An Awkward Moment

As a boy, Edwin accompanied his father, Junius Brutus Booth, on his grueling acting tours in order to help his father make it onto stage when the curtain opened, and keep him from strong drink after the curtain fell for the night. Some of the situations Junius subjected his young son to at this time were comical.

In The Prince of Players—Edwin Booth by Eleanor Ruggles, is one such situation:

Edwin protected his father from intrusions. In Boston at the Albion, a dingy public house over an apothecary’s on the north corner of Beacon and Tremont streets, he was resting in their room when his father dashed in, whispered hoarsely, “Gould! Coming up! Say I’m out!” and dived under the bed.

Thomas Gould was a Boston sculptor. He worshiped Booth, of whom he had done a fine bust, but Booth thought him tiresome. Now Gould seemed astonished not to find his idol, whom he had seen sprinting upstairs. He and Edwin talked lamely until there fell a pause, which Booth misinterpreted.

“Is that damned bore gone yet?” he sang out from under the bed.

Happy Birthday to Junius Brutus Booth Jr.!

Happy Birthday to Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., born today in 1821 (December 22, 1821 – September 16, 1883.

As a member of the illustrious Booth family of actors, Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. was overshadowed not only by his father Junius, Sr. and brothers Edwin and John Wilkes, but by his wife Agnes, who was a successful actress in her own right.

Booth managed the Boston Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Winter Garden Theatre, and Booth's Theatre where his brother Edwin was the star attraction. Though a relatively undistinguished actor, Junius, Jr. was highly regarded for his performances as King John and Cassius in Julius Caesar, which he performed with Edwin as Brutus and John Wilkes as Mark Antony in 1864.[1]

Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., himself was briefly imprisoned in Washington, DC, after his brother assassinated Abraham Lincoln. At the time of the assassination, he was fulfilling an acting engagement in Cincinnati, Ohio. Even so, he was arrested and hurried by train to the Old Capitol Prison.

The Question of Edwin Booth's Birthday

Edwin Booth wasn’t sure of the exact date of his birth at the property of Tudor Hall. His mother and older brother Junius, Jr. disagree on the day he was born. In a letter to his daughter, Edwina, dated November 14, 1869 describes his dilemma:

My Own Daughter,
Your dear letter with the pretty book-mark (“I love you”) came safely last night, just in time. It seems there is some doubt as to the exact date of my arrival here. Grandma says I was born on the night of the great “star shower” in 1883, and insists that it was November 15; but Uncle June says he remembers well—both my birth and the “Star Shower” occurred on November 13, 1833. So you see, I do not know which is the day—for, although I was there, I was too young to pay attention to such weighty matters, and can’t remember much about it. However, your little present, which I shall always cherish, my darling, came in good season for either day…

Here’s what history says about the shower: The night of November 12-13, 1833, not only marks the discovery of the Leonid meteor shower, but it marks the actual birth of meteor astronomy. During the hours following sunset on November 12, some astronomers noted an unusual number of meteors in the sky, but it was the early morning hours of the 13th that left the greatest impression on the people of eastern North America. During the 4 hours which preceded dawn, the skies were lit up by meteors.

Edwin was also born with a caul (a membrane covering the head at birth). In the servants quarters, the wise old African Americans cackled delightedly. Consulting the lore of their African ancestors, they peered into the child’s future and predicted that because of his caul he would be lucky and “gifted to see sperrits.” It appears his brother Junius was right about the date.

Make Plans To Visit Tudor Hall

The historic Tudor Hall is a fascinating piece of our nation's history. When you visit, you'll connect to the story of the Maryland Booths who left their mark on America forever. You'll walk where they walked, lived, played, worked and dreamed. When you visit, it makes this part of history come alive.

The property and first floor floor of Tudor Hall will be open to visitors at 1:00 & 2:00 PM on the following dates in 2012:
April 15 & 29, May 6 & 20, June 10 & 24, July 8 & 22, Aug. 12 & 26, Sept. 9 & 23, Oct. 14 & 28. Suggested donation of $3.00 for those age 13 and older. The gift shop includes books which delve into the absorbing history of the Booths. For more information: 443-619-0008 or SpiritsOfTudorHall@gmail.com

Join The Junius B. Booth Society

The story of the Maryland Booths and Tudor Hall is a fascinating piece of our nation's history and the Junius B. Booth Society has an active part in keeping this chapter of history alive. The Society was incorporated in Maryland in 2006 to educate the public and historians in the history of the Booth family and Tudor Hall, and developed and maintains the tour guide program at Tudor Hall in order to open the house for public tours on a regular basis.

If you are interested in this part of our history; please join us. When you join the JBBS, not only do you receive our newsletter, but you support the education of the public in: the theatrical arts; the Booth family history; the story of Tudor Hall; other Booth family historical sites located in Harford County; the history of owners, slaves, farmers, craftsmen and others connected to the Tudor Hall farm; Booth related literary works. The Society also supports the restoration and preservation of Tudor Hall and other Booth related buildings located in Harford County, MD.

Join us in this exciting endeavor and help keep history alive. For more information and to join go to: http://juniusbooth.org/

The Edwin Booth Company Presents…

The world premiere of “The Edwin Booth Company Presents…” will take place at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Greenhill Center of the Arts on Nov. 29.

Junior Jacob Lesh will play the lead.

“It is so exciting to originate a character,” Lesh said. “Not a lot of actors our age have that privilege. Even a lot of professional actors go their whole life without ever originating a character. The script is getting a lot of national attention, and we haven’t even performed it yet. It’s beyond words to say how incredible this whole experience is.”

Lesh stars as Edwin Booth, the lesser-known brother of the infamous John Wilkes Booth.

“Edwin Booth was known for being a fantastic actor,” Lesh said. “He’s credited as being the first actor to really bring forth naturalism onto the stage. He comes from this time period where there’s all this presentational acting, and he just kind of said, ‘Let’s throw that out the window and let’s do this natural form of acting instead.’”

Lesh did comprehensive research with the writer and director of the play, Whitewater Lecturer Angela Iannone, to try and better understand Booth.

“He really has a lot of credit to his name, but himself as a person, he’s a little more meek and shy,” Lesh said. “He really can’t express himself without use of the plays he’s in because he doesn’t know how to talk. Angela and I did extensive research and this is literally the guy who’s at the cast parties sitting in the corner all by himself because he can’t talk to other people. He’s just that nervous in social interactions.”

When asked to describe the play, Lesh had trouble summing it up in just a few words.

“Basically it’s about a man who is trying to fight to win the love of his life back while also dealing with his own self inflictions,” Lesh said. “He’s haunted by the memory of his lost father and is stressed over trying to make money for his company.”

The show may focus on Booth, but, as the title implies, his acting company plays a major role as well.

“It’s about his company members trying to put on this play and trying to be successful,” Lesh said. “When the leading lady falls ill, the only person who can take her place is Edwin Booth’s past love, Mary Devlin.”

Junior Ally Ruge plays Devlin, the strong willed female lead, opposite Booth.

Devlin is about 17 when this play takes place and she’s a love struck teenage.

“She’s very passionate in her views and wants to remain an actress, but Edwin wants her to give up that life because he doesn’t want to have to compete with her when they’re married,” Ruge said. “She’s very headstrong about her beliefs and part of the play is dealing with those issues between her and Edwin.”

Both Ruge and Lesh, along with the rest of the cast, have been rehearsing six days a week for the last month to ensure the play is tuned to perfection.

“I have a really good feeling that all of this hard work is going to pay off,” Lesh said. “I really think people are going to have a new perspective on the name of Booth.”

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, but Lesh and company are giving it their all.

“It is a little bit difficult because we have a director who is also a professional actress,” Lesh said. “Angela is really good at what she does and she’s been working on this play for about three and a half years now. We don’t get her every day because she has to work from Wednesday to Friday. When she’s there on Monday and Tuesday, it’s extensive. We’ll be running things over and over again. There’s a lot of beautiful language in this play and it’s really important that we get every single word correct.”

The “Edwin Booth Company Presents…” opens at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 and runs until Dec. 3 at the Barnett Theatre in the Center of the Arts.

Additional information can be found on the Department’s website at http://www.uww.edu/cac/theatre/.

Article link:http://royalpurplenews.com/?p=4610

The Civil War Era Fashion Show at Tudor Hall

It was a great day to step back in time and enjoy the Civil War Era Fashion Show. Even though the threat of rain persuaded everyone to move inside, it did not hinder the enjoyment of the 41 guests, 9 models and 5 volunteers on 9-11-11.

Eight members of the The Civil War Dance & Arts Society did a beautiful job modeling. The presentation showcased: ladies and children in day dresses and formal wear; gentlemen in civilian clothing , formal wear, Union and Confederate uniforms. This delighted the multi-generational audience and sparked curiosity and a lot of thoughtful questions. The program concluded with a presentation of an extensive photo display and beautiful ladies jewelry.

The guests were then given a tour of Tudor Hall and learned about the history of the Booth family as well as Tudor Hall. It was an afternoon of fun, history, and a step back in time.