We expect to resume guided tours of Tudor Hall in the spring of 2009. If you didn't have a chance to tour Tudor Hall this fall, we hope you'll be able to join us next year. Keep an eye on the blog for more information about our spring tours.
Our fall 2008 tours were very successful. According to our best estimate, 170-175 people attended our guided tours this fall. The tours took place on October 26 and November 2, 8, and 16, at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 PM. On November 16 we added a 4:00 PM tour due to popular demand.
The final tours of Tudor Hall for 2008 took place on a very chilly Sunday afternoon. Don Rutter and his tour group braved the cold to take a look at architectural features visible at the back of the house. Don is a very animated and engaging tour guide. Spirits of Tudor Hall is very blessed with a new and growing group of enthusiastic and dedicated guides.
See "posts" below for more info about our fall 2008 tours and other events.
Spirits of Tudor Hall celebrated Edwin Booth's 175th birthday with a lively party at Tudor Hall attended by 27 people ("spirits" and their guests) who braved the perils of a rainy and foggy night to attend the party. Dinah Faber explained that Asia Booth's 173rd birthday will occur on November 20, 2008, and pointed out the image of Asia and white roses placed on the mantel in honor of Asia's upcoming birthday.
Highlights of the evening included the reading of greetings received from The Players (a club for gentlemen established by Edwin Booth in New York City) and from around the world (see three "posts" below).
Don Rutter, one of our most dedicated and popular tour guides, read a description of Edwin Booth's birth written by Edwin's sister Asia and published in her book The Elder and the Younger Booth.
We also heard a few words from Edwin Booth himself via a DVD created by volunteer Mike Brown. The DVD features a recording of Edwin reading from Othello with the lines scrolling over a slide show of images of Edwin. Mike got the DVD rolling while Pat McGuire waited on the "hot seat" to play his banjo.
The evening also included the presentation of our first "Edwin Awards" to each of the new tour guides who were present. The busts were originally created by Wayne Bohli for a celebration of the founding of The Players hosted by the Preservation Association for Tudor Hall in 1988.
Special guest Patrick McGuire talked about the history of the banjo and the popularity of banjo music in 19th century America. He also played and sang a number of toe tapping tunes as well as some lovely hymns and "songs of home." Many of the songs featured in his performance date to the Civil War era and one or two were written by Stephen Foster. Pat's wife, Katherine, assisted Pat with his performance with a beautiful reading. Since Edwin Booth played the banjo as a young man, banjo music was especially appropriate to the evening.
Kathy Cochran of Center for the Arts baked a delicious cake and brewed up a delicious hot cranberry punch. A number of those attending brought their favorite appetizers to share. Everyone enjoyed sampling the variety of delicious treats that graced the table in the dining room.
Artist David Fried painted the portrait of Edwin that was placed in a position of honor for the party as well as portraits of Edwin's parents, Edwin's younger brother John Wilkes, and a watercolor and pen and ink of Tudor Hall all of which now grace Tudor Hall. We are always delighted to have Mr. Fried and his wife Betty as guests at Tudor Hall.
Ben Cox represented the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation at the party. Ben is shown here chatting with Kathy Cochran of the Center for the Arts. Ben and his wife Tisha attended one of our tours this fall led by Don Rutter. Ben and Tisha give Don's tour "rave reviews."
Professional actress Jill Redding and her husband Frederick enjoyed chatting about old times with veteran tour guide Kris Thomson in the kitchen at Tudor Hall as the evening was winding down. Jill, Fred, and Kris were all close friends of Howard and Dorothy Fox and spent many hours at Tudor Hall enjoying the gracious hospitality of the Foxes.
John Martello, Executive Director The Players 16 Gramercy Park New York, NY 10003
Dear Mr. Martello:
On the occasion of Edwin Booth’s 175th birthday, which will occur on Thursday, November 13, 2008, Spirits of Tudor Hall send greetings from Bel Air, Maryland, the birthplace of Mr. Booth, to you and all the members and staff of The Players.
Edwin Booth’s life began in Harford County on the Booth farm where Tudor Hall, the home built by Mr. Booth’s parents, still stands. Mr. Booth’s life reached its end at The Players which still stands as the most enduring and significant monument to Mr. Booth’s illustrious life and career on the American stage.
In recognition of the special occasion of Mr. Booth’s 175th birthday and of the history that connects Tudor Hall and The Players, Spirits of Tudor Hall salutes Edwin Booth and his lasting legacy as it is represented both here in Harford County at Tudor Hall and in New York City at The Players.
Here’s to Edwin Booth, the Prince of Players! Long may his memory endure!
How wonderful that this day, the 175th anniversary of the birth of Edwin Booth, will be celebrated at the same moment at Tudor Hall where he was born and at The Players, where he died on June 7, 1893.
How lucky, also, for all lovers of the American Theatre and American history that both Tudor Hall and The Players still stand and flourish despite many years of severe challenges to Mr. Booth’s first and final homes.
The most important thing, however, is that it is the spirit and legacy and greatness of Mr. Booth that flourishes and motivates us to this day to continue to work for the restoration and maintenance of these physical monuments and also for the fellowship and scholarship that he tirelessly promoted.
It is certainly not for nothing that generations of actors have flocked to Gramercy Park to pay homage to Mr. Booth’s bedroom and to wander through our halls where many of the great ones of our profession have trod and are now commemorated on our walls. We commemorate them too with the array of play readings, lectures, musical programs and other events that fulfill Edwin Booth’s mission of celebrating the American theatre.
And how many have made their way to Bel Air to pay homage to the birthplace of this great figure? It is very exciting to all of us here to know that Tudor Hall still stands and that plans are underway to create programs that will carry out Mr. Booth’s mission there.
And so, we at The Players lift a glass to Tudor Hall and to Edwin Booth! Happy birthday!
A number of people from around the world sent email greetings to Spirits of Tudor Hall on the occasion of Edwin Booth's 175th birthday celebration at Tudor Hall on November 13, 2008:
Jennie Carter (descendant of Edwin’s half-brother Richard Junius Booth; Jennie lives in Australia with her family, and she and her husband and one of their sons visited Tudor Hall a couple of years ago; Jennie’s daughter is currently appearing onstage in the Covent Garden section of London), Nov. 10: “Happy full moon night on Edwin's birthday, I wish I was there!!! What fun. Australia is too far away.”
Daniel Watermeier, Nov. 10, (Author of Between Actor and Critic: Selected Letters of Edwin Booth and William Winter; Edwin Booth's Performances: The Mary Isabella Stone Commentaries; and other essays on Edwin Booth's career and performances.): “"Happy 175th, Edwin, or, Ted, as your friends called you. Since I have lived with your shade for over 40 years now, I feel as if we are friends. God willing before your 180th, your biography on which I've been working for far too long will be completed. If somehow this message enters the astral sphere, and I know you did believe in this possibility, please give my warm regards to Mr. Barrett."
Gary Sloan (professional actor, former director of the Preservation Association for Tudor Hall, current head of the MFA Acting Program at Catholic University in Washington DC. Gary has performed his one man Edwin Booth show in Bel Air on several occasions) Nov. 12: “Edwin Booth was known to have said that an actor's work is carved in snow . . . but for those of us who for one reason or another are still inspired by his story, let's celebrate his life by being grateful for our own and newly determined to play our own parts to their fullest."
Laurie Verge, (Director of the SurrattHouseMuseum), Nov. 13: “Mr. Booth,Your fame has endured the test of time. Those of us in the fields of history and the arts send greetings and thanks on this, your 175th birthday.”
Steve Archer (author of Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus), Nov. 13: “I'd like to add my greeting to Tudor Hall on Edwin Booth's birthday. Keep an eye out for meteors.”
Kelly Archer, Nov. 13: "To Dinah and all those celebrating the 175th birthday of Edwin Booth:
The three Archers (Steve, Kelly and Steven) who are charter members of
the Preservation Association for Tudor Hall, extend their good wishes
to you, the new Spirits of Tudor Hall, and our thanks for all you do to
keep the memories of this remarkable family alive.
Happy Birthday, Edwin. We shall lift a toast in your honor tonight.
Wish we could be there. The Archers 3”
Terry Alford (editor of John Wilkes Booth: A Sister’s Memoir; currently at work on a new biography of John Wilkes Booth), Nov. 13: “Happy birthday, Ned! Your sweet nature still attracts friends, and I hope you like what they are doing with the "Ranch," as brother John used to call it.Keep smiling on their efforts and be a guardian angel for the old homestead!”
Mike Kauffman (author of American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies), Nov. 13: “Congratulations on completing the first Tudor Hall tours in many years. Wish I could have been there.”
The final tours of Tudor Hall for 2008 took place on a very chilly Sunday afternoon. Don Rutter and his tour group braved the cold to take a look at architectural features visible at the back of the house. Don is a very animated and engaging tour guide. Spirits of Tudor Hall is very blessed with a new and growing group of enthusiastic and dedicated guides.
