This is a rare November 25th, 1901 combined program (playbill) for Philadelphia's Three Leading Theatres ..... Currently playing at Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Opera House was the London Lyceum Company production of William Shakespeare's "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE" starring HENRY IRVING as "Shylock" and Miss ELLEN TERRY as "Portia". (The revival opened October 21st, 1901 at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York City and ran for a limited engagement of only three performances before going on the road.) ..... In addition to HENRY IRVING and Miss ELLEN TERRY, the cast included ARTHUR ROYSTON, Mr. R. P. TABB, LAURENCE IRVING, JAMES S. HEARN, Mr. W. LUGG, Mr. LIONEL BELMORE, Mr. F. TYARS, Mr. W. E. ASHCROFT, Mr. MARK PATON, Mr. CHARLES DODSWORTH, Mr. T. REYNOLDS, Mr. W. GRAHAM, Mr. H. R. COOK, Mr. W. MARION, Mr. W. ABLETT, Mr. F. DAVIES, Miss MABEL HACKNEY and Miss MAUD MILTON ..... Side note: The personal assistant for Mr. Irving and Acting Manager of the Lyceum Theatre was BRAM STOKER (credit shown in the third scanned image) who in 1897 wrote the famous Gothic novel "DRACULA" ..... CREDITS: Book by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE; Produced and Directed by HENRY IRVING ..... Currently playing at Philadelphia's New Chestnut Street Theatre was the Post-Broadway engagement of FRANCIS WILSON and Company in the LUDWIG ENGLANDER and HARRY B. SMITH musical comedy "THE STROLLERS". (The Original Broadway production opened June 24th, 1901 at New York's Knickerbocker Theatre and ran for seventy performances before going on the road.) ..... The musical starred FRANCIS WILSON and the cast included EDWIN FOY, D. L. DON, HARRY FAIRLEIGH, WILMER BENTLEY, HARRY SRUART, AL MORRIS, JOSEPH RATLIFF, MARIE GEORGE, IRENE BENTLEY, LOUISE LAWTON, STELLA BORLAND, ELEANOR BRUDELL, BLANCHE BROOKS, LOTTA WATSON, EDNA BARREL, VIOLA CARLSTEDT, JANE JONES, LUCILLE EGAN and EMILY FULTON ..... CREDITS: Book by HARRY B. SMITH adapted from the German of L. KREMM and C. LINDAU; Lyrics by HARRY B. SMITH; Sets designed by D. FRANK DODGE and ERNEST ALBERT; Costumes designed by CAROLINE SEIDEL; Staged by A. M. HOLBROOK; Produced by GEORGE W. LEDERER, SAM NIXON and J. FRED ZIMMERMAN ..... Currently playing at Philadelphia's Broad Street Theatre was the Post-Broadway engagement of the VICTOR MAPES play "DON CAESAR'S RETURN"". (The Original Broadway production opened September 3rd, 1901 at New York's Wallack's Theatre and ran for 87 performances before going on the road.) ..... The play starred JAMES K. HACKETT as Don Caesar" and the cast included BRIGHAM ROYCE, JOSEPH BRENNAN, CHARLES KENT, GEORGE LE SOIR, FERNANDA ELISCU, THOMAS A. HALL, EGBERT CASE, EDWARD DONNELLY, IRA A. HARDS, THEODORE HAMILTON, JOHN E. MACKIN, MERVYN DALLAS, HALE HAMILTON, SIDNEY PRICE, WILLIAM LAMP, MAUD ROOSEVELT, VIRGINIA BUCHANAN, JANE OAKER and GRACE BARBER ..... CREDITS: Book by VICTOR MAPES; Incidental Music composed by ARTHUR WELD; Lyrics by RANDOLPH HARTLEY; Sets designed by ARTHUR VOEGTLIN; Costumes designed by M. HERRMANN; Directed by VICTOR MAPES; Produced by JAMES K. HACKETT ..... DETAILS: The oversized 24 page playbill measures 8 1/2" X 10 3/4" inches and includes full production credits, cast lists, synopsis of scenes, musical programme and wonderful vintage advertising, but no cast photos or bios ..... CONDITION: With the exception of two heavy vertical folds, several small edge tears and moderate edge wear, this rare program is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.