Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1993 - 26

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The theatre last night was illuminated throughout by the
elecrric light ro the great satisfacrion of everyone presenr
as the applause when the light was [LIrned on fully
proved. The light perfecdy steady and under complete
conrrol is much more brillianr than gas. There was no
heat from the lights, and its inrroducrion is an imporranr
step forward by the managemenr of this thearre. The
scenes on the stage were also illuminated by the elecrric
light, and in the second act the effect of the colored
globes was so pleasing as to win another round of
applause.

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24

1993 SPRING

TD&T

However, an anicle on the Bijou in the Dai0' Graphic ( ew
York) on 9 1\ larch 1883 (65) suggests that the foodights were
removed again for later producrions. Cerrainly they are not evidenr in the series of excellenr phorographs of the early Bijou
producrions taken bv N. L. Stebbins using only the thearre's
elecrrical svstem for illumination. '
Overa"l the Bijou experimenr was so impressive that within
a year a new theatre in nearby Brockron, MA became the first
thearre ever ro be illuminated solely by incandescenr lamps
powered from a cenrral station. Taking its electricity from the
rown's main generating system rather than an isolated dynamo,
the building was never even piped for gas. 'J More imporrandy,
the practical advanrages evidenr in elecrric stage lighting caused
it ro be quickly adopted in other major theatre cenrers, and
within a year, both Chicago and ew York had their own theatres with elecrrical incandescenr lighting systems.
The elecrriflcation of the Haverly Theatre in Chicago followed the Bijou installation by JUSt under four monrhs.
Haverly's was a large (more than 2,000 seats), newly renovated
thearre, and its playbills proudly announced the upcoming
changeover ro electricity as early as January 1883. Once again it
was the Edison Incandescenr Light Company which provided
the installation-this time under the supervision of P.O.
Johnson-and once again several newspaper reponers were
inrrigued enough ro detail the specifics of the fixtures. III There
were 637 lamps (400 on stage) throughout the thearre with a
75-lamp cenrral chandelier which alone supplied enough light
for program-reading. There were four colors of stage light available, all under the conrrol of the stage manager. The currenr
from the three remote dynamos was regulated by the same colored cue light system used in the Bijou. Several reviewers,
watching the comic opera Heart al/d Hal/d which inaugurated
the lighting system on 9 April 1883, noted that the stage was so
brighdy lit that the calcium spodights were dispensed with by
the end of the performance. The Chicago Tribul/e (10 April
1883: 5) reponed the audience's enrhusiastic response ro the
installation:

ew Yorkers were not ro see a production lit fully by electrical
incandescence unril September 1883, but they were given a
taste of electricity's specracular potenrial in August with a sensational "electric scene" which concluded Excelsior at iblo's
Gardens. The recenr Savoy production of lolal/the, with its
finale on a darkened stage peopled by battery-powered, selflighting fairies, had created a demand for "elecrric scenes" in
which elecrric devices (often hidden on performers) became a
featured attracrion. I The fI nal scene of b'celsior, which opened
on 2\ Augu t 1883 and was supervised by Edison himself, was
called the "Apotheosis of Light in the Palace of Peace and
Union" and featured 500 glass globes and scores of glass wands
which blazed with electricity at Darkness's defeat. According to
the Nell' Vorl< Times (22 August 1883: 5), the effect was suitably
specracular:

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