Entertainment of the Late 1800s
A large contributor to this movement, Phineas Taylor Barnum was named the greatest American showman to have ever lived. He traveled the country showing off an impressive collection of freaks, oddities, wild animals, and other peculiarities. One of the most famous was midget Tom Thumb, loved by all that came to see him. Beyond the obvious lure of his small stature, Thumb had charm and charisma that brought the people back again and again to watch him perform. A notable action by P.T. Barnum was the exploitation of the marriage of Tom Thumb and Livinia, another midget. The once happy couple resented this and left Barnum to start their own traveling “freak show”. It didn’t do much harm to Barnum though; he still had his bearded ladies, siamese twins, and extravagantly tattooed men that brought in massive crowds and subsequent wealth. Barnum acquired a run-down museum in New York City and transformed it into the American Museum which showcased his oddities.
The American Museum stressed education and innocent amusement. Contained in Barnum’s collection were the occaisonal “fakes”. Joice Heth claimed to be a 161 year-old negro woman who was once Washington’s nurse. The famed Feejee Mermaid (a monkey torso sewn to a fish tail) was another counterfeit. But the people simply did not seem to care. They were drawn in by the brilliant advertising methods established by Barnum. In 1871, Barnum launched a giant 3-ring traveling circus which was largely a success. The trend caught on and soon Bailey had competitors as circuses popped up in cities across the U.S. As a business strategy, Barnum merged with his rival James A. Bailey, who had his own traveling show, and the Barnum and Bailey Circus was born. It started in 1881 and was bought out 26 years later by the Ringling Brothers. Today the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus is still known as “The Greatest Show on Earth”.
One interesting aspect of the circus is that the showcasing of wild animals was never before existent in the United States. It can be concluded that this form of amusement led to popularization of zoos. These early zoological gardens were set up not only for entertainment purposes, but also to house both wild and domesticated animals in captivity. Among the first of these were the Central Park Zoo (1864) in New York City and the Philadelphia Zoo (1874), which are both still in operation. The business of putting animals on display has grown incredibly from the days when it first appeared as middle-class enjoyment. Today almost every major city has a zoo that is open to human observation.
While members of the middle class enjoyed simple recreation visting the zoo or circus, only the most sophisiticated could attend theatre performances. This new luxury first made its way into American culture in the 1890’s. Widely performed in during the late 17th century, the work of English playright and poet William Shakespeare was engulfed into American culture. His tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Troilus & Cressida, Othello, King Lear, MacBeth, Timon of Athens, and Antony & Cleopatra became popular entertainment for the wealthy members of America’s urban areas. The Shakespearean influences on modern theatre are incredible. Many motion pictures are being made of Shakespearean plays, most recently Hamlet. A number of modern musicals are adapted from Shakespeare’s tales; West Side Story takes ideas from Romeo and Juliet as do Kiss Me Kate and The Boys from Syracuse. Summer Seasons of Shakespeare Festivals are currently held yearly in New York City, San Diego, and Ashland, Oregon.
This was also the era of the musical comedy, a mixture of Western and European music and theatre. Some famous American musical composers are Jerome Kern, Geroge Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II. All of these men were influenced by eariler composers and their work is still being performed today. Aside from the theatre, music itself was entertainment to many. People adopted ragtime in the 1890’s as the musical style of choice and was accompanied by various dances. The two-step and the cakewalk marked a social dance explosion during the late 1800’s. Dance is still a popular American leisure activity and Western popular music has been dominated by developments in the U.S. for decades.
For those who desired to be amazed by more than simply a theatrical performance, there was also the thrill of illusion. Alexander Herman helped magic shows reach their peak in 1876 by touring the U.S. He performed everything from card tricks to levatating his assistants in midair. His death in 1896 was no detriment to society however, because he was soon replaced by Harry Kellar as America’s most popular magician. A number of today’s popular magicians claim that they were influenced by the amazing Harry Houdini, but he undoubtedly developed his style from earlier illusionists like Herman and Kellar. Although magic is becoming more high-tech, the real beauty of magic is the feel of illusion which was first truly established in the late 1800’s.
Much of the entertainment found in cities was the city itself. For instance, shopping was considered a leisure activity rather than a chore for the first time. Much of this is due to the creation of department stores like Marsall Field & Co. and Macy’s, both of which are still in operation today. Chains of these stores invaded highly populated urban areas like Chicago and NYC. But enertaining a city could not have been a successful project with leisure alone. Transportation was an important factor that was considered. The first motorized taxicabs appeared in American cities in the late 1890’s.The taxicab created easy transportation for citizens in urban areas creating growth and thus, more people to support the entertainment industry. This is true for all forms of urban entertainment and all growing cities.
The late Nineteenth Century was a beautiful time to be alive; before the horrors of world wars and the Great Depression, yet late enough to enjoy some of the wonders of modern-day life. Part of the magic of this era is due, in part to people such as P.T. Barnum, Harry Houdini, and Cole Porter, people who were not just entertainers, but were innovators. Irregardless of whether their motives were purely financial, as some may speculate, or if they were merely trying to artisitcally express themselves, these people greatly touched the lives of those who came into contact with their work. Truly, their presence will stand the test of time longer than perhaps any one else of their era, as their art still serves to motivate and inspire to this day.
