Not the first female theatre manager in the United States, Laura Keene was the first to successfully compete with male managers in first-class venues. She bore the brunt of opposition against females in the profession, and opened the door for women who were more easily accepted.
Laura Keene Theatrical Training
Laura Keene (English-born Mary Frances Moss 1826-1873) developed her interest in the arts at a young age while spending time at her uncle’s London gallery and listening to sounds of opera, Shakespearean readings, and French plays emanating from St. James’ Theatre.
When Laura’s husband Henry Taylor abandoned her and their two daughters after seven years of marriage, she paid for theatrical studies and, under her new name played Pauline in Lady of Lyons and met James W. Wallack (the elder).
Wallack New York City Theatre
Likely encouraged by Wallack who admired her work, Laura travelled with her mother and daughters to New York. She performed at Wallack’s Lyceum Theatre in The Will and become an audience favourite during 1852
Keene left Wallack’s company a year later, briefly managed a theatre in Baltimore, then moved on to California. She toured Sacramento and several other locations and successfully produced The Sea of Ice or, The Orphan of the Sea at San Francisco’s Union Theatre before touring Australia with Edwin Booth.
Keene returned to San Francisco in 1855 where she produced and performed in Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Tempest at the American Theatre during the summer. With each presentation, she delighted audiences and critics with her attention to production details, and gained valuable knowledge that would further her managerial career.
Theatre Manager William Burton Opposition
In New York, she leased the Metropolitan Theatre which she named Laura Keene’s Variety House. Among her assembled company members were many who left the rival company of William E. Burton who was known to be quite ruthless.
Laura Keene’s Variety House opening was delayed due to the vandalization of her scenery. The December 27 opening initiated an exciting, yet exhausting season with the actress not only playing the lead, but also carrying out many production and direction responsibilities.
Camille, which Keene introduced in March, was immediately successful and ran for three weeks with great reviews for the star’s performance and production elements. With The Marble Heart in which Laura played Marco to perfection, and My Wife’s Mirror that received rave reviews, the season that included 45 plays in 153 nights was hugely successful.
Laura Keene Theatre in New York City
Possibly by devious means, William Burton took over the property and Laura Keene was without a theatre. Architect John M. Trimble organized financing, planned and built a new and larger theatre for her at 622 Broadway that was described as “unequalled for its gorgeous appointments...”.
The grand opening of the Laura Keene Theatre November 18, 1856 was one of the season’s major social events. After two seasons in which Keene solidified her artistic reputation, she gained financial success with production of a new play, Our American Cousin, by Tom Taylor. With Joseph Jefferson as Asa Trenchard, Keene as Florence Trenchard, and E. A. Sothern’s wonderful tomfoolery as Lord Dundreary, the play achieved the first long run in modern theatrical history.
Keene presented Taylor’s play during subsequent seasons with considerable modification of some decidedly southern speeches during the Civil War years.
“Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre
In 1863, Laura Keene left her New York Theatre. During a lengthy tour, she and her company were booked into Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D. C., and on April 14, 1865 during their performance of Our American Cousin, President Lincoln was shot. Keene readily identified John Wilkes Booth as he fled. Cleared of any involvement in the crime, Laura and her troupe had considerable difficulty recovering from the experience.
Attempting to re-energize herself and her career after the horrible event, Keene travelled with her company, visited England in 1868, and assumed management of the Chestnut Theatre in Philadelphia for a successful 1869-1870 season.
Reputation as Excellent Actress-Theatre Manager
Keene’s appreciation of all aspects of the arts continued to her last days. In New York City she published a weekly art journal, “The Fine Arts”, and in Philadelphia she made her last appearance at the Academy of Music in December 1872 with lectures on that subject. The great impresario died of tuberculosis November 4, 1873 in Montclair, New Jersey.
Having taken on the all-male profession of theatre management, Laura Keene established her reputation for excellence and successfully competed with managers such as Wallack and Burton.
The accomplishments of Laura Keene, one of the best actresses of her time, were remarkable when her extensive management responsibilities are considered. With her wealth of knowledge and her common sense approach to program selection, she presented magnificently staged plays to appreciative audiences.
As commented in the “Philadelphia Press”, October 13, 1869, “...her earnestness and conscientious devotion to art rank her name among the prominent ones of the stage, and...her record must be remembered with pride and respect while our stage has a tradition...”. Sadly, when she is remembered it is for her presence at Ford’s Theatre, not for her brilliant accomplishments as Laura Keene, Theatre Manager.
Sources:
- Nineteenth-Century American Women Theatre Managers by Jane Kathleen Curry, Greenwood Publishing Group 1994
- The Life of Laura Keene, John Creahan, The Rodgers Publishing Co., 1897
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
