Extremely Rare Antique NYC The Magazine Theater Programs Bronx Opera House with colorful ads. The Set of 7 program dates are as follows: 1914, 1915, 1916, 1916, 1916, 1917, 1918.
Shipped with UPS. Shipping fees include handling & full insurance.
Measurements: 1914 is 7 7/8”H x 5 1/4”W, the other 6 programs dating 1915-1918 are 9 1/8”H x 6 1/8”W.
Condition: Overall Amazing Condition considering its age. Please Examine Photos Carefully for condition.
When first opened in August, 1913, the Bronx Opera House was considered the most beautiful theatre in the borough. The color scheme interior of the house was ivory, green and old gold. The decorations were in the Italian Renaissance style. The ornamental work on the ceiling and box fronts and columns was old gold. The ornamental plaster work had been treated with an ivory tint, stenciled to harmonized with the wall coverings which were of silk damask. The body of the silk damask wall decorations was of a light green pattern harmonizing in color. Draperies of the same character in heavy velvet, treated with gold, with ornate center wreath medallions, constituted the box decorations. The auditorium had two separate balconies, and was dominated by a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. The stage opening was 62 feet wide, but there may not have ever been operas performing there. For many years, the theatre presented only vaudeville and plays, including a long run as part of the so-called “Subway Circuit”.
Three mural paintings were adorning the auditorium ceiling. These represented the Temple of Love, Love Accused Before Jove, and Repose and Laughter.
In the foyer and aisles were carpets of green, two shades darker than the wall coverings and draperies. A feature of the Bronx Opera House was the diffused lighting arrangements. The sunburst, or center ceiling light fixture, was five feet in diameter. The small lights of the auditorium were so arranged as to be concealed from the eye.The second balcony and main auditorium were equipped with the same indirect alba glass globes.
Ventilation was achieved by a system of tubing built in the walls and foundations leading to and connecting on the roof with a high-power electric fan that drove the cold air down under the concrete floor of the auditorium, into which it was filtered by way of innumerable colanders installed under seats, making it possible to keep the temperature of the interior "healthful", no matter what conditions prevailed outside.
By the 1940’s, it had become a late-run movie house, with the name simplified to Bronx Theatre. The seating capacity was reduced to 1,400 by shutting down the top balcony. By 1950 it was operated by Liggett-Florin Booking Service. The theatre eventually fell victim to the overall decline of the South Bronx.
Performers included the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Julia Marlowe, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, David Warfield. Other performers at the theatre included George M. Cohan, Eddie Cantor, John Bunny, Harry Houdini, Peggy Wood and Fats Waller.Post-Broadway shows were often performed and the theater hosted the Aborn Opera Company.
1913–1914
Manager: Richard Madden
Treasurer: Harry Cullen
Show times: Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees (Wed., Sat. and holidays), 2.15 pm
Ticket prices: twenty-five cents to a dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents.[
1914–1915
In its November 7, 1914 edition, Variety estimates that "The Story of the Rosary" brought in $6,900 to the Bronx Opera House but that the theatre has had an average of 9 to $10,000 per week since the beginning of the season – pretty good considering the 1914-1915 season showed an almost unbroken line of failures at the box office in the industry in general. Although poor performance is generally attributed to war uncertainties, the Bronx Opera House good numbers are most likely due to the elimination of the Royal Theatre.By mid January 1915 it is estimated to be the most profitable combination theater in New York with an average business of $8,000 a week. Potash and Perlmutter alone did an estimated $9,900 in one week and The Crinoline Girl $9,700.
A motion picture was shown for the first time at the Bronx Opera House on December 14. A silent documentary titled Belgian War Scenes, it featured an actual battle in progress, shells bursting, men falling in the trenches and the care of the wounded.
John Barrymore is on stage April 19 for a week in Willard Mack's Kick-In.
Offering for the 1914-1915 season:
Date Show Author Production
09/05/1914 To-Day George Broadhurst (Company A. cast)
09/14/1914 Peg O' My Heart J. Hartley Manners Oliver Morosco
09/28/1914 Seven Keys to Baldpate George M. Cohan Cohan & Harris
10/12/1914 The Crinoline Girl Otto Hauerbach A. H. Woods
10/19/1914 Madam President Jose G. Levy Charles Frohman
10/26/1914 The Story of the Rosary Walter Howard Comstock & Gest
11/02/1914 The Dummy Harvey J. O'Higgins and Harriet Ford Play-Producing Co.
11/09/1914 The Things That Count Laurence Eyre William A. Brady
11/16/1914 Within the Law Bayard Veiller Selwyn and Company
11/23/1914 Too Many Cooks Frank Craven William A. Brady
11/30/1914 The Midnight Girl Paul Hervé
12/07/1914 The Third Party Mark Swan F. Ray Comstock
12/14/1914 Belgian war scenes, motion pictures Edwin F. Weigle (Director) The Popular Motion Picture Co.
12/25/1914 The Miracle Man George M. Cohan Cohan & Harris
12/28/1914 Sari Emmerich Kálmán Henry W. Savage
01/04/1915 Potash and Perlmutter Montague Glass and Charles Klein A. H. Woods
01/11/1915 Heart of Paddy Whack Rachel Crothers Henry Miller
01/18/1915 The High Cost of Loving Frank Mandel A. H. Woods
01/25/1915 Innocent George Broadhurst A. H. Woods
02/01/1915 So Much for So Much Willard Mack H. H. Frazee
02/08/1915 The Belle of Bond Street Harold Atteridge and Owen Hall Lee & J.J. Shubert
02/15/1915 The Misleading Lady Charles W. Goddard and Paul Dickey William H. Harris, Jr.
02/22/1915 Sis Hopkins
03/01/1915 Seven Keys to Baldpate George M. Cohan Cohan & Harris
03/08/1915 A Pair of Sixes Edward Peple H. H. Frazee
03/15/1915 Bunny in Funnyland John Bunny
03/22/1915 The Beauty Shop Channing Pollock Cohan & Harris
03/29/1915 The Bird of Paradise Richard Walton Tully Oliver Morosco
04/05/1915 Jack's Romance Augustus Pitou, Sr. Augustus Pitou, Jr.
04/12/1915 The Prince of Pilsen Gustav Luders
04/19/1915 Kick-In Willard Mack A. H. Woods
04/26/1915 A Mix Up Parker A. Hord Lee & J.J. Shubert
1915–1916
Newspaper Ad for the Aborn Opera Company's program in the Spring of 1916
Manager: J. J. Rosenthal
Show times: Evening, 8:15 pm, matinees (Wed., Sat. & holidays), 2.15 pm
Ticket prices: twenty-five cents to a dollar with bargain matinees at twenty-five and fifty cents.
A young Richard Dix was on the stage of the Bronx Opera House on December 7 for a one-week engagement of The Hawk.
D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was shown for two weeks accompanied by a thirty-piece orchestra.It was scheduled for an encore presentation on May 1, 1916 but was cancelled to make room for The House of Glass.
On June 7, during the six-week engagement of the Aborn Opera Company, Beppo, a donkey who was appearing on stage in Pagliacci, was tied by its keeper to a car parked in front of the theater. The Aborn Company was putting on Cavalleria Rusticana after Pagliacci and the keeper whose sympathies were divided between mules and music thought to slip back in the theater and hear an aria or two. When the keeper came out, the red car was gone and so was Beppo the donkey, a ten-year veteran of the stage.
Date Show Author Production
08/28/1915 The Yellow Ticket Michael Morton A. H. Woods
09/06/1915 Twin Beds Salisbury Field and Margaret Mayo William H. Harris, Jr.
09/13/1915 On Trial Elmer L. Rice Cohan & Harris
09/20/1915 It Pays to Advertise Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter Hackett Cohan & Harris
09/27/1915 Under Cover Roi Cooper Megrue Selwyn & Co.
10/04/1915 A Full House Fred Jackson H. H. Frazee
10/11/1915 Kick In Willard Mack A. H. Woods
10/18/1915 Song of Songs Edward Sheldon A. H. Woods
10/25/1915 High Jinks Otto Hauerbach Arthur Hammerstein
11/15/1915 The Bubble Edward Locke Lee & J.J. Shubert
11/22/1915 Cousin Lucy (Two Weeks) Charles Klein A. H. Woods
12/07/1915 The Hawk Francis De Croisset
12/18/1915 The Birth of a Nation D. W. Griffith D. W. Griffith
12/27/1915 Young America Fred Ballard Cohan & Harris
01/03/1916 The Road to Happiness Lawrence Whitman Lee Shubert
01/17/1916 Marie Odile Edward Knoblauch David Belasco
01/24/1916 Beverly's Balance Paul Kester
02/07/1916 Experience George V. Hobart William Elliott
02/14/1916 The Girl Who Smiles Paul Hervé & Jean Briquet
02/21/1916 The New Henrietta Bronson Howard Klaw & Erlanger
02/28/1916 Some Baby Zellah Covington and Jules Simonson
03/13/1916 Daddy Long Legs Jean Webster Henry Miller
03/20/1916 Kilkenny Augustus Pitou, Sr. Augustus Pitou, Jr.
04/17/1916 Potash and Perlmutter in Society Montague Glass A. H. Woods
04/24/1916 The Lie Margaret Illington
05/01/1916 The House of Glass Max Marcin Cohan & Harris
05/08/1916 Madama Butterfly (in English) Giacomo Puccini The Aborn Opera Company
05/11/1916 Martha (in English) Friedrich von Flotow The Aborn Opera Company
05/12/1916 Hansel and Gretel (in English, just one matinee) Engelbert Humperdinck The Aborn Opera Company
05/15/1916 Aida (in English) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/18/1916 Il Trovatore (in English) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1916 Carmen (in English) Georges Bizet The Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1916 The Tales of Hoffman (in English) Jacques Offenbach The Aborn Opera Company
05/26/1916 Hansel and Gretel (in English, one matinee) Engelbert Humperdinck The Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1916 Lucia di Lammermoor (in English) Gaetano Donizetti The Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1916 Rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
06/05/1916 Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana Leoncavallo & Mascagni The Aborn Opera Company
06/08/1916 Faust Charles Gounod The Aborn Opera Company
06/12/1916 The Bohemian Girl Alfred Bunn & Michael William Balfe The Aborn Opera Company
1916–1917
Common Clay breaks the house record on September 4 (Labor Day) drawing $9,697.
John Barrymore is back on the stage of the Bronx Opera House September 26 in John Galsworthy's Justice.
Julian Eltinge returns to the Bronx Opera House on Christmas Day with Cousin Lucy, a show so successful the previous season, it had been extended a second week. The cast remains the same but this 1916 production of the show features new songs, new music and new costumes, "those who saw it before will have to rub their eyes to make sure they are not really looking at a new production".
Offering for the 1916-1917 season:
Date Show Author Production
09/02/1916 Common Clay Cleves Kinkead A. H. Woods
09/18/1916 Broadway and Buttermilk Willard Mack & Charles Grant Frederic McKay
09/26/1916 Justice John Galsworthy Corey-Williams-Riter, Inc.
10/02/1916 Hobson's Choice Harold Brlghthouse F. Ray Comstock
10/09/1916 The Fear Market Amélie Rives Harrison Grey Fiske and George Mooser
10/23/1916 Very Good Eddie Philip Martholomae Marbury-Comstock Co.
11/06/1916 Just a Woman Eugene Walter Lee & J.J. Shubert
11/27/1916 His Bridal Night (two weeks) Lawrence Rising A. H. Woods
12/11/1916 Erstwhile Susan Marian De Forest Corey-Williams-Riter, Inc.
12/25/1916 Cousin Lucy Charles Klein A. H. Woods
01/01/1917 Fair and Warmer Avery Hopwood Selwyn & Co.
01/08/1917 The Flame Richard Walton Tully Richard Walton Tully
01/22/1917 His Heart's Desire Anna Nichols & Adelaide Matthews Augustus Pitou Jr.
01/29/1917 His Majesty Bunker Bean Lee Wilson Dodd Joseph Brooks
02/05/1917 Good Gracious Annabelle Clare Kummer Arthur Hopkins
02/12/1917 Watch your Step Irving Berlin Charles Dillingham
02/19/1917 Pollyanna Catherine Chisholm Cushing Klaw & Erlanger
02/26/1917 The Heart of Paddy Whack Ernest R. Ball Henry Miller
03/05/1917 Alone at Last Franz Lehár Lee & J.J. Shubert
03/12/1917 Captain Kidd, Jr. Rida Johnson Young Cohan & Harris
03/19/1917 So Long Letty Earl Carroll Oliver Morosco
03/26/1917 Pom Pom Hugo Felix Henry W. Savage
04/09/1917 The Great Lover Leo Ditrichstein, Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton Cohan & Harris
04/16/1917 The Great Divide William Vaughn Moody Henry Miller
04/23/1917 Little Lady in Blue Horace Hodges & T. Wigney Percyval David Belasco
04/30/1917 The Princess Pat Victor Herbert John Cort
05/07/1917 Madama Butterfly Giacomo Puccini The Aborn Opera Company
05/10/1917 La Boheme Giacomo Puccini The Aborn Opera Company
05/28/1917 The Blue Paradise Edmund Eysler & Sigmund Romberg The Aborn Opera Company
06/04/1917 The Chocolate Soldier Oscar Straus The Aborn Opera Company
1917–1918
Manager J. J. Rosenthal fired the first gun of the theatrical season by giving a monster patriotic benefit August 19, 1917. The theatre has been redecorated and with the Golden Lobby of fame looking more attractive than ever, is ready to receive Emma Dunn in Old Lady 31, Saturday, August 25 as the opening attraction of the regular season.
John and Lionel Barrymore are on stage November 19 in John Raphael's play Peter Ibbetson.
The third mini-season of the Aborn Opera Company does not fare as well as the previous two. The contract's terms were the same: booked for three weeks with more time optional. However returns were not found satisfactory and their engagement ended after only two weeks.
Offering for the 1917–1918 season:
Date Show Author Production
08/11/1917 My Irish Cinderella Cecil Spooner
08/20/1917 Jerry Catherine Chisholm
08/25/1917 Old Lady 31 Rachel Crothers Lee Kugel
09/03/1917 Cheating Cheaters Max Marcin A. H. Woods
09/10/1917 The Knife Eugene Walter Lee & J.J. Shubert
09/17/1917 The Brat Maude Fulton Oliver Morosco
09/24/1917 Lilac Time Jane Cowl Selwyn & Co.
10/01/1917 Molly Dear Cecil B. DeMille Andrew Mack
10/15/1917 Her Soldier Boy Sigmund Romberg & Emmerich Kalman Lee & J.J. Shubert
10/22/1917 The Inner Man Abraham Schomer Lee & J.J. Shubert
10/29/1917 Upstairs and Down Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton Oliver Morosco
11/05/1917 Chin Chin Anne Caldwell & R.H. Burnside Charles Dillingham
11/12/1917 Mary's Ankle May Tully A. H. Woods
11/19/1917 Peter Ibbetson John N. Raphael Lee & J.J. Shubert
11/26/1917 The Man Who Came Back (two weeks) Jules Eckert Goodman William A. Brady
12/10/1917 The Thirteenth Chair Bayard Veiller William Harris, Sr. & William H. Harris, Jr.
12/17/1917 The Very Idea William Le Baron G. M. Anderson & L. Lawrence Weber
12/24/1917 Leave it to Jane Book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse; Music by Jerome Kern Elliott, Comstock, Gest
12/31/1917 Daybreak Jane Cowl Selwyn & Co.
01/07/1918 Once Upon a Time Rachel Crothers Cohan & Harris
01/14/1918 Pollyanna Catherine Chisholm Cushing Klaw & Erlanger
01/21/1918 The Man from Wicklow Anne Nichols Augustus Pitou, Jr.
01/28/1918 De Luxe Annie Edward Clark Arthur Hammerstein
02/25/1918 The Country Cousin Booth Tarkington & Julian Street Klaw & Erlanger
03/04/1918 What's Your Husband Doing? George V. Hobart Hobart-Jordan Co.
03/11/1918 The Boomerang Winchell Smith & Victor Mapes David Belasco
03/18/1918 Nothing but the Truth James Montgomery H. H. Frazee
04/01/1918 The Madonna of the Future Alan Dale Oliver Morosco
05/20/1918 Aida Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/21/1918 Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana Leoncavallo & Mascagni The Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1918 Aida (Matine) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/22/1918 Lucia di Lammermoor (Evening) Gaetano Donizetti The Aborn Opera Company
05/23/1918 La Gioconda Amilcare Ponchielli The Aborn Opera Company
05/24/1918 Rigoletto (evening) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1918 Lucia di Lammermoor (Matine) Gaetano Donizetti The Aborn Opera Company
05/25/1918 Il Trovatore (Evening) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/27/1918 Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana Leoncavallo & Mascagni The Aborn Opera Company
05/28/1918 La Gioconda Amilcare Ponchielli The Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1918 Il Trovatore (Matine) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/29/1918 Rigoletto (evening) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
05/30/1918 The Barber of Seville Gioachino Rossini The Aborn Opera Company
05/31/1918 La Traviata Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1918 Faust (Matine) Charles Gounod The Aborn Opera Company
06/01/1918 Aida (Evening) Giuseppe Verdi The Aborn Opera Company
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