But Dunlap and those upon whom he relied were mistaken, for there was a
theater in the city of New York in 1733, nineteen years before Hallam
arrived in this country. It is mentioned in Bradford’s “Gazette” of
that year, in the advertisement of a merchant who directs inquiries to
be made of him at his store “next door to the Play-House.”[3] This
reference is all that has been found respecting it; but in the month
of February, 1750, more than two years before the arrival of Hallam,
a regular company of actors, under the joint management of Thomas
Kean and of a Mr. Murray, came to this city from Philadelphia, and
applied to Admiral George Clinton, then the governor of the Province
of New York, for permission to act. Governor Clinton was a man of
rank, the son of an earl, and had previously held a distinguished
position as commander of the English fleet in the Mediterranean, while
his wife, Lady Clinton, was a woman of great personal attractions and
very agreeable manners, who had moved in the first circles of London
society. To these cultivated persons there was nothing objectionable in
the establishment of a theater, and permission was accordingly granted,
though, from the spirit afterward exhibited by the local magistrates in
this and other places, it would probably have been refused had the city
authorities been applied to. It was announced through the columns of
the “Weekly Post Boy” that the company intended to perform as long as
the season lasted, provided they met with suitable encouragement, and
upon obtaining the consent of the governor they hired a large room in
a building in Nassau street, belonging to the estate of Rip Van Dam,
formerly president of the Provincial Council, and converted it into
a theater; and here, on March 5, 1750, they produced Shakespeare’s
historical play of “Richard III.,” as altered by Colley Cibber, in
which the part of _Richard_ was performed by Mr. Kean. The performance
was announced to begin precisely at half-past seven o’clock, and the
public were informed that no person would be admitted behind the
scenes--an important reform, as it had been the practice in London from
Shakespeare’s time to allow the purchasers of box tickets free access
to the stage; a custom which led to many abuses and immoralities.
[Decorative Illustration]