THEATRE HISTORY | The Lady Actress

Aug 4, 202313 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Anne Blake - Part I

PART I: INTRIGUING, BUT LESS THAN GROUND-BREAKING Originally posted on March 6, 2023 [A recording of this play is available at Librivox]...

Aug 4, 202316 min read

The Wealth of Walter Watts vs. the Poverty of Bob Cratchit - Part II

PART II: THE PROPER PAYMENT OF CLERKS Originally posted December 19, 2022 [An abbreviated video version of this essay is available for...

Aug 4, 202310 min read

The Wealth of Walter Watts vs. the Poverty of Bob Cratchit - Part I

PART I: THE CHARACTER OF CLERKS Originally posted Dec. 1, 2022 [An abbreviated video version of this essay is available for viewing on...

Aug 4, 202313 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and “All That Glitters is Not Gold” - Part III

PART III: ANNA CORA STRIKES GOLD AS MARTHA Originally posted Nov. 21, 2022 Martha Gibbs, the pure-hearted heroine of J. Maddison Morton’s...

Aug 4, 202312 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and “All That Glitters is Not Gold” - Part I

PART I: JOHN MADDISON MORTON AND HIS OTHER PLAY Originally posted Oct. 24, 2022 In any well-rounded streaming service that delivers...

Aug 3, 202335 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Mimic Life, and the Critics - Part IV

PART IV: THE PUSHBACK Originally posted September 5, 2022 I know that I’ve been building to the negative reaction to Anna Cora Mowatt’s...

Aug 3, 202317 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Mimic Life, and the Critics - Part I

PART I: THE PREP Originally posted July 25, 2022 Among the reasons why it is a good thing that I am no longer in the classroom is that I...

Aug 2, 202315 min read

The Lost Plays of Walter Watts – The First Night of My Marriage

A MERRY MANUSCRIPT WITH A BIT OF A MYSTERY Originally posted April 18, 2022 Of all the plays authored by Walter Watts I have written...

Aug 1, 202322 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and What’s in a Name – Part II

PART II: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE Originally posted March 28, 2022 The Victorian opulence of Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt Ritchie’s name...

Aug 1, 202319 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Ion

PART VIII: WAKING REALITIES OF MOWATT'S "DREAMY" ION Originally posted Feb. 28, 2022 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna...

Jul 31, 202311 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Charlotte Cushman, and the Vanishing Ion

PART VI: ACTRESS VS. ACTRESS Originally posted Jan. 24, 2022 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora Mowatt’s experience...

Jul 31, 202321 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Charlotte Cushman’s Ion

PART V: LADY ION Originally posted Jan. 10, 2022 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora Mowatt’s experience playing the...

Jul 31, 202321 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Ellen Tree’s Ion on Tour

PART IV: THE U.S. GOES OUT OF ITS TREE FOR ELLEN Originally posted Dec. 29, 2021 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora...

Jul 30, 202313 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Ellen Tree’s Ion

PART III: THE GRAND EXPERIMENT BEGINS [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora Mowatt’s experience playing the lead role in...

Jul 30, 202311 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the Author of “Ion”

PART II: THE BOY WHO LOVED TO DRAW SKELETONS Originally published Nov. 29, 2021 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora...

Jul 30, 202310 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and “Ion”

PART I: THE PLAY BEGINS WITH A PUNCH Originally posted Nov. 15, 2021 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora Mowatt’s...

Jul 29, 202316 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Pauline Return to Niblo’s One Last Time

PART XX: THE LADY OF LIONS TAKES A FINAL BOW Originally Posted Nov. 1, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries...

Jul 29, 202319 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the Lady Bid a Fond Farewell

PART XIX: THE GRAND TOUR Originally posted on Oct. 18, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries examining Anna...

Jul 29, 202313 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Pauline, and Changes of Plan

PART XVIII: THE END BEGINS Originally posted Oct. 4, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries examining Anna Cora...

Jul 29, 202316 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Pauline, and Parthenia

PART XVII: NEW ROLES, NEW MEN Originally published Sept.27, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries examining...