Brooklyn theater collection
1733-1939, inclusive
; 1863-1911, bulk
The Brooklyn theater collection is comprised of playscripts, playbills, programs, and other ephemera from various theater venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Although some material dates from the early 18th century to as late as the 1930s, most of the material focuses on the years 1823 to 1911. Programs relating to concerts, musical comedies, and musical revues are also included. In addition, the collection has some early rare examples of handwritten director's promptbooks dating back to 1733. Some examples of ephemeral material contained in the collection are an invitation to a ball sponsored by the Academy of Brooklyn to the Prince of Wales, Brooklyn Academy ticket statements, and clippings.
The majority of the collection centers on Brooklyn and Manhattan theater venues. Such well-known establishments as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Montauk Theatre, Orpheum Theatre, Payton's Lee Avenue Theatre, the Lyceum Hall, the Astor Place Opera House, Barnum's American Museum, Franklin Theatre, and Laura Keen's Theatre are included in this collection.
For an index of individual performers and plays listed, see Box 1, Folder 1: Playbills and Programs Finding Aid (1968). Please note that this list is no longer representative of the entire collection.
Organizations
Amphion Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Brighton Beach Hall (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Brooklyn Academy of Music;
Brooklyn Museum;
Brooklyn Theatre (Theater company : New York, N.Y.);
Columbia Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Grand Opera House (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Grand Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Montauk Theatre (Organization : Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.));
New Brighton Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
New Park Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Orpheum Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Payton's Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Shakespeare Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.);
Teller's Broadway Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:09:31 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English
Brooklyn Historical Society
1977.041 4 of 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
1977.041 2 of 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
1977.041 3 of 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
1977.041 1 of 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Series 1: Playscripts and printed plays, 1733-1896, inclusive
The playscripts and plays in this series are arranged alphabetically by production location. This series comprises 22 play titles, some incomplete, covering comedies, farces, and drama scripts. Included are some handwritten directors' and prompters' scripts, actors' sides (sheets, usually a half page, containing lines and cues for a single role), varying versions of entire scripts or single acts, and printed plays. All items are written in English.
Series 2: Playbills, programs and ephemera, 1796-1939, inclusive
Items in this series are organized alphabetically by venue. Included are playbills and programs from a number of Brooklyn and Manhattan theaters that seem to have been amassed by patrons as souvenirs. These programs and playbills provide information about a variety of theater productions, including names of performers, productions, the different acts that comprised an evening's entertainment, and advertisements. Also included is one copy of the April 4, 1891 issue of The Theatre Goer, a weekly news publication containing programs and listings of music and drama performances in Brooklyn and the New York City area.