1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,320 Speaker 1: Hey, Tracy, before we get into the show today, do 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: you want to do a little bit of thrilling housekeeping? 3 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: I sure, do we have. We have adventures on the horizon. 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: We do, we do. It's very exciting. Yeah. Do you 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,600 Speaker 1: want to tell everybody where we are going for our stuff? 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: You missed in history class? Trip? This year? We are 7 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: going to Barcelona. I feel like I said that like 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: I was saying a new car bar Salona. I mean, 9 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: it feels like getting a new car. It's very exciting. 10 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: We're going from November second to the ninth this year, 11 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, which should be an absolutely beautiful time. Yeah, 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: if you live in the US, which I'm guessing most 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: of the folks who might come with us would be, 14 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: that does follow over election day. I'll just be voting 15 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: ahead of time so that i can go to Spain. 16 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: This is through Defined Destinations, which is the same company 17 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: that has handled our previous year European tours. We're going 18 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: to get to see so much good stuff. There's a 19 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: nice balance of like personal time that's not scheduled and 20 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: tours and exciting stuff that's scheduled. Yes, of course, we're 21 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: going to Sagrada Familia. Yeah. That was really one of 22 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: the big things that drew us to Barcelona because we 23 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: talked about a lot of different places to go, some 24 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: in Europe, some not. And I think since we did 25 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: that episode on Goudy way back, yeah, years ago, like 26 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: both of us have just been like, when can we 27 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 1: see this in person? And the answer is later this year. Yeah, yes, 28 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,119 Speaker 1: And I mean there are a million other things we're doing. 29 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: There are going to be some city tours of Barcelona. 30 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: We are going to do some sangria and tap us tasting. 31 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: There is piea in my future which I can eat 32 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: my weight in piea. We're going to go to the 33 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: Picasso Museum. There are tons of really really just like 34 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: thrilling fun things that were going to do in addition 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: to getting some some leisure time where we can just 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: explore stuff on our own. Yeah yeah, or lie around 37 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: and take a minute to just catch the breath. Let's right, breast, 38 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 1: little little nap, Little nap, I'm a big fan of. 39 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,519 Speaker 1: On all of our previous trips, I usually try to find, 40 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: oh a watering hole near our hotel and people are 41 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: always welcome to join if they want to hang out 42 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: and have cocktails in the evening and just kind of 43 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: rest because we're usually all exhausted at the end of 44 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: every day because there is so much to do and 45 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: a lot of it. You know, we often do some walking. 46 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: Even if we're not walking and we're like on a 47 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: bus or something, it's still tiring. We're ready to just 48 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: sit and hang out. So plenty of fun to come. 49 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: If you are interested in want to learn more, you 50 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: can go to Defined Destinations dot com slash Barcelona Dash 51 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. You can also just go to Define 52 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: Destinations dot com, click on their tours tab and go 53 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: to the one that says Barcelona twenty twenty three and 54 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: you'll get all of the scoop on our hire trip. Yeah, yeah, 55 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: I am very excited about it. Me too. We're gonna 56 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: have a great time, so we hope you're with us 57 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: for it. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 58 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 59 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. We are 60 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: going to do a little bit of US theatrical history today. 61 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: Augustine Day is often described as a foundational figure of 62 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: the US theater, and that is not unwarranted. He wrote, adapted, 63 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: and produced dozens of plays in the nineteenth century, like 64 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: Heading Up into the Triple digits, and he created a 65 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: theater company that produced a lot of stars of the 66 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: New York stage in that time. And he also was 67 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,279 Speaker 1: a man who was undeniably, in my opinion, a workaholic 68 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: by today's standards. But every account you read of him 69 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: in his own time, all the contemporary accounts just talk 70 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: about how very passionate he was. But he didn't seem 71 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: to ever take a day off. And he may have 72 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: worked himself to death, which we will talk about. Yet, 73 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: unlike a lot of Holly's other picks recently, there it's 74 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: no one's it's not a murder episode. Pretty benign, Yeah, so. 75 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: John Augustin Daly was born in Plymouth, North Carolina, on 76 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:35,479 Speaker 1: July twentieth, eighteen thirty eight. His mother, Elizabeth Duffy Daly, 77 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: was from an English family who had gone to Jamaica 78 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: when Augustine's grandfather's military career took him there. His father, 79 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: Captain Dennis Daly, was an Irish sailor who met Elizabeth 80 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: when his ship stopped in Foulmouth, Jamaica. At the same time, 81 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,119 Speaker 1: that she was visiting friends there. The two of them 82 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: sailed with members of Elizabeth's family to New York, where 83 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Dennis were married on July thirty first, eighteen thirty four. 84 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: The newlyweds eventually then moved to Plymouth, North Carolina. That 85 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: is where Dennis started a lumber business. After Augustine was born. 86 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: They had another son, Joseph Francis, in eighteen forty Although 87 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: Captain Daly had given up his life at sea to 88 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: stay with the family, and he kind of managed ships 89 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: that were going out with his lumber business. In September 90 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,919 Speaker 1: of eighteen forty one, a ship called the Union was 91 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: in desperate need of a commander when the scheduled captain 92 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: became too sick to make the voyage, and so Dennis 93 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: Daily stepped in to cover the home. Captain Daily contracted 94 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: an illness while he was at sea, and he died 95 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: from it. Elizabeth moved with her sons at that point 96 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 1: to Norfolk, Virginia, and there, according to an account written 97 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: by her son Joseph, two years later, the two boys 98 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: saw their first theatrical performances at the Avon Theater. They 99 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: each saw a different play. Augustine's first experience was at 100 00:05:57,480 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: a production of Rookwood, based on a novel by William 101 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: Harrison Ainsworth. Augustine was instantly enthralled with the theater, and 102 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: he immediately started devising his own productions, which he performed 103 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: for the neighborhood children in the family Woodhouse and a 104 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: bit of fortuitous happenstance, Elizabeth decided not long after Augustine 105 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: had fallen in love with theater to move to New 106 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: York City. She did this at the urging of her sister, 107 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: Mary Ann Woodgate. Elizabeth took sewing jobs to support herself 108 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: and her sons, and Augustine started taking clerking jobs anywhere 109 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: that needed that kind of assistance, while also going to 110 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: night school to finish his education. Augustine also started joining 111 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: various amateur theatrical societies. His brother Joseph later recounted that 112 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: Augustine was one of the few people in such circles 113 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: who just had no interest in acting. He was far 114 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: more fascinated with how theaters were run and how plays 115 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: were staged. But Elizabeth, their mother, was not enthused about 116 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: any of this, because theaters and the people who were 117 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: worked in them were considered immoral and certain to run 118 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: a young man into ruin. Joseph Daley referred to this 119 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: time as quote the day of the talented Drunkard. But 120 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: that reputation also led Augustine, as he matured and continued 121 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: to follow a career in theater, to put rules in 122 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: place for his own businesses and productions that did not 123 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: allow many of the behaviors that had given the theatrical 124 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: professions such a bad reputation for so many years. Just 125 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: as he had back in Plymouth, Augustine started putting on 126 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: backyard plays with his peers in New York. He wrote 127 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: original material for them as early as age sixteen. By 128 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: the time he was eighteen, his ideas had become grander. 129 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: He wanted to rent a real theater and put on 130 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: a play. The only space available to them was a 131 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: small theater on the third floor of a building in Brooklyn, 132 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: and there Augustine and his friends put on an evening's 133 00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: entertainment that consisted of a farce called Poor Piccadilly, as 134 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: well as the second act of Macbeth, a comic song, 135 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: and then two acts of one of the kids doing 136 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: his version of a popular character known as mister Tootles. 137 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: Apparently there were a handful of paying customers that went 138 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: to that that evening. At the age of twenty one, 139 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: Daily started writing as a drama critic. This came about 140 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: in a kind of low key but straightforward manner. He 141 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: wrote up several articles about things that had been happening 142 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: around Brooklyn, and then he carried those articles in his 143 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: pocket to the offices of the Sunday Courier. He walked 144 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,439 Speaker 1: into the editor's office and started talking to him. By 145 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: the time he walked out, he had a new job 146 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: as a general writer, which was a salaried position, and 147 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: when the drama critic for the Courier left just several 148 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:50,319 Speaker 1: weeks later, Day just stepped into that position. It's interesting 149 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: because he didn't really know any other journalists. He certainly 150 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: didn't know any other drama critics. He was only twenty 151 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: one and he was suddenly thrust into this group of 152 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: professional colleagues who were a lot older than him and 153 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: had no idea who he was or how he had 154 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: suddenly become one of them. But he really rose to 155 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: the challenge of the situation. His approach to writing reviews 156 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: of theater in the city was direct. It was less 157 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: flowery than his professional peers, and that difference in tone 158 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,079 Speaker 1: really felt very fresh to readers, and he became very popular. 159 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: His insights were also pretty fresh, and soon he was 160 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: writing reviews for multiple papers in New York. It's worth 161 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: noting that this transition to a career in theater journalism 162 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: was happening when that position came with some conflict. The 163 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: relationship between theater and critic was often contentious, and theaters 164 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: would pull advertisements from a paper if they thought a 165 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 1: critic had been overly harsh in their assessment of a production. 166 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: Daily was also working in this role when the eighteen 167 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 1: sixty three Draft riots happened in New York. Previous hosts 168 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: of the show, Sarah and Dablina, covered the Draft riots 169 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: in twenty eleven, and then we re ran that episode 170 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: as a Saturday Classic in July of twenty eighteen. At 171 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: one point, Daley was mistaken for an abolitionist rabble rouser, 172 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 1: which to a lot of men meant that he was 173 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: part of the war's cause, and he was attacked by 174 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 1: a mob but managed to get away from them. During 175 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: these events, he was also warned that he might be 176 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: mistaken for a draft officer because he was apparently dressed 177 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: in a similar style. People told him he needed to 178 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: keep a low profile, so it was more of a 179 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: difficult time. Yeah, there's one story about how he got 180 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 1: out of a building that he thought was going to 181 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: be set on fire, and then the next guy he talked, 182 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 1: he was like, and also, take off your coat on 183 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: your way home, because everyone is going to come after you. 184 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: And now he just wanted up his coat under his arm, 185 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:53,959 Speaker 1: and even though it was cold out, he just kind 186 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: of toddled home in the cold with no outer garment on. 187 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,319 Speaker 1: Though Augustine had been right since he was a teenager 188 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: and had put on some ambitious for his age and 189 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: means style productions. In eighteen sixty two he had his 190 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: first real success in professional theater with a play he 191 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 1: wrote and stage titled Leah the Forsaken. This was an 192 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,160 Speaker 1: adaptation of an eighteen forty nine German language play by 193 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,719 Speaker 1: Salomon Hermann Mosenthal titled Debrah, and The plot features an 194 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 1: Austrian magistrate's son who falls in love with a Jewish 195 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:31,679 Speaker 1: woman the titular Leah, and conflict unfolds as their relationship 196 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: is jeered at by the people of the male protagonist community. 197 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: It is in the style that was popular at the time, 198 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: meaning it is a dramatic writing about a twenty seventeen 199 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: staging of Daily's adaptation, New York Times critic Ken Jaworowski 200 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: described the style of this play in this way, quote 201 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: to be sure, Augustine Daily, the playwright was generous with 202 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 1: the melodrama, characters deliver expositional soliloquies, and emotions run deep, 203 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 1: and Sarah b The play made its first run in Boston, Massachusetts, 204 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: in December of eighteen sixty two, before moving on to 205 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: the New York stage in January of the following year. 206 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 1: The role of Leo was played by an actor named 207 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: Kate Bateman, who had been a stage actor since she 208 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: was a child. After New York, the play went on 209 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: to London and ran there for several years. While critics 210 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: were not exactly in love with the show, it was 211 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: obviously extremely popular and one of the roles that Bateman 212 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: was associated with for her entire career. She even wrote 213 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:37,439 Speaker 1: a memoir about playing Leah. But though Daily was very 214 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: friendly with Kate Bateman, her father, who was also her manager, 215 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,079 Speaker 1: was really another matter. The two of them quarreled about 216 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,959 Speaker 1: the way money from the production was split. This escalated 217 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: to the point that Hezekiah Bateman sued Daily over it. 218 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: Augustine won the court battle, though, yeah, there are lots 219 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: of court battles. We'll talk about some others, but litigious life. 220 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: The success of Leah the Versaken meant that Daily became 221 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: sought after to create more plays, and he had already 222 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 1: slowed his output of journalism work, and over time he 223 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: ended up stepping away from it entirely so that he 224 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: could pursue a theatrical career full time. But he did 225 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: write as a theater critic for about eight to ten years. 226 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: The Olympic Theater asked Daily to provide a comedy script 227 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: for production, and for that he adapted Victor Yann Sautdu's 228 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: play Le Papillon that became Taming the Butterfly, which opened 229 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty four. And coming up, we're going to 230 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: talk about the original play that really put Daily on 231 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: the map as a playwright, But first we will pause 232 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: for a word from our sponsors. Augustine Daily premiered his 233 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: play Under the Gas Light in eighteen sixty seven, and 234 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: it became one of his most lasting accomplishments. This play 235 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: makes his realism and melodrama to tell stories around New York, 236 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: and the play's action is set in motion due to 237 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: a socialite's life seeming to fall apart in rapid fashion. 238 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,680 Speaker 1: Her betrothed finds out that his beloved is not a 239 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: high society girl by birth, but a woman born in 240 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: poverty who was adopted by wealthy parents. That secret was 241 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: exposed in the play by a mysterious figure who appeared 242 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: in all black and turned out to be from her past. 243 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 1: So obviously this entire thing is pretty melodramatic by today's standards. 244 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: As the young woman runs away, distraught that the truth 245 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: of her origin has caused so much pain, she sets 246 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: off a chain of events that plays out in the 247 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: streets of New York, encountering a variety of characters who 248 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: represent many social classes and moral viewpoints. It's part morality play, 249 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: part social commentary, and it was completely unique among the 250 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: plays of the day. You have probably seen that very 251 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: common trope in older films or even modern pieces satirizing 252 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: them of a mustache twirling villain tying someone to a 253 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: railroad track and then that person being rescued at the 254 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,600 Speaker 1: very end. You can thank Augustin Daly for that and 255 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: it appeared in Under the Gaslight first, and Under the 256 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: Gaslight was very very popular, so much so that it 257 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: invited imitation, but Daily was not having it. In eighteen 258 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: sixty eight, the year after the play premiered, another play 259 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: titled After Dark, used the exact same convention of a 260 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: person tied to the train tracks by a villain with 261 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: a daring last minute escape, and Daly, who had copyrighted 262 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: his play, filed an injunction against the managers of the 263 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: theater where After Dark was running, wanted to prevent performance 264 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: of the play. The filing against After Dark was reported 265 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: in the New York Times, and the write up is 266 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 1: a pretty charming description of the scene quote. The particular 267 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: cause of such success Daily's play is what was commonly 268 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: called after such public performance, the railroad scene, at the 269 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: end of the third scene in the fourth act, in 270 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: which one of the characters is represented as secured by 271 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: another and laid helpless upon the rails of a railroad 272 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: track in such manner and with the presumed intent that 273 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: the railroad train momentarily expected shall run him down and 274 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: kill him, and just at the moment when such a 275 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:33,400 Speaker 1: fate seems inevitable, another of the characters contrives to reach 276 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: the intended victim and to drag him from the track 277 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: as the train rushes in and passes over the spot 278 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: that this incident and scene was entirely novel and unlike 279 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: any dramatic incident known to have been heretofore represented on 280 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: any stage or invented by any author before the plaintiff 281 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: so composed, produced and represented the same. Yeah. The interesting 282 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: note in that is that Daily his original version is 283 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,000 Speaker 1: actually kind of the opposite of the way we often 284 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: have seen it. The heroine is not the one that 285 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 1: is tied to the tracks. It is the hero, and 286 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: the heroine is the one who saves him. Normally, you 287 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:13,919 Speaker 1: see the woman in distress on the train tracks in 288 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: a lot of films, but that was not how Daily 289 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 1: wrote it. Daily incidentally won his case, and it was 290 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,360 Speaker 1: the first of many legal battles that he would have 291 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: while ardently protecting his copyrights. He did not shy away 292 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,040 Speaker 1: from a lawsuit, and even when people in distant states 293 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: tried to stage one of his plays without paying a royalty, 294 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: or thought they might be able to sneak a scene 295 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: into one of their productions that borrowed heavily from Daily's work, 296 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: Augustine Daly always seemed to hear about it, and he 297 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: always took legal action to stop it. Daly was still 298 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: on an upswing of success when he married Mary Duff 299 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: on January ninth, eighteen sixty nine. Mary was the daughter 300 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 1: of a business peer of Daily's, John A. Duff. John 301 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: Duff's Olympic Theater was the most successful and profitable entertainment 302 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,200 Speaker 1: venue in New York at the time. The couple lived 303 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: at two fourteen West twenty fifth Street, where Augustine's brother 304 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: and mother also lived. The following year, the couple welcomed 305 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: their first son, Leonard, and they had a second son 306 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: named Francis Augustine, who went by Austin. In eighteen seventy three, 307 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 1: two years after Under the Gas Light became popular, Augustine 308 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: Daily formed his own theater company, the Fifth Avenue Theater 309 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: on twenty fourth Street. This theater building had its own 310 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: rich and sometimes sortid history. It started as an opera 311 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: house and then became a burlesque theater. After a murder 312 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,119 Speaker 1: in which a show manager killed a colleague, the theater 313 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: shut down for a year. It reopened as a venue 314 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,719 Speaker 1: for French operettas before Daily took it over and for 315 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: almost four years, from eighteen sixty nine to eighteen seventy three, 316 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: Daily staged his productions there, but on New Year's Day 317 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: of eighteen seventy three, it burned down. While that level 318 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,680 Speaker 1: of loss would be deeply stressful, Daily seemed to manage 319 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 1: all right. Three weeks later he opened his theater company 320 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: again at a new location he had leased. He also 321 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: called this Daily's Fifth Avenue Theater. Daily's theater company was 322 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: really well known for its core of actors. He would 323 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: select actors and develop them rather than chasing after the 324 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: big names, and a lot of successful stage careers started 325 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 1: with Daily. He didn't only cast to type, as most 326 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: theaters did, with actors playing one sort of character all 327 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: the time. He urged actors to develop a range that 328 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: could include everything from broad comedy to serious drama. One 329 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: of the plays that Augustine Daily produced before the first 330 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,920 Speaker 1: Fifth Avenue Theater burned was a show that he wrote 331 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: titled Horizon, an original drama of contemporary New Society and 332 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: of American Frontier perrols. This play is considered one of 333 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: the early instances of literature that focuses on stories and 334 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: themes about North America and the United States rather than Europeans, 335 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: but it also, unsurprisingly has a lot of very awkward 336 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,920 Speaker 1: and outdated language about indigenous people. He also wrote Divorce 337 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,439 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy one that opened on September fifth of 338 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: that year, and it had a successful two hundred night run. 339 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: The play unpacks the topic of divorce, which was becoming 340 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,239 Speaker 1: more and more common in the nineteenth century. Playwrights in 341 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: Europe had been using the topic for dramatic purposes already, 342 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: but Daily's play is considered the first US play to 343 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,479 Speaker 1: cover it. Daily's script was kind of didactic, showing that 344 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,439 Speaker 1: selfishness is often the seed that leads to discord in 345 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: a marriage. In eighteen seventy seven, Daily was continuing to 346 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: find new ways to draw crowds with his skill as 347 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: a writer, his ability to shepherd talent into stardom, and 348 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: sometimes by simply innovating the space that he staged his work. 349 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: In that year, air conditioning was installed in the Fifth, 350 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 1: a new theater on West twenty eighth Street, making it 351 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: the first US theater to offer that luxury. In eighteen 352 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: seventy nine, Daily opened another Daily's Theater location in New 353 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,199 Speaker 1: York City. This time at Broadway in thirtieth Once the 354 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: Second New York Theater was opened, Daily found he couldn't 355 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: keep cranking out original works and managed all of his 356 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: other businesses, so he started to focus exclusively on adaptations, 357 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,959 Speaker 1: which he was quite good at. He adapted numerous works 358 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: from French and German literature into stage place. Late in 359 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four, Daily, who professionally was experiencing so much prosperity, 360 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 1: suffered a huge personal loss. His sons, Leonard and Austin, 361 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: who were fourteen and eleven at the time, both developed 362 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,160 Speaker 1: dipsyria during the Christmas season, and in the new year 363 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 1: things only got worse. On January fifth, eighteen eighty five, 364 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: the two boys died within half an hour of each other. 365 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: Daily's brother, Joseph, described his brother as to help any 366 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: and every child he encountered. After the deaths of his sons, 367 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,440 Speaker 1: he wrote quote, he seemed now to behold in all 368 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,679 Speaker 1: the young, and especially in little wanderers his own. I 369 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 1: have seen him stop a crying child in the street 370 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,239 Speaker 1: to inquire its trouble, take it by the hand, and 371 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: restore it to its home. In countless ways he sought 372 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,880 Speaker 1: to help the helpless because of the prominence of Daily's 373 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: name in New York, condolences really flooded into the family. 374 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: But though he grieved very deeply, Daily was right back 375 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,479 Speaker 1: to work, probably finding some comfort in the familiar and 376 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 1: busy pace of the theater. Coming up, we are going 377 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: to talk about Daily's theatrical adventures into Europe, but before 378 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: we do that, we will pause for a little sponsor break. 379 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: Beginning in the eighteen eighties, Augustine Daily took his style 380 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 1: of theater historians have described as really setting the standard 381 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: for the US stage, and he toured Europe with it. 382 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,679 Speaker 1: When Daily's Troop debuted, she would and she would not. 383 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,439 Speaker 1: In England, it was a huge success. That play is 384 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: a comedy that was written in seventeen o two by 385 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 1: a popular entertainer of the day named Collie Sibber. It 386 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: was merely the start of several years of tours that 387 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: took Daily in his company to Germany and France, as 388 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: well as England. There is a certain fun turnabout in 389 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: this success of his tours, as Daily made his name 390 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: in the US theater scene, combining his adaptation of European 391 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: plays with his original work, building on the traditions of 392 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: the countries that he eventually toured while also creating something new. 393 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,359 Speaker 1: Joseph Daily wrote of his brother's earliest tours in Germany, quote, 394 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: it was to be expected that the American manner and 395 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: speech would be found strange, and that the transformation of 396 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: German into foreign types might occasion discontent. The Americans were, 397 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 1: in fact allowed to be fascinating, but declared not true 398 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,199 Speaker 1: to life. In eighteen eighty eight, Daily and his company 399 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: of performers, fresh off of a European tour, prepared for 400 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: a new season. The play that opened the season was 401 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: titled Lottery of Love, and it was an adaptation of 402 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 1: a French play titled at a Suprise de Divorce. Daily 403 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: took the opportunity of introducing two new actors to his 404 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 1: New York audiences with the anticipated play. Those were Sarah 405 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:31,640 Speaker 1: Chalmers and Kitty Cheetham. Sarah Chalmers was of particular interest 406 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: to Daily's regulars. She had never been on stage anywhere before. Yeah, 407 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 1: it was kind of like saying, here is the next 408 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,439 Speaker 1: great star, and you can see her first performance. The 409 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 1: New York Times wrote about the anticipation of this new season, quote, 410 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: the opening night will be as it always is at 411 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: Daily's an occasion of note in society circles. Every seat 412 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: in the house had been ordered long before mister Daily returned, 413 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,159 Speaker 1: and the orders called for more places that could be 414 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,240 Speaker 1: furnished in two such theaters. The old and only save 415 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: rule of filling the orders according to the date of 416 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: their receipt has been followed, but this will necessarily disappoint 417 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: a great many whom the management would have been pleased 418 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,199 Speaker 1: to gratify. The singular feature of all this is that 419 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: until the announcement now made, the general public has had 420 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: no actual knowledge of what mister Daily intended to produce 421 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: for his opening play, so that purchasers of seats had 422 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: bought blindly, knowing nothing of what they were to see 423 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,879 Speaker 1: that season. Daily also introduced a subscription plan for Tuesday 424 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: night plays. This was a popular trend in Paris in 425 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: the eighteen eighties, and Daily adopted it for New York audiences, 426 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: so he had what was essentially a season ticket audience 427 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: for nights that would normally be slow. It also let 428 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: him stage encore performances of audience favorites without having to 429 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: work them into the regular season schedule. The subscription also 430 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 1: gave participants a chance at first class seats at the 431 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 1: day views of new shows. The subscription plan was not 432 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: the only way that Daily plussed up the eighteen eighty 433 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,119 Speaker 1: eight season. He had taken advantage of the theater having 434 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: no shows to quietly renovate it to be more luxurious 435 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: than ever. There was new carpet, new art and better 436 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 1: sound baffling, as well as plush new seats and an 437 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:24,479 Speaker 1: elaborately carved precnium arch. According to the paper, Daily had 438 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: also taken control of a building behind the theater which 439 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: was connected to it, to build out an entirely new 440 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 1: set of dressing rooms for his players. They're right up 441 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 1: in the Times concluded quote, Daily's theater when it reopens 442 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,159 Speaker 1: Tuesday will be one of the best appointed houses in 443 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: the world. There's a cute note to that, which is 444 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,919 Speaker 1: it write ups about this renovation which was going on 445 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 1: while Daily and the Trooper in Europe was so quiet. 446 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 1: No one in the neighborhood even knew it was happening. 447 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: And I don't know why that was such a point 448 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: of like pride for everyone, but it's very charming. In 449 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,640 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety three, Augustine Daily opened another theater, this time 450 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:05,959 Speaker 1: in London, England. Daily's theater, which was situated off Leicester Square, 451 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,640 Speaker 1: opened on June twenty seventh, eighteen ninety three. It had 452 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,199 Speaker 1: been custom built for his company, which was different from 453 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 1: his New York theaters, which he had acquired already existing. 454 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,800 Speaker 1: But even though Daily had been really successful in New 455 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:21,440 Speaker 1: York running theaters, he just did not have the same 456 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: good fortune in his Cranbourne Street location. After a pretty 457 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,359 Speaker 1: good initial run with Taming of the Shrew and several 458 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: other Shakespearean plays, Daily had companies from Europe play there 459 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,360 Speaker 1: before he returned with his own staging of an adaptation 460 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 1: called The Railroad of Love. That show didn't do especially well, 461 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: and neither did the next two Shakespearean plays. In eighteen 462 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,400 Speaker 1: ninety five, he turned the theater over to George Edwards, 463 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: a British producer who found great success mounting musicals there. 464 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: The theater itself retained Daily's name, though that had to 465 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,159 Speaker 1: have been painful for him to some degree, and an 466 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: account written after his death, Daily's relationship with his theaters 467 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 1: was described this way. Quote his theaters he loved his personalities. 468 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,720 Speaker 1: For one, the Fifth Avenue, he had Oliver Wendell Holmes 469 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: pen and address for the opening On another occasion, for 470 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: the opening season of eighteen ninety two, he tried to 471 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 1: procure the services of Eugene Field for a poetic address. 472 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 1: Here his sentiment came in again. Yeah, he clearly loved 473 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,880 Speaker 1: those buildings. He would always talk about his houses being 474 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: his home, his houses meaning theater houses. So to have 475 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 1: one that just didn't work out after he had gone 476 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: to the trouble to have it custom built probably felt 477 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: very jarring. On May thirteenth of eighteen eighty nine, Augustine 478 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 1: and Mary set sail for Europe, where the Daily Company 479 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: was once again set to give a tour, and where 480 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: Daily was going to settle a financial dispute with George 481 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: Edwards over the split of revenue from the theater. After 482 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: that transition, Augustine felt quite ill on the voyage, but 483 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: he wired his brother on May twenty ninth, quote much better, 484 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: all danger over. On June fifth, papers reported that he 485 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,720 Speaker 1: was just fine. The following ran in the New York 486 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 1: Times on June sixth, having been wired from London, quote, 487 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 1: Augustine Day has quite recovered from his recent sickness and 488 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: has gone to Paris for a few days with Missus 489 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: Daly and Missus Ada. Rhian. He will return on June 490 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 1: twentieth for the hearing of the case against George Edwards, 491 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 1: resulting from a dispute regarding sharing the profits of Daily's 492 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 1: London Theater, of which Edwards is the owner and Daily 493 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 1: the Lessee. Augustine wrote his brother a letter dated May thirtieth, 494 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: in which he described the stress of the theater season 495 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 1: launch and his impending legal hearings and quote financial anxieties 496 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: having taken its toll on his health. He described being 497 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: very ill even before he boarded the ship bound for London, 498 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: and how a weekend to the trip he had a 499 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: very real crisis, he wrote, quote A combination of pneumonia 500 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: and brain fever were the foes I was fighting, and 501 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: thank god, by Thursday I had conquered both. He assured 502 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: his brother Joseph that the following winter he was going 503 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 1: to quote let up a bit on the strain and 504 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: devote more time to leisure. But by the time that 505 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:18,800 Speaker 1: letter arrived, Augustine Daly was dead. His brother and mother 506 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 1: had already received a telegram that he had died on 507 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: June seventh of eighteen eighty nine, at the age of 508 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:27,600 Speaker 1: sixty one in the Continental Hotel in Paris, he had 509 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 1: felt much better, and he had traveled to France, as 510 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 1: he said, with his wife and actor Ada Rhian, who 511 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: started a lot of his productions, and after getting to 512 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 1: the Continental Dally just got much worse. And on the seventh, 513 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: as his wife, Mary and Aida had lunch in the suite, 514 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: he called out from the bedroom that he needed a doctor, 515 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 1: but he died before and he could arrive. Mary Daly 516 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: had Augustine's body shipped back to New York for a 517 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,120 Speaker 1: funeral at Saint Patrick's Cathedral on June eighteenth. One of 518 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,520 Speaker 1: the biggest impacts Daily had on literature and theater in 519 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: the US was not through his own works, but through 520 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 1: his support an encouragement of other artists. Bronson Howard, who 521 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: was a very successful playwright in the late nineteenth century, 522 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: had three of his four first plays produced by Daily 523 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: before any other theater. Daily is also credited with encouraging 524 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: Mark Twain to start writing for the theater, as well 525 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 1: as short story author Bret Hart. Yeah, there are a 526 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: lot of other people that he really encouraged to turn 527 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: their pens to playwriting, which is one of the reasons 528 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 1: he's considered so influential and his obituary read in part quote, 529 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 1: Never a jester, yet a maker, and a purveyor of 530 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: the most delightful comedy. Al was a man of few words, 531 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: yet singularly successful in the development of the most human 532 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 1: and social of the arts. Never popular in the common sense, 533 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 1: yet always respected and admired by his foes and opponents. 534 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,160 Speaker 1: It seems he died much too soon, for his vitality 535 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 1: had not yet begun to diminish perceptibly, and the shock 536 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 1: of his sudden going has been keenly felt by thousands 537 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: who knew him only by name, Oh Augustin Day. Some 538 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 1: of those ones. We don't hear his name very often, 539 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 1: but he was like it for a long time. Just 540 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: an interesting, interesting dude. Give some listener mail for us, 541 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: Oh I do. It's a listener mail that solves a mystery. 542 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: Oh good. It is from our listener, Carrie, who wrote 543 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 1: Chicken and Dumblings with lots of exclamation points. Carrie writes, Holly, 544 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,240 Speaker 1: I am a similar experience with chicken and dumplings. What 545 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,360 Speaker 1: you are describing from your childhood is very similar to 546 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: that of my childhood, except my mom slash Grandma would cook, 547 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 1: slash steam the dough on top of the Chicken. I 548 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 1: have always wondered why my Chicken and Dumblings was so 549 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: much different than anyone else's. I asked my mom, and 550 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 1: she said her mom was not one to make up recipe, 551 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 1: so she decided to check my grandma's old cookbooks. Lo 552 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 1: and behold, my mom found a recipe in Betty Crocker 553 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,520 Speaker 1: that she thinks is where it came from. It was 554 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: so exciting for me to finally have an answer to 555 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: my family's mystery. Perhaps your recipe has similar origins. I 556 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: am attaching a few photos to show you said recipe. 557 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: You might remember I wrote once years ago to tell 558 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: you how my baby loved hollies laugh, but she would 559 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: always laugh in response to it. That baby is turning 560 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: six on Sunday. Happy birthday, Winnifred. Also, we got a 561 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,080 Speaker 1: new puppy this winter, so I'm including a photo of 562 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: five month old Daisy, a very playful cavapoo. Thank you 563 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 1: both for all you do for the podcast. I hope 564 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: you can make it to Portland, Oregon someday soon for 565 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 1: a live show. Me too, Okay, Carrie, thank you, because 566 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:41,240 Speaker 1: I felt like I was losing my mind because no 567 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,800 Speaker 1: one else made it this way, but she scanned in 568 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:48,000 Speaker 1: bless her she either scanner took variod photographs this Betty 569 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 1: Crocker cookbook from nineteen seventy six, and there is a 570 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: photograph of the chicken and dumblings as described. They look 571 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: exactly like the ones that I grew up eating. I 572 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:00,440 Speaker 1: really thought my mom had just misinterpreted a recipe. It 573 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,200 Speaker 1: was just like, I'm not putting broth in here. Yeah, 574 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:07,719 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that we have that exact Betty Crocker 575 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,440 Speaker 1: cookbook in our home somewhere. Problem. I mean, it was 576 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: very standard, Yeah, homes in the US. Yeah, Like, I 577 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: think we have one that belonged to someone. And then 578 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:21,160 Speaker 1: I'd like, I'm I for sure remember it in my parents' 579 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: house when I was growing up. Amazing. Also, yes, happy 580 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 1: birthday to Winnifred. I hope it was wonderful. By now, 581 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:32,479 Speaker 1: the birthday would have been quite a few weeks back, 582 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:35,200 Speaker 1: since we were recording a little ahead of the game. 583 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 1: But that is a very cute dog. I would be 584 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,200 Speaker 1: in danger around that dog because I would give whenever 585 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:47,000 Speaker 1: it wanted, even if it were something very dangerous. Again, 586 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 1: I cannot thank you enough. This would have made me 587 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:52,960 Speaker 1: tell a fib that I thought my mom was just 588 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:58,239 Speaker 1: making stuff out because she sometimes would nisum, But now 589 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: I know no. Betty Crocker, may mystery solved. If you 590 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, you could do so 591 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also 592 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: find us on social media as Missed in History pretty 593 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,440 Speaker 1: much everywhere, and if you haven't subscribed, you can do 594 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 1: that on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to 595 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:26,400 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 596 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 597 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,239 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 598 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:35,120 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.