File:Shakspere to Sheridan; a book about the theatre of yesterday and to-day (1922) (14596705769).jpg

Identifier: shaksperetosheri00thal (find matches)
Title: Shakspere to Sheridan; a book about the theatre of yesterday and to-day
Year: 1922 (1920s)
Authors: Thaler, Alwin, 1891-
Subjects: Theater -- England History English drama -- History and criticism Actors and actresses -- England Theaters -- England London
Publisher: Cambridge : Harvard University Press (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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hat might be termed the personal advertis-ing of the players. The former is and was so obvious adevice that but little need be said of it. In 1590 the Earlof Essexs Men went on tour in company with theTurk, a redoubtable trickster or juggler of one kind oranother, and not even the Kings Men scorned such reen-forcements, for they brought one hocus pocus withthem when they came to play at Coventry in 1638.* BenJonson objected to this sort of thing: Do they thinkthis pen can juggle? inquires Damn-Play in the firstscene of The Magnetic Lady (1632): I would we hadHokos-pokos for em, then, ... or Travitanto Tu- 1 Genest, IV, 2^6; Victor, I, 117; Roach, History oj the Stage, 1796,p. 59. 2 Genest, IV, 299, 327; VI, 607; VII, 342; Roach, p. 93; Doran, II, 402;Samuel Whyte, Poems, \J<)1, p. 53; Lawrence, II, 84. ^ Genest, IV, 190; Fitzgerald, Life of Mrs. C/ive, p. 40.* See Murray, 1,312-333; II, 239, 253, and the writers article on Travel-ling Players, Modern Philology, XVII, 498-499. Vmi i
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Tfh Iriir f .l!/.::\< Ifhr Irnr /n,-li,in Ki/uu /dL/i fivin t/u- Or/r7:;,i! THE PLAYHOUSES 279 desco! ^ But later times retained the principle, thoughthey varied the attraction. The managers of the seven-teenth and eighteenth centuries were sometimes contentto advertise new prologues and epilogues to serve asspecial attractions with old plays/ or perhaps they fea-tured the return — for one performance only! — of CaveUnderhill or Colley Gibber or some other great actor longsince retired/ or the first performance — on any stage! —of a gentleman amateur like John Highmore/ But some-times they chose stronger bait. In April, 1710, for in-stance, the Haymarket advertised that the theatrewould be honored with the presence of four IndianKings, who, upon the insistence of the spectators, hadto be placed on the stage, since it was generally agreedthat they were not sufficiently well displayed in theirbox.^ Dr. Doran may be consulted for further cases inpoint, and he who will may read

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