Carrie Swain

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Carrie Swain
Carrie Swain in blackface as Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1882
Born
Caroline Madeline Wisler

April 7, 1860
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
DiedJune 20, 1944(1944-06-20) (aged 84)
Paris, France
Burial placeBatignolles Cemetery, Paris, France
Other namesCaroline Gardner
Occupation(s)Acrobat, actress, singer
Known forOne of the first women in minstrel

Caroline Madeline Wisler, better known by her stage name Carrie Swain and also by her married name Caroline Gardner, (April 7, 1860 – June 20, 1944) was an American actress, acrobat, and singer. One of the first female acrobats and belting vocalists to appear in vaudeville, she began her career performing in variety and minstrel shows during the 1870s. It is possible that she was the first woman blackface performer. She first rose to national prominence in the early 1880s, touring in the musical The Tourists of the Palace Car. In 1882 she created the role of Topsy in composer Caryl Florio and dramatist H. Wayne Ellis's musical adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and then toured nationally in several plays written for her, among them Leonard Grover's Cad, The Tomboy and Frederick G. Maeder's Mat, the Romp.

Early life and career[edit]

Sam Swain, Carrie's first husband.

The daughter of Ignatz Wisler and Caroline Blust, Caroline Madeline Wisler was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1860.[1][2] The family relocated to San Francisco where Swain grew up.[3] She was one of the earliest female acrobats to perform on the vaudeville stage,[4] and was possibly the first female entertainer to perform in blackface.[5][6] According to theatre scholar Shirley Staples, "Carrie Swain may have been the first woman to attempt the acrobatic comedy typical of male blackface work."[5]

Swain began her career in the 1870s performing in both minstrel shows and variety programs.[7] She performed under the name Carrie Swain,[8][7][4] after marrying Samuel Colburn Swain (1848-1928).[9] Her performances in the 1870s were mainly done with Sam as her acrobatic partner,[5] beginning as early as 1877[8] and extending to as late as 1880.[10] Their marriage ended in divorce.[9]

As a pioneering female acrobat, Swain challenged 19th century perceptions of women as the "weaker sex". Her physicality and athletic ability were featured prominently in her marketing; often to intentionally shock and intrigue 19th century consumers. These adverts both challenged and reinforced 19th century stereotypes of women. For example, one of the advertisements for her show asked the question "Can a woman turn a somersault and remain a lady?"[11]

In addition to her work as an acrobat, Swain was also one of the first belting vocalists to perform in vaudeville.[7] Historical accounts of the period labeled her as a "rough soubrette" because of the strength of her voice.[7] When she appeared at Shelby's Theatre in Buffalo, New York in 1877, The Buffalo Sunday Morning News described her as "the only lady acrobatic song and dance artist in the world."[8] From February 16 through May 1, 1877, she appeared in nine stage works written by David Belasco at Egyptian Hall in San Francisco; starring in these works with her future second husband Frank Gardiner.[12]

In March 1878, Swain and her husband Sam performed at the Boylston Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.[13] They were engaged at Foresters Music Hall in London in October 1878,[14] and also appeared that same month at the People's Palace in Liverpool.[15] She returned to the United States where she spent the first part of December 1878 performing at Aberle’s Tivoli Theatre in New York City.[16]

Portrait of Carrie Swain by painter Louise Abbéma. Published in The Lone Hand (1907).[17]

The Swains spent the Christmas season of 1878 into January 1879 performing in a production of Humpty Dumpty at the New National Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut.[18] The following March they were performing in Detroit at the Coliseum Novelty Theatre located on Michigan Avenue across the street from Detroit City Hall; in a vaudeville sketch entitled "The Servant's Holiday".[19]

In October-November 1879, Carrie and Sam Swain had a big hit with their comedic sketch "One Hundred Virgins" which they presented at the Vine Street Opera House in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Enquirer described the sketch as a "spicy comedy" and that the Swains "took the house by storm" and were the "biggest success" of the evening and "one of the hits of the season".[20][21] The pair remained at that theatre in December 1879, performing in a pirated production of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Sam portrayed Dick Deadeye and Carrie portrayed Josephine.[22] By the end of the month they had left Cincinnati and were at the Howard Athenaeum in Boston performing "The Servant's Holiday".[23]

In February 1880, the Swains were back at the Vine Street Opera House in a new sketch entitled "Johnson's Party".[10] The following month they performed in a variety show at the Detroit Opera House.[24] In April 1880 they were at Saint Louis's Theatre Comique (formerly Bates Theatre, opened 1851) at Fourth St and Pine, performing in blackface in the sketch "The Colored Waiters".[25] At the end of that month, the couple joined the theatre company of John P. Smith, signing a two year contract.[26] They made their debut with the company in The Tourists of the Palace Car (also known as The Tourists) at Haverly's Theatre in Chicago on April 15, 1880;[27] with Carrie as the maid and the Sam as the porter.[28] Soon after, Carrie was given the leading role of Miss. Baby in the production.[29]

National prominence[edit]

Carrie Swain in 1886.

Carrie spent two seasons touring in The Tourists of the Palace Car (also called The Tourists in the Pullman Palace Car or just The Tourists), and the role of Miss Baby significantly raised her profile as an actress on the national stage. Her songs in this production included " The Bees Are Swarming, Charlie" which used words and music by Belle Cole, and "'Tis Time to Say Good Night" with music by Alfred Cellier.[30] William A. Mestayer (1846–1896) was the producer of this show and J. H. Haverly was its manager. The plot of the show revolved around tourists traveling on a train to California who get caught up in a diamond robbery aboard the train.[31]

Tour stops for The Tourists included performances at the Whitney Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan,[32] the Academy of Music in Buffalo, New York,[33] both the Gaiety Theatre[34] and the Park Theatre in Boston,[35] the New Portland Theatre in Maine,[36] English's Opera House in Indianapolis,[37] Pike's Opera House in Cincinnati,[38] Haverly's Theater in Chicago,[39] the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,[40] the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia,[41] and the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.[42] The tour also included a stop on Broadway at Haverly's Lyceum Theatre, beginning a run there on September 13, 1880.[30]

In May 1881 Swain left the company of The Tourists, and returned to Chicago where she appeared in Nib and Tuck opposite the Jewish comedian Harry Webber at the Academy of Music in Chicago.[43] She returned to performing in vaudeville; appearing in theaters in Indianapolis[44] Baltimore,[45] and Washington D.C. into early September 1881.[46] By September 11, 1881 she was starring in a minstrel show at the Grand Central Theatre in Philadelphia.[47]

In October 1881 Swain joined a touring theatre troupe managed by Henry C. Miner, and by the end of that month was performing with that troupe at the Grand Opera House in Wheeling, West Virginia in a show called "Harry Miner's Comedy Four Combinations".[48] She toured with that company for several months, performing at Whallen's Buckingham Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky,[49] the Coliseum Theatre in Cincinnati,[50] Hyde & Behmans Theater in Brooklyn,[51] the Grand Central Theatre in Philadelphia,[52] the Windsor Theatre in Boston,[53] the Park Theatre in Indianapolis,[54] and the Olympic Theatre in Chicago.[55] She was still performing in this show in April 1882 when the production reached Cleveland's Academy of Music.[56]

Advertisement for Carrie Swain, The Protean Actress.

On May 22, 1882, Swain starred as Topsy in the world premiere of a musical adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia. The musical was created by composer Caryl Florio and dramatist H. Wayne Ellis.[57] The was followed by a new play written specifically for Swain by playwright Leonard Grover, Cad, The Tomboy, which she first performed in Waterbury, Connecticut on August 30, 1882.[58] It was a comedy drama written in five acts which was carefully crafted around Swain's unique abilities as an actress, dancer, acrobat, and singer;[59] a variation of skills which earned her the moniker "The Protean Actress".[60][61] She toured widely as Cad, The Tomboy, initially appearing in theaters throughout New England in August-October 1882.[58][62][63][64][65][66] The Boston Globe reviewed the production when it reached the Chelsea Academy of Music in Chelsea, Massachusetts, stating:

"The piece has met with a vast amount of success in the various New England cities in which it has been played. Carrie Swain's interpretation of Cad, the Tomboy, was inimitable. Her vivacious style of acting renders her specially adapted to the part and quite enraptured the audience by her charming rendering of the song "Sweetest One", which she introduced."[59]

Swain spent the remainder of 1882 touring throughout North America in the part of Cad, performing the role in theaters in both small and large cities. Some places she performed the role included Cleveland,[67] Terre Haute, Indiana,[68] Richmond Hill, Ontario,[69] Bloomington, Illinois,[70] Saint Louis, Missouri,[71] New Orleans,[72] the Richmond Theatre in Virginia,[73] and McVicker's Theater in Chicago.[74]

On January 4, 1883 Swain performed the title role in the world premiere of Frederick G. Maeder's Mat, the Romp; another play specifically written for her. The premiere took place at Lancaster's Fulton Opera House.[75] She added a second new play to her repertoire soon after, Mab, The Miner's Daughter, and toured these plays together.[76] At some point on the tour, Swain dropped Matt, the Romp;[77][78] and by October 1883 Cad, the Tomboy had returned to her repertoire alongside Mab, The Miner's Daughter.[79] Cad, the Tomboy remained in her touring repertoire in 1884-1885, and was paired with the occasional new play, including Maeder's Morning Glory (1884)[80] and True Blue (1885).[81]

Later life and career[edit]

In 1886 she returned to Broadway, appearing at the Union Square Theatre in the title trouser role in Jack in the Box.[82] That same year, she married Frank Gardiner who had been working as Swain's theatrical manager prior to their marriage.[9] She traveled to Australia where she gave her first performance on that continent as Cad, The Tomboy at the Theatre Royal, Sydney; opening in that production on February 5, 1887.[83] She was highly successful and financially actress in Australia and New Zealand during the late 1880s, having long tours of Cad, the Tomboy and Uncle Tom's Cabin with her own company.[84]

In 1907 and 1908, there were reports of her reverting to performing under her maiden name Carrie Wisler or refer to her as Carrie Wisler-Swain.[85][86][17] According to her record in the American Foreign Service Association's U.S., Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974, Carrie Swain died in her home in Paris at the age of 84 on June 20, 1944. She is buried at the Batignolles Cemetery.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Carrie S Wisler in U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 1921, Roll 1643 - Certificates: 47626-47999, 06 Jun 1921-06 Jun 1921, National Archives and Records Administration
  2. ^ a b Carrie Swain Wisler in the U.S., Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974 American Foreign Service Association, National Archives and Records Administration
  3. ^ "A Long Swim: A California Lady Swims Over To Belle Isle and Returns In the Same Manner". Detroit Free Press. October 18, 1879. p. 6.
  4. ^ a b Slide, p. 3
  5. ^ a b c Staples 1984, p. 58
  6. ^ Staples 1981, p. 120
  7. ^ a b c d Fields, p. 63
  8. ^ a b c "Shelby's". The Buffalo Sunday Morning News. December 23, 1877. p. 4.
  9. ^ a b c "A Complicated Marriage Case: American Millionaire's Three Wives". Evening Standard. January 7, 1905. p. 8.
  10. ^ a b "Vine Street Opera House". The Cincinnati Daily Star. February 17, 1880. p. 8.
  11. ^ Samuels, p. 131
  12. ^ Belasco & Winter, p. 12
  13. ^ "Dramatic Matters". The Boston Globe. May 26, 1878. p. 3.
  14. ^ "The Foresters". The Era. October 13, 1878. p. 4.
  15. ^ "People's Palace". Liverpool Daily Post. October 14, 1878. p. 1.
  16. ^ "Amusements". New York Daily Herald. December 4, 1878. p. 1.
  17. ^ a b Brodzky, Leon (September 1, 1908). "Mime and Music: Reviving the Classic Dance". The Lone Hand. III. Australia: 603.
  18. ^ "Amusements". Hartford Courant. January 1, 1879. p. 1.
  19. ^ "The Coliseum". Detroit Free Press. March 25, 1879. p. 1.
  20. ^ "Vine Street Opera House". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 28, 1879. p. 8.
  21. ^ "Other Local Attractions". The Cincinnati Daily Star. November 15, 1879. p. 4.
  22. ^ "Vine Street Opera House". The Cincinnati Daily Star. December 2, 1879. p. 4.
  23. ^ "Howard Athenaeum". Boston Post. December 30, 1879. p. 3.
  24. ^ "Detroit Opera House". Detroit Free Press. March 28, 1880. p. 2.
  25. ^ "Theatre Comique". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 17, 1880. p. 6.
  26. ^ "Amusements". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. April 26, 1880. p. 8.
  27. ^ "At the Theatres". Chicago Daily Telegraph. April 26, 1880. p. 4.
  28. ^ "Amusements". The Cincinnati Enquirer. April 26, 1880. p. 8.
  29. ^ "In the Pullman Palace Car". Buffalo Courier Express. May 18, 1880. p. 4.
  30. ^ a b Benjamin & Rosenblatt, p. 727
  31. ^ Smith & Litton, p.34
  32. ^ "Amusements". Detroit Free Press. May 7, 1880. p. 6.
  33. ^ ""The Tourists"". The Buffalo Commercial. May 18, 1880. p. 3.
  34. ^ "The Tourists at the Gaiety". Boston Daily Globe. December 29, 1880. p. 4.
  35. ^ ""The Tourists" at the Park Theatre". The Boston Globe. June 3, 1880. p. 4.
  36. ^ "Music and the Drama". Portland Daily Press. January 19, 1881. p. 3.
  37. ^ "The Tourists At English's". Indianapolis News. November 16, 1880. p. 2.
  38. ^ "Pike's The Tourists". Cincinnati Commercial. October 17, 1880. p. 11.
  39. ^ "Haverly's Theater". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 4, 1880. p. 12.
  40. ^ "The Tourists". Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. March 23, 1881. p. 2.
  41. ^ "The Tourists Again". Philadelphia Inquirer. December 21, 1880. p. 8.
  42. ^ "Amusements &c". Washington Evening Star. October 5, 1880. p. 4.
  43. ^ "Dramatic Notes". Chicago Daily Tribune. May 15, 1881. p. 23.
  44. ^ {"Gilmore's Zoo Theatre". Indianapolis Journal. May 27, 1881. p. 3.
  45. ^ "Kernan's Monumental Theatre". Baltimore Sun. August 29, 1881. p. 1.
  46. ^ "Theatre Comique". The Evening Critic. September 6, 1881. p. 4.
  47. ^ "The Minstrels". Philadelphia Times. September 11, 1881. p. 2.
  48. ^ "Harry Miner". Wheeling Register. October 24, 1881. p. 4.
  49. ^ "Whallen's Buckingham Theatre". Jeffersonville Daily Evening News. November 5, 1881. p. 3.
  50. ^ "Coliseum Grand Re-Opening". Cincinnati Daily Gazette. November 7, 1881. p. 10.
  51. ^ "Hyde and Benham's". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 8, 1882. p. 8.
  52. ^ "Grand Central Theatre". Philadelphia Times. January 15, 1882. p. 5.
  53. ^ "Windsor Theatre". Boston Post. February 7, 1882. p. 4.
  54. ^ "Amusements". Indianapolis Journal. March 14, 1882. p. 3.
  55. ^ "Olympic Theatre". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 13, 1881. p. 24.
  56. ^ "Amusements; Academy of Music". The Cleveland Leader. April 17, 1882. p. 8.
  57. ^ Bordman & Norton, p. 72
  58. ^ a b "Footlight Flashes". Boston Sunday Globe. August 27, 1882. p. 4.
  59. ^ a b "Carrie Swain as "Cad, the Tomboy"". Boston Daily Globe. October 13, 1882. p. 2.
  60. ^ "The Passing Show". Terre Haute Saturday Evening Mail. November 4, 1882. p. 11.
  61. ^ "The Various Attractions at the Theatre this Week". Indianapolis Journal. February 18, 1884.
  62. ^ "Footlight Flashes". Boston Sunday Globe. September 17, 1882. p. 4.
  63. ^ "Cad the Tomboy". Newport Mercury. September 23, 1882. p. 1.
  64. ^ "Whitney's Opera House". Fitchburg Sentinel. September 30, 1882. p. 3.
  65. ^ "Cad, the Tomboy". Portland Daily Press. October 6, 1882. p. 1.
  66. ^ "From Our Last Evening Addition". Newburyport Daily Herald. October 7, 1882. p. 1.
  67. ^ "Amusement". The Cleveland Leader. September 27, 1882. p. 8.
  68. ^ "Opera House". Terre Haute Daily Wabash. November 9, 1882. p. 2.
  69. ^ "Music and Drama". Richmond Hill Liberal. November 10, 1882. p. 6.
  70. ^ "Durley Hall". Bloomington Daily Leader. November 15, 1882. p. 7.
  71. ^ "Music and Drama". Cincinnati Commercial. November 26, 1882. p. 12.
  72. ^ "Death from the Use of Cosmetics". Madison Wisconsin State Journal. December 7, 1882. p. 1.
  73. ^ "Local Matters". Richmond Daily Dispatch. December 16, 1882. p. 4.
  74. ^ "Theaters in Chicago". Cheyenne Weekly Leader. December 28, 1882. p. 2.
  75. ^ "Lancaster Daily Intelligencer". January 2, 1883. p. 3.
  76. ^ "Amusements". Terre Haute Daily. January 10, 1883. p. 4.
  77. ^ "Kelly's Front Street Theatre". Baltimore Sun. March 1, 1883. p. 1.
  78. ^ "Amusements, Music". Philadelphia Inquirer. March 8, 1883. p. 3.
  79. ^ "Amusements". The Indianapolis Journal. October 22, 1883. p. 8.
  80. ^ "Amusement Review". Indianapolis Journal. February 19, 1884. p. 8.
  81. ^ "Music & Drama". Portland Daily Press. November 4, 1885. p. 1.
  82. ^ Brown, p. 176
  83. ^ Brewer, p. 47
  84. ^ "New and Notes". The Australian Journal: 113. October 1888.
  85. ^ Shinkman & Shinkman, p. 73
  86. ^ "Music in Paris". The Musical Courier: 12. December 4, 1907.

Bibliography[edit]

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