Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-26

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In 1919 Charles Incledon, singer from
the Theater Royal, Covent Garden, who
happened to be at the port of Alexandria
waiting for passage on an outgoing ship,
was induced to come to Washington for
an appearance at the Washington Theater.
In the following year Mr.. and Mrs. BART
ley, from the Theater Royal, Drury lane,
were the star players of the season, which
was notable for those days, so much so that
President Monroe went down the avenue to
attend performance of "Matrimony" at
benefit at the old Washington Theater.
Next year the theater burned and the
ground and walls were sold to Lewis Carusi.
He rebuilt the place and opened it in 1922
as the Washington Assembly Rooms. The
place later became famous as Caruss Hall.
Joseph Jefferson, the father of rip Van
Wrinkle" played there in the thirties, and
1t was there in 1860 that the late Joe JEFF
ferson made his first appearance as Rip
Van Wrinkle on any stage.
In his autobiography Mr.. Jefferson says
that he first put Rip on the stage at that
theater in 1852 but the files of the Wash
ington newspapers Of the period state that
the first appearance of Jefferson as Rip at
the old Washington Theater was made No
vember Is, 1860.
Jefferson had been boarding at an old
Dutch farm house in Pennsylvania, and on
one rainy afternoon was lying in a hay loft
reading the letters Of Washington Irving.
There was a reference in the volume to
Irving having seen Jefferson play at Laura
Keene's Theater in THE Road to RUM
and that he had reminded the author of
Jefferson's father. This SO touched JEFF
ferson that he decided to put on a dramat-
ization of the legend of RIP Van Wrinkle"
Several versions had already been made,
among them one that had been used by
Jefferson's half-brother, Burke. Out of the
ma terial in hand and other documents
which he hunted up in the city Jefferson
evolved his great play, and by the end of
the summer was ready to- transplant 1t
from rustic environments to cosmopolitan
audience in Washington. There he opened
at Carusis Hail. which was called the
Washington Theater
Sam Glenn was the sole lessee and man.
ager of the theater from the burning OF
the National Theater, in 1857, until the OPEN
ing of Growers Theater, on the site of the
National, and John T.. Ford's Atheneum,
on 10th street, in 1882 The latter theater
had been church, and three years later
became the historic scene of Lincoln's trag-
edy during Laura Keene's performance of
''Our American Cousin" w. Stuart OF Wal
lacks Theater in New York had leased Ca,
rusi's Hall, and after fitting it up had
opened it under its original name of the
Washington Theater in 1858, with Dion
Boucicault as director.
At that time and for many years after.
ward his name, according to contempt
rary playbills and advertisements was
spelled Bourcicault instead of Boucicault
and the same was true of other members of
the Boucicault family.
John T. Raymond was a member of the
stock company at the time that Jefferson
made his first appearance as Rip Van
Wrinkle. The company was composed of
L. p. Roys, w. H. Bartholomew, D. w.
Walton, o. B. Collins, 6. A. Poyd. John L.
Mathew, Joseph L. Gallagher, Miss Alice
Humphrey Bland, Miss Sallie Gordon, John I.
Raymond, T. Brougham Baker. Frank C.
Bangs (who has been on the stage fifty
years. was a wartime matinee Idol in
Washington, and Is still in harness), D.
Ryan, John Carol, Humphrey Bland, s. w.
Glenn, Miss Mary Shaw, Mrs. Eliza Mann.
Mrs. d. Ryan and Mrs. Ellen Gilmore.
! The advertisement of the first perform
ance of Jefferson's Rip was as follows:
WASHINGTON THEATRE.
Lessee, Mr.. 8. W. Glenn.
This Tuesday Evenins November 10. 1850.
First Appearance Of
The Celebrated American Comedian.
In h hi van van w ShsHsfas. Of
In the drama adapted by him from Washington
Irving,s novel; with new comic situations.
| Dances etc.
TO sfss,HSe n z'n ris NJ 's sss ssss: Of
Mr.. Golightly. Mr.. Jos Jefferson