Anna Cora Mowatt and E.L. Davenport – Part I
DAVENPORT, THE ACTOR Originally posted April 26, 2021 Had she not taken on Edward Loomis Davenport as an acting partner in the fall of...
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Jul 25, 20238 min read
Lost Plays of Walter Watts – A Dream of Life, Part I
WALTER WATTS’ SPECIAL EFFECTS EXTRAVAGANZA Originally posted April 5, 2021 Walter Watts’ 1849 melodrama, “A Dream of Life” was his most...
Jul 23, 202310 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt, Juanna, and the London Critics
Originally posted on March 29, 2021 Last week I began a survey of reviews of G.H. Lewes “Noble Heart” in its London première at the...
Jul 22, 202310 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt, Noble Heart, and the London Critics
Originally published March 22, 2021 In the winter of 1850, G. H. Lewes was a noted, if controversial, member of London’s intelligentsia....
Jul 22, 202312 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt, G.H. Lewes, and The (Silent) Noble Heart
Originally posted on March 15, 2021 It looks now as if this blog entry will not be posted until mid-March, however I am writing it on the...
Jul 22, 20238 min read
The Lost Plays of Walter Watts – Which Is the King? Part II
Originally published March 8, 2021 Mistaken identity or characters in disguise are plot complications featured in dramatic texts the...
Jul 13, 202310 min read
The Lost Plays of Walter Watts – “Which is the King?” Part I
Originally posted on Feb. 22, 2021 Admittedly, my title for this series of entries is a bit hyperbolic. It’s closer to the truth to say...
Jul 12, 20238 min read
A Movie That Was Not About Walter Watts
Originally posted on Feb. 15, 2023 If you are a fan of Charles Dickens or Derrek Jacobi, you have probably seen the acclaimed 1987 film...
Jul 5, 202310 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt, Armand, and the Fast Man
Originally posted Dec. 14, 2020 (Listen to a full cast recording of "Armand" at Librivox) In past entries, I have talked about Mary...
Jul 5, 202318 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt in the Forest of Arden
Originally published Nov. 16, 2020 There is perhaps no more perfect encapsulation of the ambiguity of the Victorian stance towards the...
Jul 5, 202310 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt and Her Lady Romeos – Part II
Originally published Nov. 6, 2020 Last week, listening to several interviews with Tana Wojczuk, author of a new book on the life of...
Jul 4, 20239 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt and Matthew Hopkins, the Witch-Finder
Originally published Nov. 2, 2020 After reading up on the historical Matthew Hopkins, I think we’re remiss not to number “witch-finder”...
Jul 4, 20238 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt and Cecil Howard
Originally published Oct. 26, 2020 I hope that by now you have had an opportunity to listen to our recording of Henry Spicer’s...
Jul 4, 20235 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt and Henry Spicer’s “Witch-Wife”
Originally posted Oct. 19, 2020 For the next two weeks, I’ve planned to write about a drama written expressly as a starring vehicle for...
Jul 4, 202314 min read
Anna Cora Mowatt and the London Critics
Originally Posted Oct. 12, 2020 Actors say, “I never read reviews.” This declaration is almost never literally true. What they actually...
Jul 4, 202313 min read
The Unsinkable Mrs. Warner
Originally published October 5, 2020 The year 1850 began so well for Mary Warner and Walter Watts. Their careers seemed to be right on...
Jul 4, 202312 min read
Mr. and Mrs. Warner and Unromantic Loose Ends
Originally published Sept. 28, 2020 After more than a month of extending and vamping, I am going to return to what was supposed to have...
Jul 3, 202311 min read
Mr. Watts and the Extortionists
Originally posted Sept. 21, 2020 When I said that Walter Watts had a relatively good reputation for London theatrical manager of the...
Jul 3, 20237 min read
The Fall of Walter Watts
Originally published Sept. 7, 2020 Doubtlessly, I have given you the impression that the Watts Scandal blew up and broke quickly in the...
Jul 3, 202310 min read
Mr. Warner and Mr. Watts
Originally posted on August 31, 2020 Last week, I ended with a bit of a cliffhanger. I informed you that Robert Warner, husband of...
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