Producer

 

New York Clipper, 1 Feb 1902

While 1901 may have been slow for mentions in the press, Agnes Atherton was in New York, planning a career shift into producing. The article above notes she had a five-week run in Savannah, Georgia, producing shows at the Alhambra Music Hall.

The previous year, Agnes had been in St. Paul, Minnesota (February 1901) followed by New York, appearing at the Rialto Music Hall in Elmira, New York in mid-August 1901, followed by the Columbia Music Hall in Utica, New York in late October. While these shows drew big crowds, it appears Agnes was working on a new type of production.

After the five week run in Savannah, she had a ten week run through the end of April 1902 producing a show called "Said Pasha" at the Star Theater in Charleston, South Carolina. While she did not receive the star billing in the advertisements for the show, she likely received a bigger portion of the profits from producing the successful run. It shows she had a lot of talent and creativity to move "behind the curtain", attracting comedians and entertainers from the vaudeville circuit in New York to take part in the Charleston shows. The performance often ran two shows a night, one early in the evening, followed by a late show, and were often paired with a boxing match.

Charleston Evening Post, 26 Apr 1902.

Charleston Evening Post, 22 Apr 1902.

Charleston Evening Post, 21 Apr 1902.

It is not clear if Agnes next took her production on the road to other locations on the Southern Circuit such as New Orleans, or if she made it to Cuba. I have not yet found a record for Agnes in the arrival or departure records on Ancestry for the early 1900s. 

Agnes appeared again in the papers as part of a comedy duo with Clarence Prouty. They performed with strong reviews at the Imperial Theatre in Tampa in mid-September 1902, followed by a return stop for Agnes to Savannah. On this trip she returned as part of the duo, to the rival theater of the Alhambra, the Royal Music Hall.

Tampa Morning Tribune, 24 Sep 1902.

Savannah Morning News, 19 Oct 1902.

The show must have been successful. Agnes stayed on in Savannah at least through mid-December 1902.

Savannah Morning News, 16 Nov 1902.

The owner of the Royal Music Hall declared bankruptcy on 11 December 1902, closing the doors. Apparently the performers were paid, but the closure of the hall put them out of work. Agnes was likely among those performers.

Savannah Morning News, 12 Dec 1902.

It is not immediately clear what Agnes did through the following months in 1903. She next appeared in the New York Clipper trade paper, which received a letter from Agnes in December 1903. Agnes wrote "she is soon to produce a new act in Vaudeville, with new wardrobe and scenery, now being made." (New York Clipper, 5 December 1903.

In February 1904, Agnes reappeared with a new stage show at Austin & Stone's Museum in Boston. She performed there through at least 10 May 1904. She wrote to the New York Clipper reporting "success in Boston, playing clubs. She has joined A. M. Gillette, and they will produce their European novelty act shortly" (13 February 1904).

In July and early August, Agnes appeared at the Lyceum Theatre in Niagara Falls (31 July 1904). The Niagara Falls Gazette noted Agnes was "a sketch artist and balladist. The whole show includes two dozen unusually strong numbers and is one of the best put on here in a long time."

Niagara Falls Gazette, 6 Aug 1904.

By September 1904, Agnes had moved on to Canton, Ohio. 1905 seems to mark a turn in the fortunes for Agnes, as she again received star billing in Buffalo, New York, and took on a new role in a production in Ohio. More on that in the next post.