Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1904-04-28
RIOTS IN THEATERS.
AT ONE TINE THEY WERE COMMON
AND DISASTROUS OCCURRENCES.


The Strenuous Experience of Mac
ready I'm Astor Place, New York.
David Garrick's Troubles mt the
Drury Lane Theater, In London.
The general attitude of forbearance
manifested by theatrical audiences OF
today has come to be such d matter or
course that it is difficult for the public
to realize that conditions were not al
ways SO. The playgoer Of today can
have little conception Of what actors
and managers often endured in those
faraway times when interruptions Of
disagreeable and tumultuous character
were Of almost nightly occurrence. In
deed, the demonstrative character or
the audiences in London became so
pronounced at one time that the man.
ayers Of the principal theaters had to
petition the king for a guard of sol
diers. This precaution was not entire
ly satisfying, evidently, for in 1I42 the
manager of Drury Lane engaged the
services of thirty prize fighters to assist
the soldiers in maintaining order.
The LincoIn's Inn Fields theater was
the scene of n small riot ON one occa-
sion as a result Of the actions of "a GER
tain noble earl" who, having drunk
rather too freely, forced his way to the
stage. When the manager ordered him
off he boxed that functionary's ears.
Blow was returned for blow, and a
mixup followed between the actors and
the nobleman's friends, who, after be-
ing driven from the stage, revenged
themselves by cutting and slashing the
furniture and hangings with their
swords. The theater had to be closed
for two days.
An even worse riot was precipitated
shortly after at Drury Lane by the fail
ure to announce the nonappearance Of
Nine. .Chateauneuf, premiere danseuse,
to see whom many of the people had
expressly paid their money. The audi
smashed all the orchestral instruments,
tore up the benches in the pit, broke
the chandeliers and even tore down
the royal arms The house was COM
pletely wrecked and a loss of several
thousand pounds sustained
David Garrick, despite his popular
ity, saw two disturbances during his
tenancy of Drury Lane. Garrick had
engaged q number of foreigners for
''The Chinese Festival" among them
being several Frenchmen. War with
France broke out few days before
the presentation. Garrick had been
informed that on no account would the
presence of a Frenchman be tolerated
on the stage, but as the foreigners
were cast in important roles 1t was inn
possible for him to substitute other ac-
tors. He had the assurance that the
aristocratic element would support him,
so he concluded to brave the displeas-
ure of the so called patriots.
On the first night the king was pres
ent, and only few groans, Kisses and
catcalls were INDUCED in. The next
night there were loud demands that
the French players quit the scene.
When the aristocrats were equally in
sistent that the foreigners should re-
main, bedlam broke loose. The mana
ger, irresolute, stood in the center of
the stage, knowing that whatever he
did would be antagonistic to one or
the other element and fatal to his
piece as well as peace" About him
were grouped the trembling actors.
The gentlemen from the boxes de-
scended into the pit with drawn
swords and attempted to seize the
ringleaders Of the patriots" The lat
ter naturally offered stout resist
ance, and blood flowed freely. To make
things worse the malcontents finally
adjourned to Garrick's home in South
ampton street, where they demolished
the windows with a volley of stones.
Six years later Garrick's announce
ment that in future persons coming In
after the conclusion of the third act
would be charged the full price of adj
mission instead Of half price aroused
the ire of the masses. The audience
refused TO allow the play to proceed.
and one interested man tried to set
fire to the scenery In that design he
was prevented by an actor named
Moody. Eventually Garrick ordered
the curtain rung down and money re-
funded.
The next night the audience, headed
by Mr.. Fitzpatrick, arose in body
and demanded if Garrick were pre-
pared to accede to their wishes. Gar
rick had learned his lesson and an
swered in the affirmative. The house
next demanded that the actor Moody
should apologize for having laid his
hands on a gentleman the night before.
Moody, thinking to put the audience
in good humor, came forward and
with strong Hibernian accent remark
ed that "he was sorry he had dis
pleased them by saving their lives in
putting out the fire."
The bit of fun, instead of amusing
the malcontents, aroused their ire even
more, and they insisted that the actor
beg their pardon on bended knees.
Moody was not to be forced, however,
and Garrick finally was obliged to
promise that Moody should not appear
upon the stage as long as he was per-
soma non grata to the hostile audience.
At the same time Garrick personally
congratulated Moody on his firmness
and promised to pay his salary whether
he acted or not. Shortly afterward,
however, Fitzpatrick and his friends
sent word that the ban was removed.
In 1747 there was a series of disturb
ances at the Aungier theater, Dublin,
which had its origin in an alteration
between Thomas Sheridan, father Of
the author OF ''The Rivals and THE
School For Scandal" and young man
named Kelly, who had climbed on the
stage and insulted an actress. Kelly
had received a broken nose" during
the argument, and so the next night he
came to the theater with body of his
friends, hunting for trouble He found
It, A body of Trinity college students
espouSed the managers cause, ana 1or
several nights the theater was convert
ed into a veritable battlefield, swords
and cudgels being freely used. The
scene was finally shifted to the law
courts, where Sheridan brought an ac-
ton against Kelly, who was condemned
10 three months Imprisonment and to
pay a fine of $500.
If New York has not had as many
theatrical riots as London Ii has at
least he'd one beside which all those
cited seem as child's play. This oc-
Cured Mt the Astor Place Opera House
while the English actor Macready was
playing there in May, 1S49.
In 1Si5 Forrest, the American trage-
dian, had made a tour of England and
Scotland, meeting with little favor
from press and public. He ascribed