Throughout our theatre's history, many wonderful people
have visited and/or graced our stage with their
presence. Beatrice Herford had many friends, who
would also frequent her theatre to see her perform.
These personalities can be seen throughout our theater,
generously adopted so that we might preserve them and
present them to you as they should be remembered.
They include:
LOUIS AGASSIZ (scientist/lecturer)
1807-1873. Had the ability to translate
the mysteries of science into language the
layperson could understand. Agassiz was a
paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a
prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's
natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and
became a professor of natural history at
University of Neuchâtel. Later, he accepted a
professorship at Harvard University in the
United States. In 1863, Agassiz's daughter Ida
married Henry Lee Higginson, later to be founder
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and benefactor
to Harvard University and other schools.
Adopted by Peter
and Ronna Frick / Pamela Mayne and John Barrett |
 |
GEORGE ARLISS
(actor) 1868-1946. Although he was not blessed
with the matinee idol looks of some of his
contemporaries, George Arliss was the first
character actor to achieve leading man status.
On both stage and screen, George Arliss played a
variety of strong central roles, including
Benjamin Disraeli, Cardinal Richelieu, Voltaire
and Alexander Hamilton. Born in London, George
Arliss began his stage career in the English
provinces while still in his teens. By the turn
of the century, he was playing in London’s West
End. After touring America in 1901, Arliss
remained here for almost two decades, eventually
touring in Disraeli, a role which gave
him one of his greatest successes. In 1929, when
Arliss went to Hollywood to make the film of
Disraeli he became the first British
performer to win the Academy Award for Best
Actor. Arliss eventually made over two dozen
films, and is also credited with giving a young
Warner Brothers contract player one of her best
early roles in 1931’s The Man Who Played God.
To her death in 1988, Bette Davis expressed her
gratitude to Arliss for insisting that she be
cast as his leading lady in that film, as it
jump-started the young ingénue’s stagnating film
career. George Arliss was married for almost 50
years to Florence Arliss, an actress with whom
he often appeared on stage and in films.
Adopted by David
Berti and Donnie Baillargeon |
 |
GEORGE ARLISS
(actor) 1868-1946.
Adopted by The
Saul Family |
|
ETHEL BARRYMORE (actress) 1879-1959.
“That’s all there is. There isn’t any more.”
- Ethel Barrymore
She intended to become a concert pianist, but
Ethel Drew/Barrymore’s blood won out and she
made her stage debut in 1894 at age 15. Ethel
would spend the rest of her working life as an
actress. She was Nora in A Doll’s House,
Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and the
compassionate Miss Moffat in The Corn is
Green, one of her finest roles. Between
plays, she toured in vaudeville doing short
dramas. When the Ethel Barrymore Theatre was
named in her honor, she starred there in The
Kingdom of God. Ethel won an Academy Award
for her performance with Cary Grant in None But
the Lonely Heart, and worked with Dorothy
Maguire and George Brent in The Spiral
Staircase in 1945. It was said that Winston
Churchill proposed to her, but it was Russell
Griswold Colt that she married and with whom she
had three children. Although she said television
was hell, Barrymore hosted and sometimes acted
in the anthology, Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Adopted by Anne
and Jonathan Ashford |
 |
NORA
BAYES (performer/songwriter) 1880-1928.
Nora began her performing career in vaudeville.
She was a successful songwriter and, with her
second husband, Jack Norworth, wrote the famous
"Shine On, Harvest Moon," which she introduced
in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908.
Adopted by Peter
A. Stark, in memory of Mary Edelman Arueste |
|
CLARA BLOODGOOD (actress) 1870-1907. A
prominent New York socialite, cum successful
performer. She committed suicide in her hotel
room allegedly distraught by Clyde Fitch's
dedication of the published text of
The Truth, a part
Bloodgood had played, to Marie Tempest, who
played it in London.
Adopted by William
and Leslie Jacques, Carole LaMond and David
Birkner |
|
EDWIN BOOTH (actor) 1833-1893. A great
Shakespearean actor, Booth's "Hamlet" ran for
100 nights in New York. He withdrew from
the stage for several months after his brother
assassinated Abraham Lincoln.
Adopted by: J.D.
Sitler |
|
FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT
(author/playwright) 1849-1924. Frances
gave us The Secret Garden
and Little Lord
Fauntleroy.
Adopted by Paul
and Susan van Mulbregt |
|
LOTTA CRABTREE (dancer/singer) 1847-1944.
Formed her own theater company which toured the
East Coast. Mother carried her earnings in
a leather bag. Invested in real estate,
retired wealthy and donated to charities.
Adopted by
Paraskeve Kantges |
|
FANNY DAVENPORT (actress) 1850-1898.
Fanny purchased the rights to several plays and
formed a touring company playing the starring
roles. Grew up in Boston; summered in
Duxbury; buried in Jamaica Plain.
Adopted by Dan and
Judy Clawson |
|
JOHN
DREW (actor) 1853-1927. John Drew was an
American stage actor most noted for his roles in
Shakespearean comedy, society drama, and light
comedies. Born in Philadelphia, Drew was the
eldest son of actors John and Louisa Lane Drew.
He first appeared on stage in 1873, and made his
New York debut in 1875. After enjoying several
comedic successes, Drew later joined the company
of Charles Frohman, a leading theatrical
impresario of the late 1800s and early 1900s,
best known for bringing Peter Pan to
the stage. Highly esteemed by his fellow actors,
Drew was accorded the honor of being chosen
Lifetime President of New York’s famed Players’
Club. He published his memoirs,
My Years on the Stage,
in 1922. John Drew’s younger sister Georgiana
was the wife of Maurice Barrymore, thus making
John Drew the uncle of Lionel, Ethel and John
Sydney Blyth Barrymore; the great-uncle of John
Drew Barrymore; and the great-great-uncle of Ms.
Drew Barrymore.
Adopted by Anne
Damon and Jack Martin |
 |
LOUISA DREW DEVEREAUX (actress)
1852-1888. Daughter of John Drew and
Louisa Lane Drew. Performed on Broadway in
The Flower Show, written by Oliver Herford,
Beatrice Herford's brother.
Adopted by Lynne
and Tom Dinger |
|
GERALDINE FARRAR (lyric soprano)
1882-1967. “Do not forget that I am a
star.” The girl who spent 16 seasons as a
lyric soprano at the Metropolitan Opera was born
in Melrose, Massachusetts. Her repertoire
centered on the works of contemporaries like
Massenet and Puccini and she introduced the
latter’s Madama Butterfly at the Met.
Geraldine was a best selling recording artist
and starred in 14 silent movies. During the
Depression she was a radio commentator for the
Met. She had both an on- and off-stage
relationship with Arturo Toscanini. Geraldine is
said to have uttered the above words during a
disagreement over a musical detail with
Toscanini and the Met’s general manager. It is
said that Toscanini replied “the only stars I
recognize are those in heaven.”
Adopted by Judy
Wood and Doug Sanders |
 |
BEATRICE HERFORD (actress/monologist/our
Founder) 1868-1952. Beatrice made her
public debut in London. She and her
husband built this theater in 1904 and gave the
use of it to a group of actors organized as the
Vokes Players in 1937.
1 of 6 Adopted by
Jack Wilson |
 |
BEATRICE
HERFORD
(actress/monologist/our Founder) 1868-1952.
Prior to her vaudeville debut, Beatrice
Herford’s audiences were composed largely of
women because of her many matinees. Even though
she limited her speaking characters to women she
appealed equally to men and women. The men
probably enjoyed her monologues because they
traded on certain stereotyped visions men
traditionally held concerning women’s irritating
ways. For example she create characters who wee
dependent on men, who talked incessantly and
gossiped excessively, who were scatterbrained
and tiresome as well as obnoxious. The women,
however, also delighted in her monologues
because, according to Herford, they never
recognized themselves. Seen here
performing in She Stoops to Conquer.
2 of 6 Adopted by
Robert Zawistowski |
 |
BEATRICE HERFORD
(actress/monologist/our Founder) 1868-1952.
Beatrice Herford was the first female soloist to
write and perform her own monologues as a
one-person show. That historic theatrical event
occurred in 1895 at Sallé Erard in London to
favorable reviews. The following year
Association Hall in Boston was the setting for
her American debut, while her first New York
performance was at the Waldorf Hotel in March
1897. Other than two variety benefits (1900 and
1901) Miss Herford appeared only in one-woman
shows from 1895-1912 during which time she
became a popular and noted monologist. After
1912 she appeared successfully in legitimate
comedies, vaudeville and revues in addition to
one-woman shows. She continued writing and
performing her monologues until 1943 primarily
in Boston and New York with occasional
appearances elsewhere. Seen here performing her
monologues.
3 of 6 Adopted by Jon
Saxton and Barbara Fox |
 |
BEATRICE HERFORD
(actress/monologist/our Founder) 1868-1952.
Brenton Dickson, a very close family friend,
provided the following anecdote to illustrate
Beatrice’s mischievous nature and her methods of
testing the capacity of her convincing
characterizations. One cold September evening a
woman dressed in rags, and carrying a baby in
her arms, knocked on the kitchen door of a house
in Wayland. The housewife, whose children had
all been tucked away for the night, went to the
door and saw this poor creature standing
outside. “Can I do anything for you?” she asked.
“It’s awfully cold,” the woman answered, “and I
have a long way to go. I wondered if you would
give me a cup of tea.” The housewife felt sorry
for her and invited her in and told her to sit
at the table while the tea was brewing. As soon
as she was seated she looked down at her baby,
shook her head sadly, and remarked, “The poor
little creature. She’s terribly sick with the
small pox.” The housewife was horrified, but not
for long, because the poor woman shed her
disguise and was immediately recognized as
Beatrice Herford from down the street, while the
baby was only a dummy. At that time Beatrice had
ambitions of becoming an actress and was merely
experimenting with her ability to act
convincingly. - From The
Art of Beatrice Herford, Cissie Loftus and
Dorothy Sands within the Tradition of Solo
Performance by Linda Sue Long, B.A., M.A.
4 of 6 Adopted by: Patricia and
Raymond Harlan |
 |
BEATRICE HERFORD (actress/monologist/our
Founder) 1868-1952.
Beatrice Herford received extensive, consistent
critical and audience response for the
presentations of her monologues. The following
excerpts exhibit the nature of her reception:
“utmost hilarity,” “very eager,” “unadulterated
enjoyment,” “prolonged applause,” “an audience
that had so much that if it had any more it
would have felt nervous about itself,” “keenly
appreciated,” “ripples or roars of laughter,”
“Those who have once heard Miss Beatrice Herford
never willingly omit hearing her again,”
“enthusiastically greeted by a capital
audience,” “kept it in a state of unsuppressed
merriment.” Beatrice established a reputation
for always leaving her hearers in high good
humor. Those familiar with Miss Herford’s style
of entertainment greeted old favorites with
enthusiasm and new offerings with a demand for
encores. In fact the encore became almost a
tradition with her. Alexander Woolcott spoke of
her reception as if one would know the performer
just from hearing the audience response. “The
snorts of singularly satisfied laughter which
might have been heard by passersby in
Forty-third street yesterday afternoon would
have been enough to tell the knowing ones that
your correspondent was ensconced in Henry
Miller’s charming theater and that Beatrice
Herford was on the stage.” - From
The Art of Beatrice
Herford, Cissie Loftus and Dorothy Sands within
the Tradition of Solo Performance by
Linda Sue Long, B.A., M.A.
5 of 6 Adopted by Tara Stepanian and James
Barton |
 |
BEATRICE HERFORD
(actress/monologist/our
Founder) 1868-1952.
6 of 6 Adopted by: |
|
LAURA JOYCE
(opera singer) 1858-1904. Contralto Laura
Joyce, whose real name was Hannah Joyce Maskell,
studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London,
and made her stage debut there at the Strand
Theatre. She traveled to New York, making her
first American appearance at Niblo's Garden in a
ballet extravaganza called Leo and Lotos,
November 30, 1872. Her first appearance in
Gilbert & Sullivan was, as one would suspect, in
H.M.S. Pinafore, playing Little Buttercup in one
of the many American pirated productions at
Haverly's Lyceum Theatre, New York, in May 1879.
Her lone engagement under D'Oyly Carte auspices
was as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance on tour
with Carte's Fourth American Pirates Company
(February-June 1880). She would later
appear with the Comley-Barton Opera Company as
the Lady Jane in Patience (with John Howson and
Marie Jansen). In 1882 she married comic
baritone Digby Bell, and from that point forward
was listed in programs as Laura Joyce Bell. The
Bells appeared together in early 1885 as Lady
Sangazure and Dr. Daly in The Sorcerer with
McCaull's Opera Comique Company, again in
1885-86 as Katisha and Ko-Ko with McCaull's in a
Carte-sanctioned Mikado in Philadelphia and on
tour, and in 1887, again with McCaull, as Dame
Hannah and Robin Oakapple in an authorized
production of Ruddygore. She would continue to
perform in comic opera into the 1890s, often
revisiting her Gilbert & Sullivan roles.
Adopted by Kathy
and Mike Lague |
|
DORIS KEANE (actress)
1881-1945. Miss Keane was born in Michigan and
moved to London in 1907 to continue her career.
She appeared in only one Shakespearean role:
Juliet in a 1919 revival of Romeo and Juliet at
the Lyric Theatre in London. The production
boasted Ellen Terry as the Nurse and Basil
Sydney as Romeo; the play had a run of 73
performances. But there was no need to depend on
Shakespeare for a living as several smash hits
kept her quite busy.
When Miss Keane first played her signature role,
Margherita Cavallini in Edward Sheldon's play
Romance, she was instantly elevated to stardom.
Walter Prichard Eaton wrote of her in this part,
“Miss Keane . . . has dark, magnetic eyes, a
curious mouth that is extremely mobile and can
suggest either impish glee or profound sorrow
very easily . . . and a general attractiveness
of face and figure which arrests our attention.
Having arrested our attention, we soon realize
other features of her personality, notably her
humor, not without its capacity for a sarcastic
edge, her sensitiveness to impressions, her
alert mind. We sense her as rather an unusual
person.” Taking Romance to London in 1915, the
play ran for an astounding 1,049 performances.
The story is a fairly simple one. Thomas
Armstrong (played by Owen Nares) is first the
rector of St. Giles in New York. Forty years
later, when he is Bishop, he looks back upon his
love for the opera singer, Mme. Cavallini. The
audiences seemed never to tire of this romantic
play or Miss Keane's performance. It was revived
in 1921, 1926, and 1927.
1 of 2 Adopted by
Diane Schulhoff |
 |
DORIS KEANE (actress) 1881-1945.
2 of 2
Adopted by Derby Swanson |
 |
CARLOTTA LeCLERCQ
(actress/dancer/teacher) 1836-1893. She
debuted in a pantomime in London in 1850 and, in
her last years, taught budding actresses.
STILL AVAILABLE
FOR ADOPTION |
 |
CISSIE LOFTUS (Scottish
actress/singer/songwriter) 1876-1943. In
1894, she appeared in vaudeville at the Lyceum
Theatre in New York, and toured with the Ada
Rehan Company and the Augustin Daly Company
before she first appeared at Koster & Bial's on
January 21, 1895. With the Rehan troupe she
played Washington (DC), St. Louis, Missouri and
Chicago, Illinois as "Miss Cecile" in a
playbill. Her exit from Daly's organization
occurred after Loftus was offered larger
salaries in New York City. Other roles she
played prior to 1895 were Winnie in The Last
Word and Audrey in Love's Labor's Lost.
Critics did not speak kindly of her work in
these parts, to her dismay. Loftus became
an international favorite in vaudeville along
with Vesta Tilley and Harry Lauder. She
then began to appear in the legitimate theatre,
appearing in The Children of the King
at the Royal Court Theatre, in 1898. The
following year she returned to the U.S. to tour
in vaudeville and was seen by Sir Henry Irving
in 1901 at the Knickerbocker Theatre. He was so
impressed that he engaged her to appear with him
in the roles that Dame Ellen Terry could no
longer play. She later toured with Irving,
although the earnings were not as great as those
on the music hall circuit. In 1905, she
successfully essayed the very serious role of
Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.
The next year she toured with The Diamond
Express and appeared at the Royal Variety
Performance at the Palace Theatre in 1912. In
1914, Loftus played the part of Desdemona in
Othello at the Lyric Theatre (New York).
Cissie was well-known for her hilarious
impersonations of famous personalities including
Sarah Bernhardt and Robert Morley.
Adopted by Stephen
McGonagle and Dianne Martz |
|
PAULINE LUCCA (opera
singer) 1841-1908. Her career in the
Viennese Court Opera began at age 18.
Pauline became a world famous soprano and sang
in Prague, London, Berlin and New York.
Adopted by D
Schweppe, in memory of Eleanor Schweppe |
|
VICTOR MAUREL (opera
singer) 1848-1923. Maurel had a world
renowned reputation for both his acting skills
and fine vocal technique. He created Iago
in Othello (1887) and was the first
Tonio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in
1892.
Adopted by
Jerry Merson and David Collins |
|
MAGGIE MITCHELL
(actress) 1832-1918. Mitchell appeared in
New Orleans in, Fanchon, the Cricket, a
light, sentimental comedy adapted for her,
bringing her overnight stardom. She played
the elfin Fanchon for 25 years.
Adopted by Baldwin
Insurance Agency |
|
CARLOTTA PATTI (singer)
1835-1889.
Adopted by Janet
R. McFadden |
|
JOHN J. RAYMOND (actor)
1836-1887.
Adopted to honor
Bob Mackie for his many contributions to the
Vokes Theatre by the Vokes Players Play
Committee – 2009/10
|
|
ELEANOR ROBSON (actress)
1879-1979.
Adopted by Peter
A. Stark, in memory of Sidney J. and Ida Edelman
Stark |
|
STUART ROBSON (actor)
1836-1903.
Adopted by Anne
Damon and Jack Martin |
|
ANNIE RUSSELL
(actress/teacher) 1864-1936.
Adopted by Barbara
and Michael Dexter-Smith |
|
RUTH ST. DENIS (dancer)
1877-1968. Born Ruth Dennis around 1877 in
Newark, New Jersey, she is considered one of the
pioneers of modern dance. Ruth started dancing
in New York in 1892 doing brief routines as a
“skirt” or “leg” dancer (a dancer who showed her
legs). Moving on from vaudeville, she performed
as a solo artist here and in Europe. St. Denis’s
choreography and dancing were strongly
influenced by Eastern cultures and mysticism and
by Bernhardt’s melodramatic style. She
experimented with freestyle dance forms and the
expressive movement of the body. With her dance
partner and then-husband, Ted Shawn, she formed
the Denishawn Company and studio. She founded
the Society of Spiritual Arts to establish the
dance as an instrument of worship and formed the
Church of the Divine Dance in Hollywood, where
she conducted dance masses and rituals. You can
view a video clip of her dancing the “Incense
Dance” at age 80 online at:
www.bama.ua.edu/~dhughes/flamessite/connections/Denis/stdenis.html.
Adopted by Janis
Galligan |
 |
TOMMASO SALVINI (actor)
1829-1915.
Adopted by Chris
Cardoni and Melissa Sine, in memory of Edmund J.
Cardoni |
|
FRITZI SCHEFF
(singer/actress) 1879-1954.
Adopted by Cheryl
Salatino and Rich White |
|
MARY F. SCOTT SIDDONS
(actress) 1844-1896.
Adopted by Kate
Beattie |
|
MARIE TEMPEST (actress)
1864-1942.
Adopted by Janet
R. McFadden |
|
ELLEN TERRY (actress)
1848-1928. The daughter of prominent theatrical
parents, Ellen Terry became a renowned English
actress of stage and eventually screen. Her
acting career began at the early age of eight
and continued throughout her life. From 1874 she
became the leading Shakespearean actress in
London, and in partnership with Henry Irving
became successful in England (especially at
Irving's Lyceum Theatre) and the USA. Best known
for her talent in delivering spontaneous verse
in Shakespearean works, she was also celebrated
for her memorable portrayal as Guinevere in the
play King Arthur. Ellen Terry was considered by
audiences to be an actress of great beauty and
ultimately Britain’s Queen of the Stage. In
1925, she was made Dame of the British Empire.
The late Sir John Gielgud is the grandnephew of
Ellen Terry.
Adopted by Pamela
Mayne and John Barrett |
 |
JOHN L. TOOLE (actor)
1832-1906.
Adopted by
Paraskeve Kantges |
|
MADAMA CAMILLA URSO
(musician) 1842-1902.
Adopted by Ann
Rowan |
|
IRENE VANBRUGH (actress)
1872-1949.
Adopted
Anonymously |
|
ROSINA VOKES (comedienne)
1854-1894. Rosina Vokes and her siblings,
Jessie, Victoria and Fred, collectively known as
the Vokes Family, were stars on the Victorian
comic stage. Rosina made her debut at age two,
and became an actress/comedienne who was equally
accomplished in song, dance and pantomime. She
was said to be the “cleverest, the most
bewitching” of her family. Rosina retired from
the stage for a time after she married, she
returned in 1885 with her own company, the
Rosina Vokes Company. In 1889, she gave a
benefit performance for the victims of the
Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood and raised the
then-impressive sum of $250. Rosina died of
consumption while on tour.
Adopted by: |
|
ROSINA, JESSIE & VICTORIA
VOKES (comediennes). Jessie
(1851-1884), Victoria (1853-1894) and Rosina
Vokes (1854-1894), together with their brother
Fred, were collectively known as the Vokes
Family, who performed to great success on both
the British and American stages. They all began
performing as children and came to be known for
their physical comedy and song and dance
routines that drew huge audiences. Victoria was
said to be equally adept at both comedy and
drama, while Jessie, was the business manager
and “mother” to the group and Rosina was best
known for her charm and humor. Beatrice Herford
evidently admired them greatly, for she named
this theatre in their honor.
Adopted to honor
Pamela Mayne, David Berti and Donnie Baillargeon,
by the cast of A Little Night Music -
2007 |
 |
THE VOKES SISTERS
(comediennes).
Adopted by Kate
Mahoney |
|
WILLIAM WARREN (actor)
1812-1888.
STILL AVAILABLE
FOR ADOPTION |
 |
OSWALD YORKE (actor)
1866-1943.
Adopted to honor
Charlotte Lebowitz by Suzy and Larry Palmer
Jon Meyersohn, Rolf and Marylea
Meyersohn
The Meyersohn-Needle-Jean Mary Family
Joel Nowak, Wendy Lebowitz, Dov and Max Lebowitz-Nowak
|
|
SNOWMAN FAMILY CHRISTMAS
(designed and hand-painted by Beatrice Herford)
Adopted by Robert
and Marjorie Peterson |
 |
|
