Ever
heard of Maude (Maud) Granger? Maude was one of the actresses who
traveled across the country in the later part of the 1800’s. In the
book “New National Theater, Washington DC: A record of Fifty
Years” by Alexander Hunter, published in 1885, they had this to say
about Maude:
The
statuesque Maude
made by far the most beautiful Mlle. Gautier
that the audience had ever seen, for she had a figure that Rubens
would have loved to paint — a Byron describe — large, full,
sensuous. On a pose in a tableau Miss Granger was a success, but as
an actress in such a character as “Camille" she was an
insolvent in the dramatic bank, and more people went to see her out
of curiosity than with a desire to be entertained.
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| Cabinet Card of Maude Granger found on EBay |
Yet,
as critics go, this from the book “Performing
the American Frontier, 1870-1906” by
Roger A. Hall,
A
review of the play “My Partner” by the Mirror of Sept 20, 1879,
they say of Maude, in the part of Mary
We
do not know of any actress who could bring more intelligence, labor,
and the good looks to the depiction of the poignant woes and
heartsore grief of this woman.
Maude,
like some of the actors today, had parts of her personal life show up
in the papers. From the Sunday October 21, 1877 issue of the Denver,
Colorado Rocky Mountain News, the following was found:
Maude
Granger, the actress, found a long lost brother the other day at
Springfield, Ohio, whom she had not seen for 17 years. He had been a
circus clown and various other things in his time, and at present is
a whitewasher and a politician of the working man's party.
And
in the December 31, 1878 issue of the Chicago, Illinois Inter Ocean
they speak of her near death experience.
Miss
Maude
Granger, the actress who came near dying from the effects of a dose
of laughing –
gas on Monday last, was found Wednesday by a New York ‘Sun’
reporter. This is the story she told:
"I
had a narrow escape, indeed," she said, "although it was
not so much the poor dentist fault. He has given me laughing – gas
frequently before; but last Monday I was out of sorts, and very
nervous, and I suppose I should not have gone to him at all. I had a
wisdom tooth which had troubled me greatly, and the doctor told me
that I must have it out, so I went. Dr. – (you must excuse my not
mentioning his name) gave the usual amount of the gas, but it had the
most remarkable effect. They told me afterward that I lay for 15
minutes as though I were dead. I lost all sensation for a time, could
see and hear nothing. They told me that I stopped breathing, and that
my heart did not beat. When I recovered I lay as one in a dream for
more than two hours, while five doctors did everything they could for
me. I could see them working around me, and hear every word they
uttered, but I couldn't no more move hand or foot that if I were
dead. I don't know how I dressed for my part that evening, or how I
looked, for that matter. I remember saying a few lines of my part,
and coming on and going off the stage, and that is all. I was so weak
that they had to carry me into the green – room after the last act,
but the audience was very kind, though some of them must have
suspected that I was intoxicated."
I
do
love how dramatic an actor can be.
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| Overview of Colorado Springs 1882 |
On
April 18, 1881, Colorado Springs opened its Opera House with Maude
Granger as the star of the show. Her traveling company had been
performing in Denver, when she was contacted to play Colorado
Springs. (For a more complete description of the Opera House, the
book “High Drama: Colorado’s Historic Theatres” by Daniel &
Beth R, Barrett).
Suffice
it so say, it was a momentous occasion. The town that was billed as
‘Little London’, that advertised the many natural wonders and the
clear air for those suffering from consumption, was out to show the
world what they could do. Theater
patrons received a white satin souvenir program recording the cast
and management in gold lettering.
Everything
was set, except Miss Granger chose for the performance, “Camille”.
The papers made a bit of a to-do about the choice of
a consumptive dying in front of an audience of consumptives,
but they did applaud the performances. There was only one minor
mishap, when the settee, that Maude was to rise into the heavens, was
not properly attached and she came crashing down to the stage floor.
Reports
say she heaped abuse on the stage manager, while the curtain had been
raised for her curtain call.
Hope
you enjoyed this bit of theater history. There are more stories where
that came from. Until next time.
Doris Gardner-McCraw -
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History
Colorado and Women's History
Member of National League of American Pen Women,
Women Writing the West,
Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners
Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet
For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here
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