[4] It was in 1766 and not in 1764 that this theater in Beekman street,
or, as it was then called, Chapel street, was torn down in a riot
growing out of the Stamp Act. The bill for the performance that night
was “May 5, 1766, at the theatre in Chapel Street, a comedy called the
‘Twin Rivals,’ with a Song in praise of liberty and the King and the
Miller of Mansfield.
“N. B. As the packet is arrived and has been the messenger of good news
relative to the Repeal it is hoped the public has no objection to the
above performance”--a hope that was not fulfilled.
Gabriel Furman, in a manuscript history of the New York stage, says,
“about the year 1761 Phil Miller, well-known in the city for a
plodding, active, managing man, obtained permission of Governor Colden
to build a theatre and act plays, which he did in Beekman Street,
a little below Nassau Street. This was a wooden building, in poor
condition, with paper scenery and a wretched wardrobe. The whole was
destroyed by a mob, created by the Stamp Act. Phil Miller lost his
house and company. He was a jocose fellow and played Justice Gattle
with great humor.”