Norwich bulletin., 1921-03-29
ODD INCIDENTS IN AMERICAN
 HISTORY

THE EARLY THEATRE IN AMERICA.
 A great deal of mystery hides the early stage in the United States. The history of the theatre from about 1730 until the present time is fairly well recorded. but before that date comparatively little has come down, Although it is well under stood that acting was occasionally to be met with in spite of the disposition to frown upon it.
 There is good reason to believe that an attempt was made soon after Penn and his colonists had settled in Pennsylvania to give sone kind of theatrical perform ance, and among the earliest things the good proprietary in his laws forbade was stage plays. It usually had been thought that Philadelphia had seen, nothing in the nature of a theatrical performance until about 174s, when the city recorder fined some actors for presumihg tos act plays there. ,J&
 Of late. years the striaents of theatrical history have diseovered that as early as 1702 there were theatrieal performances here in Charleston ard in New York. On the part of some E+terss on the subject it has been assumed that these plays were
 manner of the Runcll and Judy shows
 But few years ago there was unearthed a rare play called The Fools, Opera. by Anthony Astonl published about 1730, in
 which, AstoH gives short account of his 1 life. The ftontispjece, very crude ef-
 fort, gives the .onE portrait known to ex. 1 ist of Aston, who seems to have been the
 first actor in the British colonies of North America.
 | In the course of his history Aston says | My merry hearts. you are to know me ET-,-- I.--- dier, sailor, exciseman, publican in Eng. Hand, Scotland Ireland, New York, Eas and West Jersey. Maryland, Virginia or
 both sides of the Chesapeake, North anC 4South Carolina, South Florida, Bahamas Jamaica. Hispaniola and often coaste by all tns same"
 When Aston arrived in America is no known, but he appears to have become
 player during his visit, for he says: e
 arrived after many vicissitudes. a
 Charles s-Town full of shame, poverty lnakedness and hungeR turned play-acto and poet. and wrote play of one act ol the country"
 I Tn the gossipy account of him. Aston lgiying what he would cali a merry tai
 of himself, neglects to insert even on date. Consequently, only the barest out line of his life is known and only sug lgestion of his American career. When h
 was born and when. he died is unknown lalthough he is known to have been sti
 living as late as the year>1737 At tha
 time he seems to have been an old mar and it has been inferred from certain re marks in his autobiography that he al
 rived in this country before 1902
 F It hSs been suggested and probabl ] not without sone reason, although entire , ly coniectural that Aston was the Al
 thony Weston who offended the proyinci; !. governor in the early days of Pennsyly: mia by presenting what they record as ~disreputable' petition, and forthwith tl council sentenced the petitioner to 1 ' whipped in the market place three day ] ten lashes on each occasion
 , If Anthony Aston and Anthony Westt 5 fare one and the same person. which do 2 not seem to be outside the bounds of DO ' sibility, it is easy to imagine what
 iasked permission to do He desired De :. mission to give performance and it likely that he was the sole performer, f It is known to a certainty that the Q was some kind of theatrieals given : Charleston before the year 170e. The T n ture of the performance is not so VI ? ascertained, but students of the Anne s can stage do not regard them as havi T been legitimate in the modern sense. n Frem Aston's autobiography 1t seer # that he arrived at Charleston first. a e5 there became a player and poet" ] i" left Charleston for New York. but Cd l. trary wind blew his ship to the yirgi1 n Capes, and after some difficulties he Q rived at Elizabethtown. There" he sd,