Mark Twain once famously said that there were five kinds of actresses- bad, fair, good, great and Sarah Bernhardt. Sarah was born to a family of modest income in Paris, October 22, 1844. Her Dutch mother was only 16 when she gave birth to Sarah and early in her life studied to be a nun…Continue Reading Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine Sarah in Vaudeville by David Soren
Topic: Theater
The Shop Girl: A Unique Early Theatre Item in the University of Arizona Special Collections Main Library Archive by Elizabeth Marchalonis
The Shop Girl is considered by many scholars to be the first real direct antecedent of the modern Broadway musical. It premiered at the Gaiety Theatre in London in 1894. Producer George Edwardes developed the idea of a musical comedy which was not a burlesque but rather a full coherent story. The star was Ada…Continue Reading The Shop Girl: A Unique Early Theatre Item in the University of Arizona Special Collections Main Library Archive by Elizabeth Marchalonis
George M. Cohan: Beating Heart of Broadway by David Soren
George M. Cohan (July 3, 1878 Providence, Rhode Island- November 18, 1942 New York City) is considered by most scholars of theatre and vaudeville to be the most important figure in the history of musical theater. He was not particularly talented in the classic sense– his dancing was more hoofing and his singing voice had…Continue Reading George M. Cohan: Beating Heart of Broadway by David Soren
Anna Held: The Trend-Setting Star from “Paris” by David Soren
Helene Anna Held (Warsaw, 1873?– New York, August 12, 1918), known as Anna Held, was one of the most inventive, beautiful and engaging stars of the beginning of the 20th century. Her birth date is uncertain, variously reported to have occurred in Warsaw or Paris anywhere from 1865 to 1878. She is usually thought to…Continue Reading Anna Held: The Trend-Setting Star from “Paris” by David Soren