Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1993 - 28

early as June 1883, rhar his People's Thearre in rhe Bowery
would be rhe firsr rhearre in America ro insrall rhe Unired Srares
Illuminaring Company's Incandescenr Elecrric Lighr "The proposed renovarions ar rhe People's (supposedly already in
progress) would have placed one of Edison's comperirors firsr in
rhe race ro inrroduce elecrrical incandescence in ew York rhearres. \Xfhile four rwenrierh-cenrury sources (including rhe
Edisoll j\!oIltIJ6') rook Harry !\[iner ar his word, crediring rhe
People's Thearre wirh ew York's firsr elecrrical rhearre insrallarion,' rhe New York Times of 4 Seprember 1883 (4) srares
clearly rhar rhe newly renovared People's was lighred by gas.
Reporrs in borh rhe New York Clipper (15 Seprember 1883:
425) and rhe Dramatic j\!irror (8 Seprember 1883: 2) confirm
rhe facr rhar rhe Third Avenue was New York's firsr elecrrified
rhearre. Ir is apparenr, however, rhar rhe insrallarion ar rhe
People's was finally complered during rhe Fall of 1883-in rime
ro cause rhe firsr recorded elecrrical fire in a rhearre. According
ro rhe New York Times (22 December 1883: 5), ir originared in
an audirorium dome lighr:

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Of course rhe issue of fire saferv was a cenrral concern ro ninereenrh-cenrury rhearre-goers, and in general, rhe advenr of elecrrical incandescence broughr grear improvemenrs. During rhe
gaslighr era rhe average life expecrancy of a rhearre was only
abour 18 years, as fires, caused by everyrhing from defecrive gas
insrallarions ro explosions, claimed more rhan 1,000 rhearre
buildings around rhe world. More rhan 180 of rhese rhearres
burned down in rhe period immediarely preceding rhe inrroducrion of incandescence (I 861-1877). By rhe 1890s, however,
elecrriciry had so clearly esrablished irs safery record rhar
gaslighring was banned rorally in German rhearres, and srricr
regularions governing all rhearre lighring were enacred world
wide."
By rhe end of rhe 1880s, elecrric Iigh ri ng had begu n ro
enrrench irself firmly in rhe rhearrical world. As rhe novelry of
elecrrical incandescence wore off, some managers rried ro
impress rhe public wirh rhe sheer quanrir)' of lamps rhey provided. The number of incandescenr bulbs insralled was ofren menrioned in rhearre adverrising, and some rhearres claimed ro be
equipped wirh rhousands of lamps. Elecrrical effecrs were
anorher growing rhearrical arrracrion. According ro an arricle
(February 1917) in rhe Edisoll i\foIlt1J6r:
... one rhearre vied wirh anorher in rhe elaborare "effecrs"
overpowering acring and acrors, reducing rhem ro mere
srage adjuncrs. An elaborare serring wirh unusual effecrs
would carrv almosr any kind of a show ro rhe heaven of
big box-office recei prs. In rhe so-called legi ri ma re field
rhe same germ wroughr havoc.

J
26

Ir was seen by some person in rhe gallery, who cried
"Fire," causing a panic among rhe audience. A number of
persons ran our of rhe rhearre, bur no one was injured,
and rhe performance conrinued ro rhe end. A lirrle while
afrerward one of rhe lamps of rhe elecrric lighrs used on
rhe srage as foorlighrs became overheared, desrroying rhe
lamp and wire. There was a blaze for an insranr. This was
nor noriced by rhe audience.

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Bevond elecrric lighring's obvious novelrv and safery advanrages,
irs new dimming porenrial seemed ro be irs grearesr selling
poinr. Through rhe 1890s ar leasr seven dimmer manufacruring
companies vied for rhe marker in rhe Unired Srares alone, ending in 1907 wirh rhe esrablishmenr of twO major lighring conrrol rivals: \Xfard Leonard and Curler Hammer. " Even in rheir

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1993