Dec. 17, 1915 to raise funds for the Chicago Lying-In hospital. It opened new building at 51^st Street and Vincennes, and money was needed for plumbing and running expenses. After the funds were raised at the ball, it was anticipated that the water pipe installation would begin.

Of the Lying-In hospital cause, two dispensaries were run with hospital. The previous year 24,764 mothers received medicine, lint and doctor’s advice. The “Day Book” article reported, “Though many mothers are lucky enough to get a bed to lie in at the Lying-in hospital, statement of women at head of it is that ‘hundreds are turned away every year.’ What sort of shacks and shanties the mothers go to when turned away is not stated in any survey taken. Red colors, laughter and a big hoorah are the moors of the Spanish ball. It would be thought a crime and an indecency if somebody should print slips to be stuck onto the dance program giving the statistics of the baby death rate around the Armour, Swift and Morris slaughter houses. University of Chicago survey presented in testimony to U. S. industrial relations commission showed baby death rate in the stockyards district is seven times as high as over on the lake shore in the district where Spanish ball dancers will come from.”

For the Spanish Ball, the First Regiment Armory building was transformed into a replica of the famous streets of Madrid. Arches and pillars of flaming orange and red, relieved by bars of black concealed the walls and formed sort of a continuous façade about the drill fall behind which the spectators sat. According to the “Chicago Examiner” “The pageant will represent all phases of Spanish history, beginning with the Moorish invasion in 800 A.D., which is to include those fascinating and illustrious personages of long ago period, Ferdinand and Isabella. DeSoto, Balboa, Cortez and everybody else connected with the history of those stirring times will be impersonated. There will be an Inquisition group too” (Nov. 7, 1915, Vol. 16, part 4, page 6).

The “Day Book” article anticipated the event; “Next Friday night they pull this Spanish ball in First Regiment armory. Ladies in red sox and red moccasins, topped off with red fabric and ribbons, all a regular chile con carne red pepper red, will be on parade. Spanish music, old fashioned rum-tum-toddles played in Madrid and Barcelona centuries ago, have been searched out by Roy McWilliams.”

The “Evening Star” reported “The managers of the Spanish ball held on Friday night at the 1^st Regiment armory have cause for great satisfaction, for the affair was by all odds the most comprehensive historical pageant as well as the greatest financial success ever staged for charity in Chicago, says the Chicago herald. The setting was effective, with the curving yellow and orange walls of the bullfight ring hung with rich fabrics and rugs, and opposite to the entrance of the picturesque Café del Torero, with its yellow walls and black balconies, against which the various groups seated themselves in a semi-circle as the pageant wound itself about the hall. The pageant was somewhat late in beginning, and it was well after 12 o’clock before the last group had fled past the queen in the person of Mrs. Robert Leatherbee, who sat in a gorgeous palanquin, and alluring picture in Moorish costume of silver cloth, many barbaric jewels and a gorgeous headdress of fan and peacock feathers, After the pageant there was dancing and the gay scenes that began with the blowing of the bugles for the entrance of the bullfight cortege at 11 o’clock did not end until almost dawn” (Washington, D.C., December 26, 1915, page 8).

Queen Isabella at the Spanish Ball, from the “Chicago Tribune,” 12 Dec 1915 page 54.

The Charity ball raised $25,000. Over 4,000 donned their best costumes and emptied their pockets for the event intended to replenish the coffers of those in need. The majority of visitors were simply spectators as gazed from a balcony at the events below. The “Chicago Tribune” reported, “While the majority looked on from the boxes and balconies 300 men and women staged the long-a-waited Spanish ball, which compromised a pageant rich, in color, a series of performance by professional dancers and singers, and a mock bullfight which was greeted with shouts of laughter. Then everybody danced” (18 Dec. 1915, page 17).

The “Lincoln Journal Star,” reported “Chicago’s ‘400’ yawned sleepily today and voted the Spanish ball a weird success. Dowagers, cotillion leader, debutants and just ordinary folk who make one splurge a year decked themselves in a collection of disguises that added $100,000 to the bank rolls of modistes and tailors. Some of them rode donkeys to enhance the illusion of a Moorish scene. The ball, the annual charity event of Chicago, netted about $25,000 for the Chicago lying-in hospital. Mrs. Potter Palmer, the ‘400’s’ leader had as her guests former Ambassador and Mrs. Myron T. Herrick” (18 Dec., 1915, page 1).

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 915 – Detroit’s Temple Theatre and “Detroiter Abend-Post,” 1915

Detroit’s Temple Theatre between the Opera House and the Elk’s Building.

Sosman & Landis delivered scenery to Detroit’s Temple Theatre in 1908 and 1915. The Temple Theatre was not a Masonic structure, but a performance space constructed by the Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks for both public and private performances (BPOE).

The Elks Temple and Temple Theatre opened on Dec. 23, 1901. The entertainment complex originally hosted the Wonderland Theatre Company and curiosity museum of oddities. John Scott designed he building, with Col. J. M. Wood designing the 1500-seat theater. It was located next door to the Detroit Opera House, on the north side of Monroe Street in the Campus Martius area.

The Detroit Opera House and the Temple Theatre to the right.

In 1908, the Temple Theatre closed for three weeks during July to complete the renovation of the theater space. The “Detroit Free Press” described the imminent renovation plans in an article in July 2 (page 7):

“The Temple theater will close at the end of the week to permit decorators to transform the interior. The work will take three weeks, artists working in two shifts, night and day. When the theater is thrown open to the public, Monday afternoon, July 27, the many patrons will marvel at the transformation. It is said that the decorations, with carpets, tapestries, drop curtain and incidentals will cost in the neighborhood of $20,000. The entire decorations will be in the Italian Renaissance period, and William Wright company has guaranteed Manager J. H. Moore the richest vaudeville theater interior in this country. The ceilings and cornice work will be in light Italian blue and ivory, this scheme being carried throughout. The proscenium boxes will be draped with rich brocatelle hangings of light blue, with heavy cords and tassels, and fine old Roman gold chairs will replace the mahogany ones now in use. Artists and designers have been at work on the preliminary plans for the last three months, and all that is left now is to complete the actual work. The carpets have been made from a special design by the decorators, and Sosman & Landis, the scene painters of Chicago, are in consultation with the William Wright artists carry out in the new drop curtain, to cost $1,000, the color scheme of the auditorium. The double baize doors, leading from the foyer to the right proscenium boxes will be replaced with Roman gilt and gold plate glass doors, with gold columns. New and beautiful electrical effects will be seen in the ceiling of the foyer. On account of the reopening of the Temple falling the revival of the famous Blue Ribbon meeting in Detroit, the bill of vaudeville for that week will be designated the “Blue Ribbon” bill. It will contain the names of artists, not the least of whom will be Loie Fuller, the celebrated fire dancer. The Temple Theater has not been closed, summer or winter, since it was thrown open to the pubic eight years ago. The many hundreds of patrons who have reserved their seats throughout the seasons will call for them during the week preceding the opening when the regular sale will go into effect.”

The “Detroit Free Press” described the 1908 drop curtain by Sosman & Landis in detail: “Beyond all this the proscenium arch a mass of burnished gold and set within like a picture in its frame is the new drop curtain – a splendid thing the product of Sosman & Landis scenic studios in Chicago. It pictures an old Italian garden, the spirit of the joy-seeking Renaissance caught here in every other part of the theater. Here too the predominating note is blue with only the suggestion of green in the foliage and a hint of old rose in the costumes of the grand dames, which lend the desired touch of life to the stately old garden. It’s all brightly beautiful and happy thought and ideal as a playhouse should be, and proves with subtle insistence that those responsible for it are artists in a very substantial and satisfying sense” (July 26, 1908, page 7).

I recently discovered another article pertaining Sosman & Landis scenery delivered to Detroit’s Temple Theatre in 1915. The new scenery was for the reopening of the redecorated theater on July 19. My fourth-grade German classes and Google translate helped me understand the gist of the German article in “Detroiter Abend-Post.” However, I still needed help and turned to my friend Art de Hoyos. Below is the translation of what was published in “Detroiter Abend-Post” on July 11, 1915 (page 12):

“English stage. Temple Theatre. This popular Vaudeville house will remain closed this week, but next week it will be reopened with new outfitting, and a few years will pass before the theater has to be temporarily closed again. Certain repairs and improvements were urgently needed in the theater room, but they will be completed later this week, so that nothing will stand in the way of reopening on July 19. The American Seating Co. was entrusted with the contract for the delivery and laying of new carpets in the parquet and the so-called ‘mezzanine floor.’ New scenery for the stage will be supplied by the well-known theater company Sosman & Landis Co. Chicago. The Temple Theater will reopen with an exceptionally rich, good program.”

Temple Theatre article in the “Detroiter Abend-Post” (Detroit, Michigan), 11 July 1915, page 12.

I also found a newspaper advertisement pertaining to the old chairs being removed from the Temple Theater in 1915. The opera chairs were listed for sale in the “Detroit Free Press” on June 6, 1915 (page 30). The listing announced, “Attention, Theatre Managers. THEATRE CHAIRS FOR SALE CHEAP. All parquet and balcony seats now in use in Temple Theatre must be sold to make room for new seats to be installed soon. CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. Inquire Temple Theatre Offices.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 850 – Father McCann of Elgin, 1913

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I got $3,000.00 contract from Father McCann of Elgin, for a scenic decoration for their Coliseum. This represented a tropical island and was very effective, and the Bazaar that was given with the decoration was a very wonderfully successful one, netting $6,000.00.” To put this project in financial perspective, $6000 in 1913 is the equivalent of approximately $155,000 today. That is a lot of money for a church to spend on a bazaar. Father McCann at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, however, was a poet, lover of the arts, and tango enthusiast. The 1913 church bazaar was set in the Elgin Coliseum, a venue with a seating capacity of 4,000. The tropical theme in 1913 supported a variety of performances, including the controversial dance. For a little perspective, by 1913 dance instructors who taught the tango in Paris were banished from the city due to the sexual overtones. It is understandable why McCann had to defend the dance in the regional papers, as he was certainly pushing the envelope of social acceptability at the time.

The church bazaar was mentioned in the “Joliet Evening Herald-News” article:

“TANGO O.K. SAYS ELGIN PRIEST” (29 Sept 1913, page 2).

Here is the article, as it provides a little more background about this quirky clergy member:

“Elgin, Ill., Sept 29.- Father John J. McCann, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic church, wants everyone to learn and dance the tango in its appeared form, which he highly endorsed. He announced today that an exhibition of the new dance by three children couples under supervision of a professional teacher will be the feature of the church bazaar next month. His first idea was to have the teacher instruct adults at the bazaar, but she said improper steps would creep in unless there had been careful training beforehand, He expects to throw the dance opinion to all at the next bazaar.”

Moses previously worked for the McCann in 1912, writing, “Went to Elgin to see Father McCann about a show for their Coliseum – a big street effect.” Sosman & Landis did another big contract for a pained street scene for the event. This was another substantial project for the firm that brought in significant income. Unfortunately, McCann would not remain in Elgin.

Father McCann’s dismissal from St. Mary’s, published in the ” Chicago Tribune,” 18 March 1918, 1-10

Only a few years later, McCann’s career turned south, after a conflict with Bishop Peter J. Muldoon that dramatically escalated. McCann was even taken into custody after a police standoff from inside St. Mary’s Church in Elgin (see past post # 811 for the sordid details). However, in 1913 McCann was still poplar with the public and flush with funds, even purchasing fine artworks from Moses at his 1913 Palette & Chisel Club art exhibition. Moses recorded that McCann bought one canvas for $200.00 and another for $100.00, “starting the sale in good shape.”

In 1913, McCann made headlines again in the “Herald” newspaper article “Priest Named in Elgin Case” (Crystal Lake, 13 Oct. 1913, page 7). I think that this was the beginning of the end for Father McCann. Here is the article:

“Elgin.- On the witness stand before Police Magistrate Thompson, William J. Peer, manager of the Chicago Motor Cab company, testified that the automobile in which Joe Connor made his escape from the Elgin State hospital, July 25, was ordered by Father John J. McCann, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic church, Elgin.” Oh my. It had to have been hard to explain that to Bishop Muldoon.

In 1914, Moses wrote, “The Elgin Coliseum that we started in the fall was put up in February and it was very effective; good lighting. The committee was well pleased with it. The Palette and Chisel Club loaned some pictures. I took up half a dozen and we made a little Art Gallery, and I think we put our name on the map, if nothing else. ”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 837 – The Ringling Bros. Grand Circus Spectacle, Joan of Arc, 1913

Poster for Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle, Joan of Arc.

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Had to go back to Baraboo to get a new contract for more work. Total $13,695.00.” Today’s equivalent of $13,695.00 in 1913 is $355,183.28.

Later that year, Moses wrote, “When we were setting the Ringling scenery at the Coliseum, the big elephant stampeded and there was some excitement for awhile, but the trainer went after them and brought them back and made them go through all the tricks again.”

From 1905 until Al Ringling’s passing in in 1916, Thomas G. Moses completed several designs for the Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacles. Al Ringling worked with Moses to design scenery for their grand circus spectacles. The work that Moses mentioned in 1913 was for their Joan of Arc spectacle.

Poster for Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle Joan of Arc, 1913.

In 1913, newspaper advertisements across the country announced the Ringlings’ “newly added $500,000 spectacle of ‘Joan of Arc” (The Placer Herald, Rocklin, CA, 23 August 1913, page 3). The attraction was described in hundreds of articles, such as the “Pawnee Rock Herald” (Pawnee, Kansas, 17 July 1913, page 3). The “Pawnee Rock Herald” reported, “Ringling Bros. circus is attracting unusual interest this season because of its many new features and the new aspect given the show by the addition of the great spectacle ‘Joan of Arc”…There will be a new parade in the forenoon three miles in length. The menagerie is practically twice as big as it was last year and contains many specimens of strange animals. Audiences will be entertained by 375 of the greatest of Europe’s circus artists…The great feature of the show of course is the newly added spectacle ‘Joan of Arc,’ with a trainload of special scenery, costumes and stage properties and a cast of 1,200 characters. There is a ballet of 300 dancing girls, a chorus of 400 voices and an orchestra of 100 soloists.”

Of the spectacle, the article continued, “This is the greatest dramatic and spectacular production ever presented in America, enacted on a specially built stage bigger than a hundred ordinary theatres. It is made portable so that it can be erected in the main tent each morning. This great entertainment is given as an introductory to the regular circus performance and entails no extra charge of admission. John of Arc tells a masterful story from French history in a thrilling and dramatic way and with the wonderful illusion of tone of special scenery and stage devices. In the great battle scene the audience is held spellbound by the realism of the scene while the enactment of the coronation of Charles VII is beyond question the most sumptuous and inspiring stage picture ever seen.”

Scene from Ringling Bros. Joan of Arc with scenery by Sosman & Landis. Image from the “Santa Ana Register,” 4 Sept 1913, page 8.

An article in the “Great Bend Tribune” announced the arrival of the advance men (Great Bend, Kansas, 5 July 1913, page 1): “Thursday night a huge eighty-foot car pulled into the Santa Fe station with a coat of bright red paint, it announced in blazing letters of gold, ‘Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows Advertising Car No. 1’…Ringling Bros. have three advance cars, following one another a week apart. The no. 1 car goes to each town three weeks before the circus is due to appear. It carries twenty-seven men, consisting of twenty billposters and six lithographers, in charge of the veteran car manager, George Goodhart. A steam machine for making paste is carried on the car and every night the porter makes twelve barrels for use the following day. The head lithographer sees the dates are pasted on the lithos and the car manager lays out the work for each man to do. At 5:30 a.m. the men are called, breakfast is served at 6 o’clock, and at 6:30 the local livery teams are at the car ready to take the billposters to the outlying towns and through the city itself to plaster the billboards. The lithographers start with their bundles of lithos (in circus parlance called ‘hods’) to decorate the store windows, and by the time the supper hour arrives everybody knows the big circus is coming and enthusiastic and excited youngsters are busily engaged in planning a touch on ‘daddie’ for the price of a circus ticket. The men who do the country work also carry the show heralds for distribution. The next car is the excursion car. The No. 3 car will do the local work.”

As the Ringing Bros. trains crossed Kansas, the “Topeka Daily News” announced, “While numerous alarm clocks were tinkling under pillows of small boys throughout the city this morning, there arrived in the yards of the Rock Island Railroad four long trains, composed of 86 cars bearing the Ringling Brother’s circus” (“Topeka Daily News, “July 24, 1913),

One-half of an entire train was used for the costumes and scenery of the spectacle of “Joan of Arc.” Of the show, the article continued, “This spectacle, in a series of brilliant pantomime pictures, tells the dramatic story of the Maid of Orleans, the simple peasant girl who led an army to battle and restored Charles VII to the throne of France. The costumes and scenery are the most gorgeous and costly every used in a production of this kind, either under canvas or in a theater” (page 7).

The production was further described in the “Hartford Courant:”

“The play begins when Joan, just 16 years old, comes from her father’s pasture at Domremy at the command of the Archangel St. Michael to the court of Charles VII, at Chinon. In the light of a thousand torches she is brought into the presence of the King in the great palace which throngs with the nobles of France. The reception which the King gives to the peasant girl is filled with impressiveness and suspense. The second climax of the great spectacle is reached when Joan, dressed in armor, crossed the river of Orleans, and rides at the head if the French army into the gates of the beleaguered city. One of her heralds presents himself at the English camp. Respect to the messenger is sent to defy Talbot, and to declare from the girl that is any harm is done him it shall be retaliation on the English prisoners. Joan in shining armor appears on a tower facing the Tournelles, bidding the soldiers of Suffolk and Talbot to depart. This they refuse to do. At the head of the French knights and archers Joan rides between the towers of the besiegers and followed by the villagers who look on in wonder at the sight of a mere girl leading the armies of France. The stage version ends with the introduction of a great ballet of 300 beautiful dancing girls, a grand opera chorus, 600 horses and an ensemble o 1,200 people. The closing chapter of Joan’s life is too sad for this drama of gladness, through her capture, her imprisonment and her execution are told n a series of thrilling tableaus by means of tons of scenery and a great battery of electric mechanism” (17 May 1913, page 16).

Joan of Arc advertisement placed in the “Hartford Courant,” 17 May 1913, page 16.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 809 – The Moonlight Olio

Today’s post continues with the story of New York Studios for one more post. In 1912, the firm brought suit against the owners of the Colonial Theatre. In court they tried to recovered money that was due from F. & H. Schweppe for a “Moonlight Olio.”

A moonlight effect drop at the Scottish Rite in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Backside of drop for the moonlight effect.

I have read many tales of honest and hard-working people who were not paid for their work. They all seem to share a similar story. Only twice, have I had the misfortune of being “stiffed;” pretty good for being in the business more than thirty years. However, for me that was twice too many. I think that the first time was the hardest as I didn’t see it coming. It concerned painted ceremonial settings for the Ancient & Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine – go figure.

While researching the life and times of Thomas G. Moses, I have repeatedly read the letters of correspondence between scenic studios and various Masonic organizations, begging for money owed from scenery that was already designed or installed. In many ways, I feel quite fortunate with only suffering from two dishonest clients.

Not being paid from a Masonic organization is similar to not being paid from a religious institution; they know better. I always think back to Thomas G. Moses quote, “My experience with Church Committees, of all denominations was such that I almost promised myself never to enter another Church. I found a lot of dishonest men that were pillars of the church and naturally I looked upon them as good Christians, and their word should have been as good as their bond.”

There is an interesting dance that often occurs with a client, or organization, owes money for completed work and has no intention of paying. After a series of delays, a lame excuse is often presented as justifying nonpayment. It really doesn’t matter to the client at this point, as the vendor has already delivered everything promised; they are simply waiting for compensation. So the client just sits, gambling in a way, and hoping that no legal action will ensue. The person owed the money contemplates whether the amount is large enough to incur additional legal fees. In 1912, New York Studios decided the amount was worth it. Their particular story had to do with a client paying for scenery that was not returned in 1911.

On March 18, 1912, the “Star-Gazette” reported “The New York Studio, painters of stage scenery of all sorts has begun action against Schweppe Brothers, owners of the Colonial Theatre on Main Street to recover $90, claimed to be due on a “moonlight olio drop” which was furnished that theater. It is alleged that settlement made with Schweppes at a certain figure providing the local firm would return the drop. The studio says the drop has not been returned” (Elmira, New York, page 3). In other words they rented a drop and decided to keep it. The first time round they lost the case in city court.

On September 4, 1912, the “Star-Gazette” reported “The New York Studios Company, through their attorneys, Baldwin & Allison, have appealed from a jury’s verdict in city court which was rendered in favor of Fred and Henry Schweppe, owners of the Colonial Theatre block. The action has been tried in a city court to recover $90, which the New York Studios Company alleged was due them for a ‘Moonlight Olio.’ The jury held that the Schweppe Brothers were justified in their position. The jury rendered that verdict on July 25” (Elmira, New York, page 11).

Now there is the basic question here: “What is a Moonlight Olio?” There is an ongoing discussion about “olio, the machine” versus “olio, the scene.” In this particular case it is painted scenery, more specifically a backdrop that depicts a moonlight scene or has a moonlight effect. Olio likely refers to the studio design label. Examples of “olio” drop compositions can be found in the Performing Arts archives at the University of Minnesota. The Twin City Scenic Co. collection has an entire box of olio designs, with each label using an “O” for olio, for example, O-89. Olio drops were musical numbers placed between the scenes of a play/melodrama and were independent of the main storyline. Back to the court case…

By 1915, The “Star-Gazette” published the ongoing 4-year saga of the moonlight olio, reporting, “The action grows out of the furnishing scenery for the Colonial. The original claims were settled at 75 cents on the dollar and in the settlement the Messrs. Schweppe were to return a moonlight drop, which is one of the canvas painted drops which make the background of the stage setting. The studios had furnished two olios and it is claimed that the wrong one was returned. From this incident, four years ago, grows the present action for $90. It was tried once in City Court and Messrs. Schweppe were successful. The studios appealed” (1 June 1915, page 7). On June 2, 1915, the verdict was published – $90 was awarded to the New York Studios. The “Star-Gazette” commented, “The $90 is the full amount of the claim but it is not so much the money as a vindication of lawyers that was being fought for” (1, June 1915, page 7).

The $90 fee for the Moonlight Olio is the equivalent of $2,380.44 today. Although this was not a great amount of money for a scenic studio to lose in product, they had to fight this battle in a very visible arena. Their legal actions sent a signal to other theaters and clients that New York Studios would not back down; they would collect money owed, regardless of the amount.

To be continued…