Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 22, 1948)

Page 15 Christmas Number CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY theatre history began with its ninth auditorium, the Royal Lyceum, which was cpened in 1848 on the south side of King Street. It was approached through a lane, which is still there, beside No. 99. The Royal Lyceum was the first building in Toronto to he erected for exclusive theatre use, although Montreal's first such structure had been opened in 1825. But this was not the Royal Lyceum’s only claim to a place in jocal theatrical annals. It brought the Nickinson family to Toronto and members of it were to influence the city’s theatrical history. “For more than a dozen years Toronto had now been a city, but as yet the people had seen neither a theatre nor a player that would be dignified with the name according to modern standards,” observed one of the anonymous compilers of an early edition of Robertson’s Landmarks of Toronto. Then came the Royal Lyceum, “built and fitted up” by John Ritchie in a city with a population of 9,245. “Its first occupant was John S. Potter, the man who always had a tear in his eye, and who made a miserable failure, leaving sad remembrance in the shape of notes and bills.” Toa really important There was something to be said for the sad Mr. Potter, for Toronto was scourged by cholera that year and many died. Among them was one of the Royal Lyceum’s actors, a versatile comedian named Brown. From Philadelphia and of Quaker descent, it was thought that he had hidden his connection with the art frowned on by his co-religionists through the use of a stage name, the only one by which his fellowthespians knew him. Brown was to have been honored with a benefit performance of “The Golden Farmer,” an old English play, on a Monday evening. When the other players arrived on a Sunday morning at his place cf residence, Mrs. O’Keefe’s boarding house on Wellington Street, to go over the play, they learned of his death. Dramatic circumstances attended the exit of poor Brown from the earthly stage. He was buried in Potter’s Field at what is now Yonge and Bloor Streets but which was then Yorkville, 2 village near Toronto. His funeral was held during a violent rainstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning. Then the search began fcr his real identity, so that his relatives could be notified and his stone correctly lettered. HE Royal Lyceum came into its own in 1852 when John Nick'nson entered into partnership with T. P. Besnard, then manager, with whom he had been associated in a Quebec sum HYE BOSSIN's Story of Toronto's First Real Theatre, the Royal Lyceum, Which Stood on King Street One Hundred Years Ago mer theatrical venture. Nickinson was an actor-manager of some distinction, being talented enough to win mention in William Winter’s “Other Days.” He and his family were to become so rooted in this country that Winter, the leading American theatre critic and historian of the last half of the 19th Century, referred to him as a Canadian actor, although he was from the United States. In 1853 Nickinson assumed sole direction of the Royal Lyceum, which he modernized in various ways, including the installation of gas lighting. Among the members of his company to rise later in the English-speaking theatrical world were Denman Thompson, afterwards star of “The Old Homestead;” Cool Burgess, who donned cork for the first time when the company gave Toronto its first look at ‘Uncle Tcm’s Cabin,” and who became one of America’s leading minstels; and William J. Florence, the comedian. Not only was WNickinson’s standing in the profession high enough to attract capable players to his company but personal friendship enabled him to induce stage luminaries to include the Royal Lyceum in their tours. James Wallack. Barry Sullivan and EB. W. Couldock were among the many who came to Toronto under Nickinson’s sponsorship. He moved Toronto into the big time of the drama by building a resident company of acting quality good enough to provide the support great touring stars dererved, required and demanded in those pre-road company days. Nickinson’s daughters became Jending actresses on this continent. Charlotte, whose godmother was that queen of the drama, i Charlotte Cushman, was 15 when she made her stage debut at the Roval Lyceum but she immediately became a local favorite. She married Daniel Morrison, a Toronto newspaperman who was a friend of Edwin Booth, and remained in Toronto to become its leading actress and manager, as well as a prominent member of the social world. The Grand Opera House, in its day famed throughcut the world, was built for her by public subscription in 1874. Eliza Nickinson, the eldest daughter, married Charles Peters, a comedian of considerable note, who was a member of the company. Many years later one of their sons played with Denman Thompson, still touring with “The Old Homestead.” The other Nickinson girls also married in the profession. Virginia became the wife of Owen Marlowe, a member of the company, and Isabella married Charles Walcott. John Nickinson withdrew from the Royal Lyceum in 1858 but it continued and many ‘‘names” appeared there. Lola Montez, courtesan of the King of Bavaria and one of history's spitfires, satisfied local curiosity from _ its boards. During the 1864-65 season McKean Buchanan and his daughter, Virginia, played Shakespeare and Schiller. After the Buchanans the renowned Holman English Opera Company took the theatre and for years offered musical comedies, operas and dramas. The management of the Lyceum was taken from the Ho!mans by Mrs. Charlotte Morrison in 1872, she having returned to the profession after the death of her husband. Having been reclaimed by a Nickinson, its glory was returned and many great stars came to the theatre for the period she remained there. Twice the Royal Lyceum had suffered from the scourge of the theatre in those days, fire, but it “had escaped without serious dam age. Then at 11 p.m. on Friday night, January 30th, 1874, flames destroyed it. The catastrophe followed a benefit performance for Dominick Murphy in “The Gambler’s Choice” and the next Photo Copyright by Karsh. ERNEST RAMEY As manager of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, he is the local custodian of the “Legitimate” tradition in the theatre, keeper of the Drama’s flame, etc. For 40 years the Royal has upheld the stage against every form of imitation —and on King, historically the home of the theatre in Toronto. play billed was ‘Ten Nights in a Bar Room.” At the time of the fire the building was owned by Alderman James French and the lessees were Tannehill and Glenn. Opposition theatrical attractions, lectures and concerts were being presented in a number of auditoriums in the city. Tannehill, an actor, moved the Royal Lyceum company to St. Lawrence Hall on King, near Jarvis, for a series of performances, the first of which was a benefit for him sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Not long afterward Tannehill leased Agricultural Hall at Queen and Yonge Streets and there he, Nellie Tannehill and the rest of the company performed. Altered and renovated, it was advertised as “the finest place of amusement in the city” for its opening on March 16th, 1874. The destruction of the Royal Lyceum left Toronto with one regular theatre, the Academy of Music, a variety and musical comedy house operated on Colborne Street for some years by a French-Canadian, Zeph R. Trephane. HE end of the Royal Lyceum seems to have been the beginning of theatrical expansion, for before the year was out two theatres, the Queen’s and the Grand Opera House, were opened and the Royal Lyceum was rebuilt and renamed the Royal Opera House. They added theatrical activity (Continued on Page 17) 4 : F