Stage
for a Nation
The National Theatre - 150 Years
by Douglas Bennett Lee, Roger L. Meersman, Donn B. Murphy
Forward by Harry Teter, Jr.
Preface by Helen Hayes |
Published 1985
140 pages
Copiously illustrated
University Press of America, Lanham MD
Current list price $33.50 |
Click here to buy this book
 |
Sometimes you come across a book you didn't know had been written but it
fills a need so well you feel you just have to share the good news. Here's a
case in point. Back in 1985 this volume was prepared as the
National
Theatre approached its 150th anniversary (the first National Theatre in
Washington opened, the book informs us, on the same day as the first session
of the 24th Congress). Douglas Lee, a staff writer for National Geographic
Magazine, joined with the University of Maryland's professor of theater,
Roger Meersman, and Georgetown University's professor of theatre, Donn B.
Murphy (who today is the President and Executive Director of The National),
to compile a richly detailed and fascinatingly illustrated volume covering
the history of the house. It is a treasure as it details not only the shows
that have played The National but paints a portrait of the theater community
in Washington and the development of theater in America. |
Storyline: The Federal Government established
its Capitol along the Potomac in 1800 when there wasn't a single theater in
the future city of Washington. The first theater in the city was built in
1804, but by 1835, a new "National Theatre" was built in the block between
Pennsylvania Avenue, 13th and E Streets where today's National still stands.
Today's National, however, is the sixth building of that name on the site.
The institution of National Theatre has survived destruction by fire,
collapse and redevelopment, but today, theatergoers still go the The
National Theatre with its address of 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
The authors provide a glimpse of what
theatergoing must have been like in each era. In 1836, a night at the
theater might have begun at 6:30 so it would be over by 10:00, offering a
play followed by a musical farce, entertaining dances, magic or athletic
demonstrations and, finally, a quick concluding comedy. But a specialty act
might fill the bill such as Fanny Elssler, noted for "the loveliness of her
undraped limbs" who played The National in 1840. Not all the early
activities were theatrical, however. For James K. Polk's inauguration in
1845, the seats were removed from the theater so the hall could be used for
a ball. In 1850 the big hit was Jenny Lind visiting under the auspices of
P.T. Barnum, who presented her at the National only when his request to use
the Capitol building for the show was denied. In 1905 the stage version of
Ben Hur arrived at the National with a cast of 350 actors and eight
horses who raced on a treadmill.
One night in1865 President Lincoln had
planned on taking his son Tad to the National to see Mazeppa, or the Wild
Horse of Tarary but changed his mind and went, instead, to Ford's
Theatre where John Wilkes Booth was waiting for him. Tad, on the other hand,
elected to go to the National and wasn't present when his father was
assassinated. (A part-owner of National telegrammed the manager with the
news of the tragedy at Ford's saying "Thank God it wasn't ours." How crass!)
The National's history as a segregated house is presented with a fascinating
view of the struggles that led to its closure as a legitimate theater in
1948 to be converted to a movie house rather than admit blacks. The
leading playwrights of the day agreed not to allow their works to be
performed here, and Actors' Equity refused to let their members play here,
because of the discrimination.
More than political and national history was
made here between 13th and 14th Street. It was here on November 15, 1927
that the modern American musical was born as Jerome Kern and Oscar
Hammerstein's Show Boat had its first performance (which ran so long,
the first performance didn't end until November 16, at 12:40 am). It was
here that West Side Story first played before a paying audience and
it was here that A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
didn't seem to catch on until a new opening number was devised in a
legendary piece of "show doctoring" by Jerome Robbins. With this much
history to tell, it is a shame that the publisher could not have provided an
index to make it easy to quickly check for details and stories. |
