Town Hall Tonight

Descripción

The time - the elegant eighties and naughty nineties. The place - Town Hall, theatrical emporium extraordinary. The program - a. joyous, nostalgic, colorful record of entertainment in a flamboyant era whose rallying call was TOWN HALL TONIGHT! Every small town in America had a theater like the Concert Hall in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, owned by Harlowe Hoyt's grandfather. Across its stage paraded every type of entertainer from tight rope walkers to medicine men. Into its seats crowded a jubilant audience that hissed the villain, assisted the magician, and joined in singing 'Angels Meet Me at the Crossroad.' Barnstorming stock companies, complete with a soubrette to warble 'The Pardon Came Too Late,' appeared in lurid melodramas such as 'East Lynne,' 'The Octoroon,' and 'The Ticket-of-Leave Man.' Here, in lively detail, are full accounts of these astonishing tearjerkers and the people who played in them, with abundant quotations from the elaborate speeches uttered as villains were foiled and virtue triumphed. At Town Hall, P. T. Barnum lectured on 'Temperance' and exhibited Tom Thumb. Hi Henry's Minstrels staged a grand parade through the streets, and that night everyone flocked to hear uproarious jokes and sing 'I Feel Just as Happy as a Big Sunflower.' Local groups used Town Hall for the production of such extravaganzas as 'The Brownies in Fairyland,' 'Lily Bell, the Culprit Fay,' and 'Dollars and Sense, a Favorite Comedy in Four Acts.' It was also the meeting place for the Travel Classes and Star Entertainment Courses through which the local citizens pursued culture. Town Hall was all things on all occasions- the scene of masquerades and impromptu dances; the local home for strolling sword swallowers, acrobats, clowns, and banjoists; and even a roller skating rink for the young people. But, most important of all, for the townspeople it was a wonderful, magic world where they could always find romance, adventure, and excitement. Here is a gay and refreshing history of American entertainment in another generation, vividly recapturing the buoyant spirit of a vanished era in American life. THE AUTHOR - Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Harlowe Randall Hoyt appeared when a child in amateur theatricals at his grandfather's Concert Hall. Fascinated by the theater, he acted in stock companies, traveled as an advance man for several productions, and wrote scripts for Edison's early silent films. Slight bumping to spine with dust jacket worn there. N° de ref. del artículo 000773

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